Word: delta
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...that there is "a strong association between resource wealth and the likelihood of weak democratic development, corruption and civil war." Western oil workers in the Middle East lived in secure compounds with armed guards long before hijackers hit the Twin Towers. Is that same pattern developing in the Niger Delta today, where they also live in guarded compounds after the kidnap of more than 200 workers in the last two years...
...coups. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the country's 135 million people remain in poverty, a third are illiterate and 40% have no safe water supply. Then there is the environmental cost: more than 1.5 million tons of oil have been spilled over 50 years, and the Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places on earth...
...Containing the people's anger at Nigeria's rulers and their unwillingness to share the wealth isn't easy, though. The Delta is now home to several antigovernment, anti-oil-industry militia groups fighting for a cut of the revenues. The biggest and most organized is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (mend), which counts several hundred militants in its ranks. As Pullo, who titles himself General Officer Commanding, mend Camp Five, says: "God has given us everything in the Delta: water, fish, oil. And yet we are suffering. That is our cross." mend recently issued...
...Niger Delta appears to be slipping out of control. The situation in that region is very troubling...but I've declared my intention to make it a priority. The people behind the violence should have the conviction that my government is serious about dealing with their grievances. I have been talking to leaders from that region and am convinced we will succeed. I will launch a comprehensive blueprint that will address the crisis in the Delta once and for all within my first hundred days of taking office...
...favor U.S. plans for a bigger military role in West Africa We have problems in the Niger Delta, but I prefer what I will call a homegrown solution. I think we are on top of the situation and our military can deal with it. We don't have a problem with the U.S. military taking an active interest in the region, but our security forces are competent and can handle any threat, at least...