This flaring, which occurs as close as 100 metres from Nigerian homes, emits large amounts of air pollution and is a major threat to the environment and to human health. Shell's practices in Nigeria would be illegal in Canada or any other industrialized country. It is thus not surprising that these practices have been protested by large numbers of Nigerians, including Ken Saro-Wiwa. However, Shell has not hesitated to call on the Nigerian police and military to crush these protests. Since most of the revenue from the oil industry is diverted into the pockets of a massively corrupt military government, an oil embargo would have little impact on the vast majority of Nigerians, who are mostly subsistence farmers and fishers, but would swiftly remove the financial base of the military.
Rapid action is needed.
Amnesty International has identified 17 more Nigerians who are in danger of execution. The Nigerian government continues to arrest and to persecute environmental and human rights activists. Irving has a unique role to play in this tragic situation. This is two- thirds of the total amount of Nigerian oil imported into Canada. Figures recently cited in the Globe and Mail suggest that Irving will import a similar amount in 1995.