VOA标准英语2008年-Nigeria's Top Lawmaker Fears Niger Delta Crisis

The head of Nigeria's House of Representatives has warned that spiraling violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta¹ is now a major national security threat. The warning came hours after gunmen abducted² eight oil workers in three separate incidents on Friday. The most prominent armed group in the region has vowed³ new attacks to prove it did not receive protection money from the government. Gilbert da Costa has more from Abuja for VOA.

Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, is already suffering huge losses because of violence in the oil producing region.

Friday's attacks were the latest in the Niger Delta, the home of Africa 's biggest oil industry, which has become notorious for kidnappings and raids on oil sites since militants⁵ launched a campaign of sabotage⁶ two year ago.

Thousands of foreign workers have left since 2006 as violence has spiraled, and some industry executives see the situation descending⁷ further into anarchy⁸.

Nigeria's parliament Speaker Dimeji Bankole says the crisis is out of control and requires external intervention⁹.

"If care is not taken, it will begin to move out of the Niger Delta and consume the whole nation," he said. "And it is not rocket science to figure that out. This is no longer a Niger Delta problem, nor a Nigerian problem but a global problem."

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed. Armed men kidnapped two Germans working for a construction firm near Port Harcourt, the main city in the Niger Delta, two weeks ago.

Several foreign firms, including French tire company Michelin and oil servicing firm Wilbros, have left the region because of security problems.

Relations and friends of prominent Nigerians have also been targeted by gangs seeking ransom¹⁰ money.

Violence in the Delta, a wetlands region, is rooted in poverty, corruption¹¹ and lawlessness. Most inhabitants have seen few benefits from five decades of oil extraction that has damaged their environment.

The year-old administration of President Umaru YarAdua has repeatedly promised to address the root causes of the unrest.

But there is widespread skepticism over the government's handling of the problem and concerns about the future.

None of the many militant⁴ organizations in the Niger Delta has claimed responsibility for the latest abductions.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

7 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

8 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

10 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

11 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。