Ayo Akinfe
Fuelling the Delta Fires
Bar Convent, Blossom Street, York
On Friday March 31st, York Amnesty International group was delighted to host author & journalist Ayo Akinfe for a lively discussion of his insights into the human and environmental cost of the oil industry in the Niger Delta, the subject of his novel Fuelling the Delta Fires.
Oil industry pollution in the Niger Delta is damaging the traditional livelihoods of farming and fishing, and putting the health of thousands at risk by contaminating water and food sources.
In 2008 two large oil spills in Ogoniland continued for 10 weeks before they were stopped. Shell offered the local community (population 69,000) 50 bags of rice, beans, sugar and tomatoes as “disaster relief” but no proper clean-up or compensation process has taken place. Thousands more spills have occurred over the last decade.
Collusion with the Nigerian government and military protection means that standing up to the oil companies continues to be a dangerous pursuit.
