Troubled times in the Niger Delta

Despite the oil wealth of the Delta, families here still stuggle to make ends meet

In this edition of Crossing Continents, John Egan travels to the southernmost tip of the Niger Delta, to report on an amazing experiment in local democracy which is trying to enrich one of Nigeria's poorest and most restless regions.

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Yellow marks the area of the Delta

Most of the news from the Delta over the last 18 months has been bad. There's increasingly violent protest against the environmental damage and social inequality left in the trail of the oil industry. But the Akassa Clan, a community of about 30,000 people who live in 18 scattered villages, are trying an innovative solution to local problems. They have turned themselves into a Corporation with their own constitution and corporate bank account.

Straight across from Shell's Nembe Creek site is a bedraggled slum

Most of Nigeria's wealth comes from oil, up to a million barrels of which are pumped out of Delta every single day. Multinational giants like Shell, Chevron and Amoco are drawn here by the uniquely high-quality Nigerian crude oil, because it needs less refining than oil from other fields. But despite the wealth of natural resources, the indigenous people of the Niger Delta are still very poor.

Virtually none of the oil industry's money trickles down to local people

There's no electricity, sanitation or running water in Akassa. Most people live in palm huts and cook on open fires. They survive by fishing, but in recent years oil spills have damaged fish stocks. Oil has brought problems rather than prosperity to the people of Akassa. Now they hope the new corporation they've set up will allow them to tap into the huge wealth that gushes from their delta.

John meets some of the newly elected representatives of the Akassa "peoples' parliament" and hears of their hopes for the future. He also speaks to the project's animator, Bill Knight of the NGO Pro Natura, and the traditional chiefs who are losing some of their influence to the new Corporation. Clearly not everyone is happy with the quiet revolution that is sweeping through Akassa.

Christianity Nigerian-style: a pastor of Akassa's Zion Church heals the sick

Although Christianity is firmly rooted in the Delta, belief in witchcraft is also widespread. In Akassa, several women who were accused of being witches and casting evil spells on the community have been tortured and killed in recent weeks. In a special interview, the head of the Akassa Clan, His Royal Majesty, King I.N.Anthony tells John Egan how he hopes to solve the crisis over witches that has divided his people.