Read more PSL WikiBriefs |
A 2009 diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks revealed that the oil giant Shell has staff secretly operating in every key ministry of the Nigerian government. In the cable, a Shell executive boasted to U.S. diplomats about having knowledge and influence over “everything that was being done.”
Nigeria is the leading oil producer in Africa. It ranks eighth in the entire world for oil exports. Billions in profits are raked in from the oil underneath the homes of the Nigerian people, yet more than 70 percent of Nigerians live below the “official” poverty line.