Nigerian fire

Chris Burford cburford at gn.apc.org
Mon Oct 19 00:11:03 PDT 1998


The death of at least 300 in a fire in Nigeria after an oil pipeline was ruptured, is being reported by the media in a way that does not conceal the drama of imperialist oppression.

Of course, like most tragedies, there will be a mass of small detail of how the unexpected change of events started and then accelerated, but the overall picture is a political and economic obscenity, comparable surely to Bhopal. So what if crime was involved? That there is such an energy shortage in one of the world's richest oil states, that scores of people scrambled for a gallon or two of oil in extremely hazardous circumstances, is a social, not a series of individual crimes.

Can anyone trace the information network? What is the company responsible? What are the companies regulating oil policy with the government of Nigeria? How much money was passed by those companies to influence the course of justice about safety regulations and compensation claims? This is far more important and should be far more interesting than whether Clinton influenced his ex-lover's promotion.

Any links?

Chris Burford



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