Nigeria's War on Polio

Six years ago, Muslims in northern Nigeria formed a boycott of polio vaccinations because they claimed they were a Western plot to infect them with AIDS. The number of crippled children doubled in result of this. Now, after another tripling of polio cases, an anti-polio group is rising to clear the country of this disease. People crowd the streets to urge parents to get their children vaccinated at one of the hundreds of provided vaccination centers. This movement has increased the number of vaccinated by 26%. There is a fear that polio could be spread to surrounding countries, destroying their multibillion dollar plan to wipe the disease from the globe.


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This relates to what we have been learning in class because of different views on society by different religions. Some Muslims do not support getting children immunized, whereas others track down kids who have no recieved the vaccination. Getting rid of polio in Nigeria is important because it could easily spread around the globe, crippling many.

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Two Sisters Spread Positivity Around Africa

Two Nigerian sisters, Chioma and Oluchi Ogwuegbu, have embarked on a journey to visit different countries in Africa. They started at the end of last year and have so far visited eleven out of their planned twenty-two countries. The sisters are attempting to shape the often negative view of Africa, to a more positive perception by documenting their journey on their website CelebrateAfrica.net. The sisters say that even the people living in Africa only see bad and that in the media there is never much positive news about Africa which is increasing the world's negative views-which they want to change. In the article the girls say that it's many young Africa's desire to leave Africa but the sisters are trying to show them and the rest of the continent about the good that "[they] have here". But, the sisters do stress that they are not saying Africa is perfect, but are simply trying to encourage and establish "hope and potential" so the countries are not just seen as a "Dark Continent" anymore.

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The article relates to what we have learned in class by displaying the affects of propaganda on not only outside sources but on the inside as well. I think that the outside world already has a firmly established view of Africa as only a place of turmoil, but these sisters are trying to show that there is a whole lot more to Africa. I also think that the article depicts some social movements. By the girls reaching out and making an effort to change the public view of Africa it can start a trend and perhaps if hope and encouragement becomes alive in Africa then Africa will start making positive changes.

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Nigerian Oil Workers Go On Strike

Oil workers for the company, Total in Nigeria, have decided to protest against the recent situations by striking. The strikers are protesting about the apparent lack of security they receive from armed groups like Mend who have been kidnapping them and their family members. In addition, the kidnappings have increased over the past few months which are fueling the protesters even more. The protesters continued their plans for strike even after their national union executive informed them that the strike would only delay industrial action. The workers picketed their company office along with employees from Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (Pengassan). There have also been repeated rape threats towards kidnapping victims including towards the wife of the former oil minister who had to pay a reported $2.5 million dollars for her release after the kidnappers released a statement declaring that they would "rape her every day" until they were paid.

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The article relates to what we have been learning in class by the social cleavages caused by oil distribution in Nigeria. The armed groups like Mend are fighting for a more equal distribution of the oil wealth instead of all the wealth continuing to only to go the rich. Political violence is also displayed in the article by kidnapping. In addition, interest groups are formed like the workers who have decided to strike and their movement to strike also displays social movements that occur in Nigeria.

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