Stewards; Not Abusers
- Adventure Begins
- Aug 20, 2020
- 2 min read
The last time you filled up the gasoline tank in your car, did you stop to think, “Where did this come from?”
Probably not; I know the thought never crosses my mind at the gas station. Nnimmo Bassey, an environmentalist of the Environmental Rights Action group in Nigeria works tirelessly to advocate for environmental human rights issues. In collaboration with the government, transnational companies come to extract the wealth of a country, but don't always have the interests of the local population in mind. They have an enormous impact on developing societies with respect to their natural resources that are depended on for food and water. Communities affected by their daily operations often don’t benefit directly from the profits. In this case, Nigeria has reportedly received $21 B in oil money in the first seven months of this year, but has one of the highest rates of extreme poverty in Africa.
The people living near the extraction sites are at the mercy of the government's and the companies' responsiveness. The extraction corporations in the Niger delta, a coastal region rich in natural resources and fertile land, also called the breadbasket of Nigeria, have a tumultuous relationship with the locals. It’s the stuff movies are made of--oil spills, natural disasters, gas flaring, tainted land and water, protests, bribery and murder. In a word--blood gas.
As people of faith, we are told to be caretakers or stewards of the earth. I look at the resources of the earth as a gift to mankind, for us to benefit from and to use wisely. From the time the resource is discovered to the refinement of the final product, companies need to be putting funds into their infrastructure, replacing old equipment with new and not waiting until there is a disaster to mitigate. They should treat the ecosystem and the people on it with respect. The resources shouldn’t be treated like a cash cow and the people ignored or silenced.
“The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.” Psalm 89:11 (ESV)
This is what God said to Cyrus, a leader in a position of power:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.” Isaiah 45:3 (ESV)
In our modern, socially connected world, transnational companies need to be held accountable for disrupting the people and crushing the land.
There needs to be accountability for the corporations and their highly paid executives [salaries in the range of $10M per year]. The company is there for the people--not the other way around.
Check your investments--are you in the energy sector?
For more information:
Comments