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This seems to be the fault of the Nigerian government no? Shell is going to push its luck as far as it can with every country

klyrs 5y ago
No, bribing foreign governments is illegal, and also immoral. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Ac...
- ALittleLight 5y ago
  Receiving bribes is too, right? The fault may be shared between corrupt countries and companies, but Nigeria is not blameless.
  - mikeblackson 5y ago
    Both are to blame but there is a long history of the "blame free" variety of African leaders getting assassinated or "regime changed" by external forces if they don't cooperate. I wonder how Norway would look if they were constantly under the same threat.
    - ALittleLight 5y ago
      Good question. Why isn't Norway under the same threat?
- boardwaalk 5y ago
  Shell is not a US company and besides, relying on another country’s laws keep yourself from being exploited isn’t going to get you very far.
  - maeron22 5y ago
    Royal Dutch Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and registered in the UK, and both countries are part of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention that criminalizes the bribery of foreign public officials. Even if it were not, I struggle to understand the purpose of your comment. Do you mean to say that it's morally justified for Shell to bribe Nigerian officials? Because it goes unpunished by governments? Or because the citizenry of Nigeria that do not benefit from such bribery are unable to punish such transgressions? Or is it just a nitpicky "gotcha" that adds nothing and isn't even correct?
lostlogin 5y ago
This may be an acceptable attitude to some, but it is a shamefully craven way to make money. Have a read of the Wikipedia entry for Shell Nigeria. The death and destruction they are involved in (and which the acknowledgment involvement in) is horrendous. Armed conflict has broken out numerous times and Shell has backed some of it by their own acknowledgment. The ecological and human toll from their polluting is incredible and their own reports show they aren’t attending some spills for significant portions of a year, quite apart from attempting to clean them up. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Nigeria https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Nigeria
- FredPret 5y ago
  …no, it’s shamefully craven behaviour by the woeful Nigerian government who couldn’t be bothered to act in their citizens’ best interest in even the most basic ways. Shell is a corporation like any other and will not hold itself to moral standards unless forced to by other entities.
naruvimama 5y ago
People wrongly assume that colonisation effectively ended after the 2nd world wars. The truth is it is difficult to wean away governments & companies used to milking the colonies dry to give up so easily. Not to mention the many institutions including religious & media designed to aid this exploitation. As much as the blame might be place on Nigeria, it is not to be ignored that a lot of power and influence is still held by the English speaking elite who are inturn in the grips of the colonial institutions and their masters. In my own country of India, any attempt to decolonise is labeled "right wing nationalist". None of us were happy to wear a tie to school when the temperature goes upto 45 degrees, this colonial brainwashing has to go for the people to become really free.

klyrs 5y ago

No, bribing foreign governments is illegal, and also immoral. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Ac...

ALittleLight 5y ago
Receiving bribes is too, right? The fault may be shared between corrupt countries and companies, but Nigeria is not blameless.
- mikeblackson 5y ago
  Both are to blame but there is a long history of the "blame free" variety of African leaders getting assassinated or "regime changed" by external forces if they don't cooperate. I wonder how Norway would look if they were constantly under the same threat.
  - ALittleLight 5y ago
    Good question. Why isn't Norway under the same threat?
boardwaalk 5y ago
Shell is not a US company and besides, relying on another country’s laws keep yourself from being exploited isn’t going to get you very far.
- maeron22 5y ago
  Royal Dutch Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and registered in the UK, and both countries are part of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention that criminalizes the bribery of foreign public officials. Even if it were not, I struggle to understand the purpose of your comment. Do you mean to say that it's morally justified for Shell to bribe Nigerian officials? Because it goes unpunished by governments? Or because the citizenry of Nigeria that do not benefit from such bribery are unable to punish such transgressions? Or is it just a nitpicky "gotcha" that adds nothing and isn't even correct?

lostlogin 5y ago

This may be an acceptable attitude to some, but it is a shamefully craven way to make money. Have a read of the Wikipedia entry for Shell Nigeria. The death and destruction they are involved in (and which the acknowledgment involvement in) is horrendous. Armed conflict has broken out numerous times and Shell has backed some of it by their own acknowledgment. The ecological and human toll from their polluting is incredible and their own reports show they aren’t attending some spills for significant portions of a year, quite apart from attempting to clean them up. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Nigeria https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Nigeria

FredPret 5y ago
…no, it’s shamefully craven behaviour by the woeful Nigerian government who couldn’t be bothered to act in their citizens’ best interest in even the most basic ways. Shell is a corporation like any other and will not hold itself to moral standards unless forced to by other entities.

naruvimama 5y ago

People wrongly assume that colonisation effectively ended after the 2nd world wars. The truth is it is difficult to wean away governments & companies used to milking the colonies dry to give up so easily. Not to mention the many institutions including religious & media designed to aid this exploitation. As much as the blame might be place on Nigeria, it is not to be ignored that a lot of power and influence is still held by the English speaking elite who are inturn in the grips of the colonial institutions and their masters. In my own country of India, any attempt to decolonise is labeled "right wing nationalist". None of us were happy to wear a tie to school when the temperature goes upto 45 degrees, this colonial brainwashing has to go for the people to become really free.