Human Rights in Nigeria

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Human Rights in Nigeria

  1. There are some significant problems raised under Shell oil-producing. Shell has social and environmental responsibility for the problems occurring in the Ogoni region of Nigeria.  First of all, they have environmental responsibilities on numerous oil spills and the widespread contamination of soil and ground water. As a result of these problems, the groundwater is contaminated and is not safe for drinking, and the rainwater cannot be collected for drinking because it considered as acid rain. In addition to oil spills, when channels are dug to bring in heavy drilling equipments, digging deep into the ground could mix salt and freshwater together, which could kill the fish; therefore, fishing is no longer an option for the tribe even thought fishing as a means of supplying food for them. Furthermore, the air also has been polluted due to the heavy drilling.  Shell has social responsibility on Ogoni’s oil revenue and employee selection. Ogoni is lack of returns from Shell oil production in their region. Shell has received nearly $30 billion worth of oil from the Ogoni land but has not yet helping the people in Ogoni by providing them with neither more jobs nor money to develop their lands. There are only 85 of employees were Ogoni out of Shell’s 5000 employees, which indicating that Shell has been discriminated the Ogoni people because they are some powerless minority among the Nigeria’s 110 million people. If Shell had provided money to the Ogoni people, they could have built schools and provided health care and it would certainly help them to get their back on their feet and potentially giving them some political power.   As a result, Shell Company is responsible for the problem occurring in Ogoni, because it has pullulated Ogoni’s drinking water, take away their farm land, even the right to breathe clean air and the right to work.  
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  1. There are some steps Shell has taken to nip some of the protests against it in the bud, or even preempt them.  First, they should reform its organization culture by hiring more Ogoni people and respecting the value Ogoni employees.  Secondly, they should have paid full compensation to the farmers and the local community as Nigerian government had originally promised them.  Thirdly, some of the local people were unhappy about the environmental degradation, Shell Company should take full responsibilities regarding to the oil spills and drilling activities.  They should improve their safeguards in the process of oil production ...

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