How Shell Devastated Ogoni Land for 70 Years

By Sunday Oladapo

For over seven decades, the Niger Delta’s Ogoni land has borne the heavy cost of oil exploration. What should have been a blessing of natural wealth has instead become a symbol of exploitation, environmental destruction, and corporate impunity—largely at the hands of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The Beginning of Exploitation

Shell began operations in the Niger Delta in the late 1950s, ushering in Nigeria’s era as a major oil producer. Ogoni land, rich in crude reserves, soon became one of its key sites. But while billions of dollars flowed to multinational companies and the Nigerian government, Ogoni communities were left to grapple with poisoned rivers, degraded farmlands, and suffocating gas flares.

Environmental Devastation

Decades of unchecked oil spills turned fertile farmland into wasteland and drinking water into toxic sludge. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in its landmark 2011 report, described Ogoni land as one of the most polluted places on earth, where some communities were forced to drink water contaminated with cancer-causing benzene at levels 900 times above WHO standards.

Fishing, once the lifeblood of the Ogoni people, collapsed as creeks and rivers became oil slicks. Farming, too, declined as crude seeped into the soil, reducing yields and creating food insecurity. What was once a vibrant ecosystem became an ecological graveyard.

Human Suffering and Resistance

The destruction was not only environmental but also social. Poverty deepened as livelihoods vanished. Health problems, from respiratory diseases to cancers, rose. Communities that had lived sustainably for generations suddenly found themselves trapped in cycles of misery.

Resistance emerged in the 1990s under the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), led by the late Ken Saro-Wiwa. The movement demanded environmental justice, fair compensation, and autonomy over their resources. Instead, Shell was accused of colluding with the Nigerian military government to suppress dissent. The world watched in outrage in 1995 when Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were executed after a sham trial—an event that still haunts Nigeria’s human rights record.

The Legacy of Neglect

Despite global condemnation and repeated promises of clean-up, little has changed on the ground. UNEP recommended an initial $1 billion clean-up effort in 2011, but progress has been painfully slow. Many Ogoni communities still lack access to safe water and arable land, while unemployment and underdevelopment persist.

Shell formally divested from onshore operations in Ogoni land in the 1990s, but its legacy of pollution remains. For many locals, the company has come to symbolise not just corporate greed, but also the complicity of the Nigerian state in sacrificing its citizens for oil wealth.

A Struggle for Justice

Today, Ogoni land stands as a cautionary tale of how resource wealth, without accountability, can destroy rather than uplift. Court cases in Europe have forced Shell to admit liability for some spills and pay limited compensation, but for many Ogoni people, justice remains elusive.

The story of Ogoni land is not just about the past—it is about an ongoing struggle for environmental justice, corporate responsibility, and the right of communities to live with dignity on their ancestral soil. Until genuine clean-up and reparations occur, the scars of Shell’s 70-year presence will remain etched into the land, waters, and lives of the Ogoni people.