this was all work from an assignment. the assignment was focused on the failing judicial and prison system and it was bad in a big way.
truth be told it was bad all over. i was in the delta region laying some groundwork for a return trip later in the year. it is virtually impossible to photograph there without the blessing of the someone... local militants etc. i have managed to secure that and a guarantee of safe passage so i am busy pitching right now.
i will do my best to not climb to high on the soap box but it was a bad situation. in my opinion the country is as close as one will ever see to all out disintegration before it actually occurs. the infrastructure has totally and completely collapsed. the npf (police) and sss (security forces) act with little to no reproach. the police are often not paid and resort to extortion to pay the bills. the propaganda coming out of the mostly government owned media outlets is that groups like M.E.N.D are terrorists and there is quite a bit of "tribal lines" being drawn. life expectancy hovers somewhere around 45-47 and the country has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. the "official" unemployment rate is under 10% but most knowledgeable folks laugh at that number and upwards of 50-60% seems more likely. in the north the poverty is shocking. there are now very radical islamic movements operating there including the taliban. sharia law prevails in much of the northern states. the country is a petri dish for growing radicalism.
all of this is truly maddening as nigeria sits atop one of the largest crude oil deposits in the world!?! the government has allowed all other industry and agriculture to collapse in a myopic attempt to steal as much money from the countries oil wealth as possible. everywhere you go people are very, very angry. the delta is quickly becoming an environmental disaster with millions of very poor people living amongst the oil spills and gas flares.
anyhow, i appreciate everyones interest and willingness to listen. i would love to post more if the work however other folks have dibs. i am planning to return to the nigeria delta region within the year and will keep everyone abreast. this is a situation that in my opinion cannot be ignored.
truth be told it was bad all over. i was in the delta region laying some groundwork for a return trip later in the year. it is virtually impossible to photograph there without the blessing of the someone... local militants etc. i have managed to secure that and a guarantee of safe passage so i am busy pitching right now.
i will do my best to not climb to high on the soap box but it was a bad situation. in my opinion the country is as close as one will ever see to all out disintegration before it actually occurs. the infrastructure has totally and completely collapsed. the npf (police) and sss (security forces) act with little to no reproach. the police are often not paid and resort to extortion to pay the bills. the propaganda coming out of the mostly government owned media outlets is that groups like M.E.N.D are terrorists and there is quite a bit of "tribal lines" being drawn. life expectancy hovers somewhere around 45-47 and the country has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. the "official" unemployment rate is under 10% but most knowledgeable folks laugh at that number and upwards of 50-60% seems more likely. in the north the poverty is shocking. there are now very radical islamic movements operating there including the taliban. sharia law prevails in much of the northern states. the country is a petri dish for growing radicalism.
all of this is truly maddening as nigeria sits atop one of the largest crude oil deposits in the world!?! the government has allowed all other industry and agriculture to collapse in a myopic attempt to steal as much money from the countries oil wealth as possible. everywhere you go people are very, very angry. the delta is quickly becoming an environmental disaster with millions of very poor people living amongst the oil spills and gas flares.
anyhow, i appreciate everyones interest and willingness to listen. i would love to post more if the work however other folks have dibs. i am planning to return to the nigeria delta region within the year and will keep everyone abreast. this is a situation that in my opinion cannot be ignored.