nigeria & south africa: african “people power” exchange
Nigeria and South Africa are both resource-rich countries, especially when it comes to minerals, oil and gas. Yet when multinational corporations exploit this wealth, local communities are too often burdened with the major social and environmental costs.
With the aim of promoting a network capable of resisting corporations and holding governments accountable, this project brought together impacted communities from Nigeria and South Africa.
what happened:
Sasol has plans for gas-to-liquid plants in Nigeria, thus exchange participants were interested in hearing about impacts on the ground in South Africa. Representatives from the Host Communities Network of Nigeria visited affected South African communities in Durban, Cape Town, and the heavily-polluted Vaal Triangle and Secunda areas. In some cases, they took “toxic tours” of polluted zones. They also met South African political office holders and scholars at Durban’s Center for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu Natal.
They visited refineries that cause massive pollution around South Durban, and had face-to-face meetings with residents who live only metres from a land fill site. They heard from mothers whose children suffer from asthma and other respiratory ailments because of pollution. They even took part in an exchange with public relations staff of the South African coal-to-liquid petrochemical giant Sasol, which became heated when the company attempted to paint a glossy picture of its activities.
what we learned: Mike Karikpo of FoE Nigeria says he saw the communities bond, gain hope, and agree to exchange materials and work together on global issues. “We are glad that we are grooming leaders directly from the impacted communities who would lead the fight against the destruction by multinationals,” said Karikpo.
The Nigerian community representatives raised the profile of the Niger Delta people’s struggle, and gained the confidence to lead discussions about the need for communities to unite. Communities from both countries also agreed to commemorate the 21 March, 1969 Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, as well as the 10 November, 1995 execution of Nigeria’s Ken Saro Wiwa.
On what they might do differently next time, Karikpo commented that, “We had too many activities lined up, and not enough time to reflect.”
what next: An annual exchange of communities from different countries would be a very good idea; as would a web site dedicated to chronicling the community impacts of extractive activities, to facilitate information sharing amongst the affected communities. A website for impacted "host" communities in Africa was developed, and presented at a workshop with community representatives in South Africa.
with thanks to our funders: the dutch ministry of foreign affairs and the sigrid rausing trust
