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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Chris Fomunyoh

Aired July 21, 2002 - 11:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: They had shut down a Chevron- Texaco terminal in Nigeria, stopping exports and trapping up to 700 workers. "They" are a group of women, 150 of them, carrying out a peaceful protest. They threatened to even carry out an act of ultimate shame, nudity. Their demand: For the multi-national oil company to hire their sons and provide electricity for their villages. The protest and hostage-taking ended peacefully.

Did anyone win? Chris Fomunyoh of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington joins us to help us understand this very passionate movement. Do you suppose anybody won? Did the women who carried out this protest get their message across?

CHRIS FOMUNYOH, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INST. FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: Yes, Fredricka, I think they did. And I think they were able to draw both national and international attention to the plight of people in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, and that is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to their merit, or to their credit.

WHITFIELD: And was this a protest of extremes, or, given the significance of this threat of shame to -- a woman to expose herself, is the ultimate, or un-ultimate type of punishment in that culture. Was this a measure that needed to have been taken in order to send the message of trying to get more jobs for their sons, getting electricity to their villages?

FOMUNYOH: What I must say that it's difficult to be aware of what's happening in Niger Delta region of Nigeria, let alone to live there, and not feel a sense of revolt, because this is a people who are living very close to where they see the oil being drilled from the areas in which they live, and yet they live in abject poverty.

And so this protest movement has been going on for years. The viewers may also remember that a few years ago, in the height of military rule in Nigeria, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for leading protests on the behalf of the Oguni (ph) people of the Niger Delta. So this process has been going on for a long time.

What's unique this time around is that it's being led by women, and as you stated very rightly, these are unarmed women, some with kids on their backs, who have this very powerful tool that's very much respected in African culture of not seeing women in nudity, especially when they are (UNINTELLIGIBLE) protest of social discontent.

WHITFIELD: And particularly women very powerful in the social elite?

FOMUNYOH: Exactly. And given -- despite some of the discussions about inequalities and the way women are treated in Africa in general or in Nigeria specifically, there is still a lot of respect in African culture for womanhood and the threat that women could disrobe in the presence of men, it's very disarming, even for the military, that would traditionally have gone in to try to break up the protest.

WHITFIELD: Now, this protest ended peacefully, just as the protest was one of peace. The Chevron-Texaco Company is not commenting on what motion they're willing to take next. So what is expected as early as this week, now that this protest is officially over, the hostages have been released, no one has been injured. What is likely to happen? That electricity might be brought to these villages and that, perhaps, jobs will come of this, as the protesters wanted?

FOMUNYOH: Well, to the credit of Chevron-Texaco, they made commitments to meet some of the demands of the women, and this include, you know, creating jobs, providing electricity and just basic needs for people in those communities.

And in a way, that's not too much to ask. But my hope is that rather than go (UNINTELLIGIBLE) protest, one protest after the other, that Chevron-Texaco and all of the other oil companies, as well as the government of Nigeria, would sit down with the people in these communities to come out with more permanent positions to the grievances that people have.

WHITFIELD: Well, part of the frustration has to be, as you said, the government of Nigeria itself might have been able to do more to head off such extreme measures? This has been going on. The demands have been being made for years now, as you say. So the disappointment has to be in the government as well for not doing more to pressure Chevron-Texaco to do something, to show some appreciation to the nearby villages and the communities there that's been supporting this very rich oil region?

FOMUNYOH: You're correct. That's correct. And, also, you know, in this triangular relationship, I believe that the oil companies pay their royalties to the federal government, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but that's it's a problem in remitting some of these royalties to people in those communities.

So people can get a sense that their lives are being impacted positively by the oil exploration that's taking place in their region, and until the Nigerian government deals with the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) decentralization and allowing for the resources to flow back into local communities and for people in the local communities to make decisions that impact on their lives, we're going to see these run-ins between the communities and the oil companies that are closer, in fact, to the people than the federal government that's based in Abuja.

WHITFIELD: Chris Fomunyoh, thank you very much for joining us from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Appreciate it. FOMUNYOH: Thank you.

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