Watching the World Now God also is against Shell

With David Knott from London [email protected] Throughout history, both sides in any given war have been quick to claim that God is on their side. Now it appears God has taken sides, by proxy, in the debate over Royal Dutch/Shell operations in Nigeria. The World Council of Churches (WCC), which presumably claims God as its patron, has published a report on the struggles of Nigeria's Ogoni people. WCC accuses Nigeria's military government of oppressing the Ogonis and Shell's

Jan. 20, 1997

3 min read

Throughout history, both sides in any given war have been quick to claim that God is on their side. Now it appears God has taken sides, by proxy, in the debate over Royal Dutch/Shell operations in Nigeria.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), which presumably claims God as its patron, has published a report on the struggles of Nigeria's Ogoni people.

WCC accuses Nigeria's military government of oppressing the Ogonis and Shell's Nigerian unit of polluting the Ogoni area and of inertia in the face of the government's brutality.

The accusations are nothing new. WCC has joined a bandwagon that gained great momentum when the military executed nine prodemocracy campaigners, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa (OGJ, Nov. 20, 1995, p. 37).

WCC report author Deborah Robinson wrote, "A quiet state of siege prevails even today in Ogoniland. Intimidation, rape, arrests, torture, shooting, and looting by the soldiers continue to occur."

Hard evidence

WCC said the report contains "hard evidence and not mere propaganda," including "eyewitness testimony to oil spills, dumping of oil into waterways and pollution, gas flares, overground oil pipes that crisscross Ogoniland, heavy presence of military personnel, and interviews with people whose lives are affected by these events."

"The report also urges Shell," said WCC, "to accept responsibility for the Ebubu oil spill (of 1970), to clean up existing oil spills, and allow independent inspections of cleanup activities.

"Shell is also urged to pressure the Nigerian government to release the Ogoni 19 and to guarantee freedom of movement and association in Ogoniland. The company should also protest against human rights violations in Nigeria."

Shell described WCC's comments about its operations as unhelpful and inaccurate. A Shell official said, "It was a pity that the authors of this report chose not to contact us or Shell Nigeria during their visit in early 1996 to clarify many of the allegations made in this report."

Inaccuracies

Shell continued, "The report contains many allegations and factual inaccuracies that have been made before and that have been discredited.

"To take a very simple and straightforward factual issue, the report states that gas flaring continues at the Eleme flow station in the Ogoni area.

"This is simply not true. Shell withdrew from the Ogoni area in January 1993, and there has been no flaring or oil production for more than 3 years.

"The report fails to mention the effort being undertaken by Shell Nigeria to help the reconciliation process in the Ogoni area, which was launched in May 1996" (OGJ, May 13, 1996, p. 42).

I was intrigued that WCC was happy to accuse others of repressive actions, given the fact that the history of religion is strewn with dreadful acts in the name of one god or another.

A WCC spokesman told me, "It would not be appropriate to address this particular story in the context of the history of the church, but if at any point the church gave the impression that its earthly history is blame-free, it would be wrong. Only a fool would say that."