The Story: Decades of Oil Spill

'For the past couple of months we've heard a lot about the oil in the Gulf of Mexico, the way that it threatens both the environment and the people who depend on fishing. The Niger Delta is a similar kind of landscape. People there rely on the shrimp and the fish that have sustained them for generations, and their area is also rich in oil. World oil companies have been drilling there since the 50s - and the region has been polluted for decades by spills that get little international attention. Nnimmo Bassey runs a Nigerian NGO that works to hold oil companies accountable for the oil they spill. He talks with Dick Gordon about how he was drawn into working on behalf of people in the Niger Delta and what keeps him going, despite the danger and hopelessness he’s faced over the years.' - The Story

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