Deadliest Journey - Nigeria: Slaves of the Black Gold

[Music] [Music] day and night it's the same melody that is playing in Katonah the deafening noise of thousands of small motorbikes throughout the city [Music] inventing the motorbike is king it's used to carry just about everything including serving as a tanker for a few dollars these Daredevils can transport as much as 700 litres of fuel per tray [Music] sometimes there are accidents when we fall off the petrol spills and can catch fire the human bombs are carrying black-market petrol that sold an illegal and makeshift service stations there are thousands dotted across the country [Music] how much do you want our two litres is fine the prices are remarkably competitive how much is it 325 francs which is about 60 cents a litre low prices are effectively undermining the market no one other than state employees buys from the large multinationals anymore madam Rose owns one of the small and thriving service stations they sell two litres of petrol for about a dollar 10 me I sell it for fifty five cents even less than 50 cents sometimes this one case the illicit trade cost the government an estimated 40 million dollars a year in tax but they put up with it since it provides a livelihood for a quarter of the entire population the government would like to see us disappear but it'll never happen but since too many people would be thrown out of work too many families depend on the business before it reaches the likes of mrs. rose and Benin the petrol has caused some men to die and made others rich and damaged large parts of Nigeria the world's seventh largest producer of oil every day thousands of litres of fuel stolen from the refineries crosses the border between the two nations the superior quality of Nigerian petrol has attracted all the top oil companies but also the gangs of thieves ready to risk all as they siphon off fuel from the refinery pipelines in the dead of night see belongs to us it belongs to all Nigerians today the Niger Delta has become Africa's wild west who's brought the Whitey's here this is my home Derby blood here Nigeria's crude oil is so pure that it's easy for the smugglers to refine it using old-fashioned methods they say this is life and death so many people get died from this job the rush for black gold is slowly polluting not just nature but humans too everywhere is not a blessing at all that is ofcourse [Music] to evade the police the smugglers hide their illegal refineries in the heart of the mangroves a marine jungle so thick it's virtually impenetrable the boats heading for the black smoke that betrays the presence of a camp hundreds are hidden in this maze we're meeting one of the gangs but the guide Morris isn't happy it's a dangerous area the smugglers keep a careful eye on access to the mangrove and the boat is soon forced to stop stop talking you off it please please what's the camera doing here I know he's off so give me your camera now why'd you bring the white guys here it's gonna ruin our business go back the way you came I told you to leave doesn't belong to you I told you turn around this is the only place to make money from so if this place is expose it becomes a problem so we turn about escort it to the next village by the smugglers who want to make sure we really do leave the Forbidden Zone a few years ago there were only farmers in bollo but when the rush for black gold began they soon abandoned their fields and became smugglers money poured in and concrete palaces replaced the small wooden shacks and the village streets were paved Bellmer has been a petrol dealer for almost five years virtually let's see if I'll put it into percentage like 60 percent of the people here into the business gamma agrees to give us a tour of his refinery this time we traveled by night to avoid being seen by the other smugglers [Music] you after now you have he can be able to see the direction we are going to after half an hour the refinery comes into view the scene is almost surrealistic the smell of burning petrol is overwhelming the crude oil stolen from the petrol companies is refined in an archaic yet efficient manner is that a cooking pot did we add a crude oil is trying putting locks of wood inside come come come we just try to commence the process of getting out of well a petrol kerosene and our diesel it works in exactly the same way as a still the oil is heated for about six hours and the boiling steam passes through a system of tubes to a section where it is cool this hot once cooled the steam resumes its liquid form and was turned into petrol it comes out in droplets careful careful this is real dangerous you see you see you see it's coming out on droplets this fume that comes out can ignites at any point any spark of light any spark of fire it ignites so at this stage we are very very careful many have been killed when they're still exploited this what we have at the end of the day this is diesel 20 litres of crude oil will produce about 10 litres of petrol as long it's at the end of every production this is the end product this is what we sell to people in those big badges [Music] the men who labor to keep the refinery working round the clock on the equivalent of 15 euros an hour three times the average wage in Nigeria [Music] in camp the only luxury is a generator the generator supplies lights current everything charging our four year this morning's breakfast has boiled beans for everyone the camp's taking it easy the crude oil has run out looking up the people are waiting for the oil to come so any time from now we're waiting for the tide to to rise when the tide rides the the loading boat should be able to calm me the last few weeks has accrued are refined while they wait most of these laborers work in the nude as the petrol vapors would seep into their clothes which could easily catch fire and turn them into human tortures it's dangerous work but profitable in fact there's so much demand that Belma has set up new containers for the crude oil as his camp is too small he's cleared a few more square meters of forest using a radical method yeah we burn the forest it's the only way to make the space we need there's so much humility that the fire will only burn for a short while enough though to have cleared an additional acre of forest when Belma eventually does abandon his refinery the jungle will have a hard job growing back as the ground is now soaked in oil [Music] even though we arrived when it was dark it hasn't taken the others long to detect our presence when you leave with the white guys we'll be waiting for you on the way once again it's time to leave in a hurry the Nigerian military had been trying to put an end to the trafficking almost from the day it started but there are simply too many of them and it's an impossible task in a mangrove that several thousand square miles right now we are in the mangrove forest it's good for business because the terrain is difficult it's very hard for someone to trace you into this place you know there are so many meanders so it's difficult for the government to come find us see how difficult terrain can be see it's more like a kid at that end where you think you've lost your way and if you're not careful you don't know the world did not know the sea route you talk your loss and that's why we have to just do this business around here because it's place is very secretive it's concealed is a hideout and yet the mangrove swamps are slowly dying choking to death by the petrol that's being poured into the niger the water has become thick and sticky the plants and trees are covered in a layer of crude oil that is poisoning them the smugglers aren't the only ones to blame for more than 50 years the oil business has been responsible for some 200 thousand tons of crude oil being released into the Delta every year the equivalent of a massive oil spill among the first victims are the fishermen [Music] Victor witnessed the first drilling near his own village he was back in the 1960s as the number of oil wells multiplied the number of fish disappeared in equal measure he's the last fisherman left in the village because of the pollution there's nothing left to fish hard to find anything to eat all the fish have died only some shrimps like please survive in these kind of just mean that suffering it's the whole village [Music] [Music] 50 years ago the villagers welcomed the oil companies with open arms there was jobs and money to be had the mayor of Bordeaux never thought it would turn the region into a living hell [Music] we have consulted skin we have you know because of this contamination what a contamination yeah there were economic program there were a social problem there were environmental program this period destroy all the natural resources of the people including fish selfish animal a living human that is that only he has met before useless they destroyed a means of livelihood there was no means of survival in the community because the community depend on water for that promised land Evo guys no job because mechanical to fish it begin because go to farm again because he cannot destroy everywhere or is it a blessing at all the night is ofcourse [Music] the oil seeps into everything [Music] a few years ago mr. doe the head man in a small village was forced to reach a dreadful decision he ordered all 400 inhabitants to evacuate abandoning their homes and the lands of their ancestors I want to show you the water we were drinking you can see the water this is the entrance to district this a Creek in the past the village women came here to collect the water but the world seemed filled with oil having seeped into the water table but look at how oil you can use it for cooking you can use it for for for for washing they find it difficult to stay here no water no light nothing Tonga there's no food for them to stay here and feed this is the entrance to do to my father's compound my grandfather's compound look at it this is where the village was all this place I'm showing you is where the village world there's no benefit we don't benefit anything in oil spillage in this area we don't benefit we don't get anything the people who are rich are becoming more power alchemy important now every day according to the authorities oil has reduced life expectancy for those in the region to just 40 years compared to 60 for the rest of Nigeria unable to fish or cultivate the land many farmers have headed to the slums around Port Harcourt the largest nearby city the Niger Delta is slowly but surely being deserted but some have decided to fight back to survive the villagers of oak Rica still fish for a living with one notable change they've exchanged their nets for buckets they've become sand fishermen it's exhausting work filling a barge takes more than 100 dives in the cold water bringing up 40 kilos or more each time [Music] [Music] Daniel age 52 now makes his living from sand which he sells to cement factories he makes just one hundred and fifty euros a month for me Daniel has been fishing for sand for 15 years he could make three times as much by running an illegal refinery but as always refused to do so because of the bad condition of our nation that I should Ford my hand and tie my hand to with the mana to fall from open about this that is why I choose to find myself in this condition [Music] possible for a student because we are suffering it takes two men about three hours to fill a barge it's delicate work as the sand fishermen defy the laws of physics they deliver the sand to Port Harcourt a hazardous trip speed then the boat will sink you lose everything all your fur all your strenght only our equipment in the boot all rough [Applause] [Music] it would take a miracle for the fish to return button Daniel's village prayers are said everyday Daniel lives with his wife and three children in a cramped house with just 150 euros a month he can't afford anything larger but he's proud to show his kids he earns his money honestly for their living I'm put onto me as trouble to make sure I take care of them I feed them every day when he goes to work I'll pray there now sleep I'll not be afraid because it's not easy enough for one - any idea what time come out that is why I'm afraid in any way I don't even pray that my soul should find himself into the condition so that is why I send him to school I am praying that my soul shall be modern what should be educated mother me I know is working hard for us to be something to be a future leader strudel encouraging you people by going to school then more things they have to work hard enough for them to become that of what I do [Music] is one day off Daniel spends in church he prays he'll have the strength to resist the call of dirty money [Music] begin to believe we're from the lowest level to the highest level but there's nothing we don't have in Nigeria there's no results we don't have in Nigeria we have all resources resources and resourceful people to manage these resources that we are not getting anywhere because our leaders will come into governance just to serve themselves instead of serving the people and when you pop they shout you down and that's why we are suffering in the means of Plenty that I involved in oil bunkering is because they don't have any meaningful jobs to do and when they see how the political class is mismanaging the oil money everybody wants to benefit from it either by hook or crook despite the death threats we've received from some of the oil smugglers we're back to see Belma he's allowing us exceptionally to tag along as he and his team steal oil from the big refineries it goes without saying it's a highly dangerous operation daytime will incur so many in so many disadvantages in that the military people will be out there securing the property because you know quite alright that it's an illegal thing [Applause] there's no way of knowing where we are going to load up with the crude oil that is belt a secret [Music] the other threat is from military patrols but using force to escape isn't necessary as Belma has a magic pass do you have to do that we pay the turbulence repair the military people I even gave confinement and go safely we don't pay them they get you under arrest but the pipeline to the refinery is a few kilometers further on on land that belongs to this man he's secretly siphoning off part of the flow of crude oil which he sells to the smugglers in the area of this point he was able to open the manifold he belongs to him you can see the manifold is right there you now line this horse to the water here liberating some of the precious fuel means diving the mud hides the opening is the horse is a horse is a horse this is where you line the product the product now goes into the boat right from the manifold D as I told you earlier on they try to break it off and defeats in their own host city pleasure this is a good oil here's what we come to buy most of the traffickers have no tanks or containers so they simply fill the small boats to the brim the kind of boats you want to now they want an answer Wow the owner of this show couldn't respect the mou so the people of this place have to chase them away so at the moment it belongs to the people of this land it takes less than 10 minutes to fill it with 5000 liters subsequently some whereabouts will come due note for the nine to do this to about three a.m. before they closed for the day because it's already getting to delight the boat now filled with oil is rode back there's no question of risking an explosion from sparks from their ancient outboard engines Aylmer is selling an increasing amount of fuel he needs large quantities of crude oil so he's had a huge barge built it was filled the previous night but it's so heavy that it takes three days to reach the camp site that contains 10,000 litres consider what we have in the arena of our business our industry our business this one is a very big one backdoor okay a bag he's smoking on top of the body I'm telling him to put out the cigarette the barge weighs about a hundred tons and whenever there's the slightest current the small engine struggles [Music] entitled against us so we are doing everything to make sure that we tie top so that we can live and home when the tide is okay for us and dawn the next day the men are already at work a few problems and a morning's navigation later the barge finally reaches the camp there are more illegal refineries in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world the main reason is that its oil is easy to transform into petrol Bani like this food is known as pani like the best specimen we have in India when you you refine this it doesn't take you too long for you to begin to dare your end products how much how much money I'm sorry we don't disclose that each month for thousands of illegal refineries steel of the equivalent of four large tanker folds of petrol our party in two hours time finish [Applause] this is the line got a good passes pass to the ports by entering inside almost as soon as it stops the refining process begins not all the laborers are illiterate peasants some like Velma who has a geography degree or a Maya who's reading geology have studied for years at universities finish school so the only thing we got to do have to find something for myself I bet you are going to struggle about the struggle to survive so it is the only one who can struggle to survive then it's good job look at me I'm a grad do it no job because this is not job he says this is life and death so many people did die from this job is very danger so we don't like it to do we don't like it to do this kind job because it's very dangerous there's nothing to do that's why we suffer ourself and to eat [Music] it's it's been bought outside we take it to the ships the ships who now will supply them to the ships the ships we now collect them on work to go to new and been a republic that's why ends the petrol will be transported 600 kilometers to the border it's a no-man's land between Nigeria and Benin where the fuel traffickers have created an illegal port that never stops working [Music] the business is now so well organized that there's someone responsible for the arrivals as well as for dealing with the authorities he receives a commission for each can that's unloaded and part of the money is used to bribe the customs officials there's a large amount of fuel that arrives from Nigeria I couldn't tell you exactly how much since it comes in from everywhere around here but it's easily one thousand trucks gauging the extent of the traffic is impossible but what is certain is that the activity on the border never stops Antoine is employed by one trafficker and comes here every day to load up with petrol his small motorbike is unable to make for climb from the port when fully loaded so he makes two journeys I saw yeah yeah but no one taught me how to do this I had to make it up said war one where's not me no if we know what even if we have to suck up the air in the cam because they touch the exhaust pipe it melt and the bike will catch fire Antoine loads up 14 cans about 700 liters of fuel it's a near miraculous balancing act but my bike needs to be well balanced otherwise [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I use the little paths to avoid customs and that way I can get to the paved road here having avoided them altogether Antoine Ann's about five euros a day which is nothing considering the risks he takes on every trip one time I fell off a motor bike caught fire but luckily I wasn't hurt Antoine is indeed one of the lucky ones [Music] usually a fall while carrying a full load of petrol spells disaster every year ten or so small transporters die on the roads after 20 kilometres antoine reaches his destination I'm heading for the window district but you can't come with me since the people down there don't like being filmed [Music] antoine has made six trips a day every day for the past three years he survived because of his driving skills by offering gifts [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it'll ruin you [Music] put them on a defect or a party Twitter what did you soak with small time players in the black gold rush are just part of a much larger illegal trade it has been polluting and destroying the Niger Delta for the past 50 years the major oil companies are equally responsible for the human and ecological disasters caused by unchecked oil spills into the environment according to the experts the curse of black gold will continue to pollute Nigeria for decades to come they predict there are enough oil reserves to keep the oil companies and the smugglers busy for another 50 years

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 1,341,663

Rating: 4.6776752 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, pollution, film, nigeria, free documentary, documentary 2019, road, black gold, okrika, truck, oil, traffic

Id: XRBJwPbssuY

Length: 48min 26sec (2906 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 13 2018