More than 4,000 oil spills officially recorded in Nigeria's Niger Delta in
over four decades of oil production attest to the level of degradation of
probably the most endangered oil-bearing environment in the world.
Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo, who revealed these statistics during
a recent visit to Norway, blamed the situation on the 'dismal' performance
in the delta of oil multinationals, which he accused of not meeting
international standards in their operations in the area.
The result is that things have now reached a point where both
environmentalists and inhabitants of the region believe urgent steps need to
be taken to contain the situation before irreversible damage is done.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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