Today Mandela has backpedaled and the general sits pretty. The brunt of the worldwide protests was borne by Shell, which was lambasted for not leaning on Abacha. History suggests a measure of caution in this regard. The same people who demand that corporations throw their weight around in distant places would be horrified if they did the same at home. Multinationals were not made to succor the masses.
Capitalism is organized acquisitiveness.
But bullying your host government is only the start. With many Third World states disintegrating, multinationals are expected to be ersatz governments. Still, your troubles might be far from over. If you are a mining concern, Greenpeace might accuse you of raping the environment. If you are a manufacturer, the ethics industry might accuse you of paying slave wages.