Good Morning Charles,
I read that piece yesterday. While I have been to Nigeria (Jos, Kano and Maiduguri in the hinterland), I have yet to visit the Niger River Delta. I am extremely reluctant to do so. But after reading pieces in the New Yorker and Der Speigel, Nigeria is one polluted country. Arguably, the worst on earth. The South Eastern area is one big cesspool. That, coupled with an armed insurrectionist movement, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta makes for extremely hazardous conditions for the locals. Rarely mentioned as well are the thousands killed during the past dozen years or so. The people are usually killed in ensuing explosions when trying to extract oil/fuel from ruptured lines. It is a ghastly situation there. And, at this point renders it worse than the Gulf spill. However, there is still calamity in the Gulf. Great misfortune in both cases. Alas, it's just a question of degree.