The denial of oil or its proceeds to stakeholders will lead to conflict.

Now, what do I mean by conflict you are probably asking yourselves Well, fair question. Conflict is a broad topic and can be represented in many forms, ranging from a disagreement in opinions to a nuclear holocaust When I talk about conflict in this speech I am talking about the conflicts encountered due to the denial of oil or its proceeds, as indicated in my opening contention. The conflicts I shall be focussing on in this speech are those of Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria and Shell Oil. The article which inspired this speech was written on the 7th of January 2013 and was featured in The Age, this article ascertains to the fact that Sudan and South Sudan are currently having troubles reaching a mutual agreement as to how the oil money generated in the region of Abyei and specifically Heglig should be distributed. Both parties feel entitled to the money and until a resolution is found, both parties will continue to encounter conflict. Many factors are fuelling conflict between Sudan and South Sudan, the most prevalent of these being economic disparities, which is in turn fuelled by oil and the revenue generated by it. The WTO, if given supreme power could seek to alleviate tensions by the forced sharing of oil and its proceeds within the region. In the 21st century we must seek to unify as a planet, disregard old and irrelevant borders on maps from yesteryear and elect a power which can maintain and develop th When Sudan was divided in 2011, the oil fields largely wound-up in the territory given to South Sudan, while the only pipeline capable of transporting the Souths oil to international markets, was destined to end up under the control of the North. The North have since been demanding amazingly high transit fees, up to 36 times the common rate per barrel of oil transported. Due to the perceived absurdity of this deal, the South refused to continue selling oil via the North with such high rates, this in turn led to the Northerners stealing in excess of 880 million dollars of revenue generated by the oil. This loss of much needed revenue caused the South to respond by cutting off all oil production and to launch military action against the North. These two groups have been encountering conflict for much time and the situation remains explosive. When a nation is dependent on oil and the monies generated by it, they often find themselves challenged not only in terms of democratic process but also in terms of sovereignty and global reputation. Oil is seen by many as a black gold and like gold, people go crazy lusting for it, these cravings can develop into degradation and worse still corruption and disregard for the innocent. As can be seen in Nigeria and their dealings with Shell Oil. Shell Oil and Nigeria became co-conspirators in the late 1950s. Since then Shell Oil and the government of Nigeria have colluded to finance their own interests and neglected those of the local citizens. Trouble began to brew in the 1990s; at around the same time that oil was beginning to account for as much as 95% of Nigerias export earnings and 80% of government revenue income. The link between Nigerias increased dependence on Shell Oil for economic prosperity and the starting of tensions between the people of Nigeria, is an apparent one. As Nigerias wealth has become more and more tied in with Shell Oil, the Nigerian government has been less and less inclined to go against its benefactors and also become exponentially more corrupt. There is no question that greed breeds corruption. And what comes next? Conflict. The conflicts faced by the citizens of Nigeria are vast, they include such stories as that of Ken-SaroWiwa, an environmentalist, cut-down in his prime for the measly transgression of standing against the tyrannical rule of Shell Oil. He however is by no means the only Nigerian to have been targeted

by Shell Oil. Many other leaders of anti-shell movements have faced and continue to face persecution. The conflicts, Ken-Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian and South Sudanese people have faced and continue to face are all linked in that they have all been caused by the withholding of oil or its proceeds to stakeholders.