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18
ChrisAlbin-Lackey
stealingballotboxes,chasingoffvotersandfabricatingresultsinmanypartsof
thecountry.Officialresultsindicatedmassiveturnoutfiguresinplaceswhereno
votingtookplaceatall,andabusescarriedoutinthebroadlightofdaywere
laterdeniedbyelectoralofficials
11.
April’sshamelectionsbothreflectedandareinpartacauseofapoliticalsys-
temthathasbecomethoroughlymiredincorruptionandviolenceandfailed
miserablytodeliverrealbenefitstoordinaryNigeriansdespiterecord-settingoil
revenuesinrecentyears.Alargepartofthiscatastrophicfailurecanbetraced
backtothenresourcecurse”,andtheoil-producingNigerDeltaprovidesthestarkest
andmostdramaticexamplesofpreciselywhatthatmeans.
TheNigerDeltaSince1999:„ResourceControl”,Conflict
andCorruption
Since1999thebroadertrendsofviolenceandpoliticalcorruptionthathave
marredNigeria’stransitiontocivilianrulehavebeenamplifiedinthecontextof
theNigerDelta’smajoroil-producingstates.The1999,2003and2007elections
wereevenmorepervasivelyriggedintheNigerDeltathanelsewhereinNigeria,
usheringvenalandcorruptadministrationsthatsquanderedwealthwhileactively
leadingtheirstatestowardsviolentchaos
12.
„ResourceControl”andthePoliticsofOilRevenue
TheproblemsoftheNigerDeltaareoftenportrayedasrevolvingaroundthe
practicesandmalfeasanceofmultinationaloilcompaniesoperatingintheregion,
particularlyShell,Nigeria’slargestonshoreproducerinpartnershipwithNige-
ria’sstate-runNNPC.Thosecompanieshavecertainlycontributedtheirfairshare
totheregion’swoes.Allhaveprovenwillingandeveneagertoworkhand-in-
glovewithcorruptandabusivegovernments;Shellwascriticizedparticularly
harshlyforfailingtospeakuptotryandpreventKenSaro-Wiwa’s1995hang-
ing.Oilcompanieshaveconsistentlyturnedablindeyeto,andthenkeptquiet
about,abusescommittedbygovernmentsecurityforcesassignedtoprotecttheir
installationseventhoughthecompaniesoftenhelppay,trainandequipthose
forces-afailingcompanieshaveonlyrecentlybeguntotakeinterestinaddress-
ingbyseekingtoimplementtheVoluntaryPrinciplesonSecurityandHuman
Rights.Andcompanieshavefailedtominimizeorevenaccuratelyassessthe
11SeeHumanRightsWatch,Electionor„Selection?”HumanRightsAbuseandThreatstoFree
andFairElectionsinNigeria,April2007;Nigeria:PollsMarredbyViolence,Fraud,HumanRights
Watchnewsrelease,April17,2007;Nigeria:PresidentialElectionMarredbyFraud,Violence,
HumanRightsWatchnewsrelease,April25,2007.
12SeeHumanRightsWatch,Gangs,GunsandGodfathers(tentativetitle),forthcoming.
