Gangsters and Africa’s Black Gold

Hidden off the West African coast, according to estimates, are up to 100 billion barrels worth of oil - a reserve about the size of Iraq's. The US is one interested party, hoping to break the Arab world's vice-grip on prices. China is another, forming what on the surface appear to be mutually beneficial arrangements with African nations in order to fuel its growth.. But there is a darker side to the saga of African oil. Gangsters run wild in countries like Nigeria, stealing oil on a grand scale - almost 50,000 barrels a day, accounting for $1 billion in losses in 2004. Meanwhile, the US is caught in a moral dilemma. It has declared Sudan a rogue state, effectively relinquishing its trade opportunities with the country. While the US and the EU have also sought to reform rampant corruption in Africa, their actions have been undercut by China. China has no problem in trading with Sudan, and its voracious appetite not only for oil but for other African resources as well is supporting regimes the US and the EU consider intolerable. African leaders who are villains in European eyes have received hearty welcomes in Beijing and been showered with gifts that take the place of US and EU aid. For example, a recent bargain between China and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe may have helped Mugabe's personal agenda, but is probably of little value for his country. The grand potential of Africa clearly carries with it a grand potential for exploitation. – YaleGlobal