The Secret of The Seven Sisters Documentary

Some 3, 4 or 5 years ago, my former workmate told me about the secret of the seven sisters documentary. He shared the link.

It must have been politics that we were discussing. I tried to follow it but 3 hours were never easy to sit through. And even when I thought I’d pause and return to it, there were so many distractions.

Yesterday I went to see my cousin’s new baby. We laughed about ULS’ current affairs, we landed on the highlights of the icons match, we talked about how the death of Raila shook Kenya and started talking about Africa’s political environment. I remembered the seven sisters documentary, which I told him to check out.

Today I woke up with a resolve that I’ll restart watching it. Of course I’ve had to playback some parts because I was using it as background music while I worked.

The first time my colleague mentioned the seven sisters, I actually thought they were actual sisters. I wanted to know these women that are said to run the world, even to the extent of influencing the rise and downfall of presidents in different countries.

I was wrong. The sisters are a group of major oil companies that dominated global petroleum production. The “three-man pact” that led to their existence was the 1928 Achnacarry Agreement – a secret meeting between the heads of three major oil companies. Sir John Cadman (Anglo-Persian Oil Company), Walter C. Teagle (Standard Oil), and Henry Deterding (Royal Dutch Shell) agreed to cooperate and control the global oil market by setting production quotas, prices, and transport costs.

These people/companies forced themselves into different territories and killed the people who opposed their exploitation. A friend once talked about Ken Saro-Wiwa but I am just learning that his death is largely tied to these kinds of demonstrations. Muammar Gaddafi was also their sworn enemy.

I’m failing to make sense of this logic. How do you go to someone’s home and start fighting for their property?