Nigerian Rioting Continues

The riots in Nigeria that ostensibly were caused by the cartoon publication have continued to grow, and the death toll continues increasing. The media doesn't have much of a clue as to what is going on there, other than to paint the latest deaths as anti-Muslim riots, even though the deaths the day before were due to Muslims killing Christians. All this is going on as kidnapping oil workers and disrupting oil production has spread through the country. Nigeria's political and economic status is being undermined by the ongoing violence. However, the situation is made worse by the siphoning of oil production into the black market:

Saturday's abduction of nine foreign oil workers, including three Americans, is the latest sign of the growing militancy of the well-armed militias that now control much of the Delta. Many of their grievances are legitimate. The international oil companies have left vast swaths of the once-pristine Delta an environmental wasteland. The burning of gas, the oil spills and other pollution have ruined the water, killed the fishing and spoiled the hunting there. The history of abuse and misuse of the oil companies is appalling.

But the real concern of the militias is unlikely to be the legitimate problems. The real interest is in protecting the criminal networks that steal or "bunker" oil before it gets put into the official oil network. While Nigeria officially pumps 2.6 million barrels a day, the real number is more like 3.3 million barrels. Almost 750,000 barrels a day are taken before it enters the production line and sold illegally, generating huge, illicit revenues. Much of the crude is sold to China and North Korea at discounted prices. If the selling price of the stolen oil is $35 a barrel, as it is now, that yields $184 million a week in illicit proceeds, or $9.6 billion a year. If that kind of flow of illicit money does not scare you, then nothing will.

Nigeria is yet another example of a failed state where local groups are using cartoons as an excuse for further violence, but the underlying problems are far more serious than those cartoons ever were.

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