On April 2nd, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the appointment of former Shell executive Bayo Ojulari to lead Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Ltd, and replaced the NNPC board with an 11-member team to promote reforms and improve efficiency in the oil industry, seeking to increase oil production and revitalize refining capacity. As an oil-exporting country exploited by imperialist nations, Nigeria has long exported most of its crude oil without refining capacity, relying entirely on imports for refined products. In May 2023, Tinubu justified the removal of fuel subsidies by reallocating funds to infrastructure, education, and healthcare, which caused fuel prices to double and significantly increased living costs. Under popular protest, Tinubu was forced to reintroduce subsidies in December. Subsequently, the Dangote Refinery, built by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, became operational, and Nigeria planned to end gasoline imports by 2024. However, these seemingly independent measures did not prevent rising gasoline prices; within two weeks and one day of purchasing fuel at the Dangote refinery, NNPC raised gasoline prices twice, by 11%, and within less than a month, another 15% increase occurred. Under Nigeria’s currency devaluation policies, inflation soared to 34.80% in 2024, severely degrading people’s living standards. The Nigerian government continues to develop oil resources to enrich the bourgeoisie, but despite the industry’s growth, workers gain no benefits—instead, they suffer from severe environmental pollution and exploitation, becoming increasingly impoverished and more resistant. Amid the propaganda of Nigeria’s supposed economic improvement, we note that Shell, which entered Nigeria’s oil exploitation in 1936, decided to withdraw from onshore operations, selling its assets to Renaissance Africa Energy Company, in which NNPC holds a 55% stake. Shell’s withdrawal was partly due to pipeline sabotage that led to major pipeline shutdowns, a reflection of local resistance. Shell has caused immense harm to Nigerians, colluding with the government to suppress and kill protests. By the late 20th century, the average lifespan of residents in the Niger Delta was only 46.8 years, with a child mortality rate of 20% for children under five. In 2012, 16,000 infants died within their first month due to oil pollution. After protests by 300,000 Ogoni people against Shell’s environmental damage, the government declared the Ogoni a military zone, branding them as separatists, and in 1994, under Shell’s instigation, sentenced nine leaders, led by Saro-Wiwa, to death for murder, killing thousands of Ogoni. Before execution, Saro-Wiwa declared, “I dedicate my intelligence and resources, my life, to a cause I believe in and will not be extorted or intimidated by… I call on the Ogoni, the Niger Delta people, and all oppressed minorities in Nigeria to rise up…” During the same period, the “Ijo Youth Congress” protests were suppressed, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
From early parliamentary struggles to later protests, pathways were blocked, leading to armed groups advocating sabotage of oil facilities to weaken Nigeria’s economy and force the government to share oil and gas revenues, such as the “Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force,” “Niger Delta Liberation Movement” (MEND), and “Niger Delta Avengers” (NDA). The early MEND fought for control of the port of Hacot against other armed groups like the “Niger Delta Militia,” and was later bought off by the government, disbanded, and gained political power, with its leader Tompolo becoming a billionaire and the Delta State governor. MEND’s former leader, Tompolo, went from being a top wanted criminal to colluding with the government. On November 1, 2024, MEND spokesperson Jomo Gbomo announced readiness to support security forces in protecting oil facilities from attacks, condemning “former militants and agitators” threatening Niger Delta oil infrastructure, and pledged full cooperation to apprehend individuals or groups threatening oil exploration. This mirrors the actions of Nigeria’s military, which, as of March 31, had arrested 39 suspected oil thieves and dismantled 18 illegal refineries, affirming its determination to eradicate oil theft and enable legitimate exploration free from criminal interference. Under the lure of huge profits, once-opposing groups like MEND have colluded with the government, oppressing the people to the utmost. Although a “Niger Delta Avengers” faction split from MEND continues armed resistance, lacking proper guidance, such groups can only carry out small-scale attacks and harbor serious ideological errors, even viewing Trump as a hope for oppressed minorities in the Niger Delta—an outlook unlikely to lead to liberation, potentially ending in collusion with the government like MEND. People are inexhaustible; wherever oppression exists, resistance follows. Only under Communist Party leadership can the masses truly unite. Only then can greedy multinational oil companies and reactionary Nigerian governments be utterly destroyed by the fury of the people! >Note 1: During six months in 2006, the Niger Delta Liberation Movement launched nearly 20 attacks on oil and gas companies, causing over $2 billion in economic losses (32% of Nigeria’s total oil and gas revenue that year) and prompting large-scale withdrawal of international oil companies. In 2022, oil theft cost Nigeria about $23 billion in lost revenue. >Note 2: The Darkness of the Delta (Author: Uche Umez, 2004) I see countless broken canoes piled up as wreckage, like impoverished small gray huts on the shore. Tattered fishing nets abandoned, like ragged clothes. Axes, hoes, sickles, and curved knives embedded in the mud, rusted. The dirt on the river moves slowly. The barren plow fields stand stiff as flint. Looking up at the smoky, ash-covered clouds, predatory kites circle above the toxic flames, dark and sunless. I see the land’s fat being devoured, submerged in mad pollution, eaten away by greedy oil machinery. Look, this is wealth—belonging to my unfortunate family, yet it is being stealthily eroded… 尼日利亚杀死了她的太阳：肯·萨罗-维瓦与“奥戈尼九人”的死亡与平反 | 政治 | 半岛电视台 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigeria-names-ex-shell-executive-lead-state-oil-firm-nnpc-2025-04-02/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Troops Arrest 39 Suspected Oil Thieves, Destroy Illegal Refining Sites In Niger Delta • Channels Television 武装组织与石油并存，尼日尔河三角洲为什么不再平静？_尼日利亚_戈尼_维瓦 https://www.sohu.com/a/148999018_617730 尼日尔河三角洲的“资源诅咒”_腾讯新闻 https://www.ceec.cn/zyzx/sjhjzz/zzlm/rl/201503/W020180903670671197676.pdf 红与黑：尼日尔河三角洲的族群和石油 https://championnews.com.ng/2024/11/02/ex-militant-group-mend-vows-to-protect-oil-installations-in-ndelta-from-attack-gbomo/ https://www.nigerdeltaavengers.org/2016/11/congratulation-donald-jtrump-president.html Tompolo: The Billionaire Militant -TheNEWS Africa | Sahara Reporters