It is said that it is easier to destroy than to build or rebuild. This context underscores the actions of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) aimed at rebuilding Ogoni, Rivers State, an environment devastated by oil industry operations.
Oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Ogoniland in 1958. Today, it comprises four local government areas, Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, and includes 261 communities. Ironically, the discovery of oil in the place, which made it a source of wealth for Nigeria, also brought tragic consequences. For instance, between 1976 and 1991, a period of 15 years, nearly 3,000 separate oil spills polluted Ogoniland, negatively impacting farming and fishing as well as the health of the locals.
Indeed, the issue of environmental degradation and its damaging effects inspired the formation of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), in 1990. The organisation, led by writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, raised public awareness of the dark side of oil exploration and production in the country; and its potent campaign helped to force Shell to suspend production in Ogoniland in 1993.
Two years later, Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni human rights activists were executed under Nigeria’s military government, which accused them of the murder of four fellow Ogonis over differences regarding the appropriate approach to the fight against the destruction of their environment.
Notably, in 2008, two massive oil spills happened in the Bodo community, and Shell attributed them to defects in the Trans-Niger Pipeline. In the first case, the leak lasted about four weeks.
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In 2009, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), prompted by the Nigerian government, launched a scientific investigation into the impact of contamination from oil across the Ogoni region. UNEP, in 2011, published a report showing that pollution from over 50 years of oil operations in the region had “penetrated further and deeper than many may have supposed.”
According to UNEP, its team, over a 14-month period, “examined more than 200 locations, surveyed 122 kilometres of pipeline rights of way, reviewed more than 5,000 medical records and engaged over 23,000 people at local community meetings.” Also, detailed soil and groundwater contamination investigations were conducted at 69 sites, and more than 4,000 samples were analysed, including water taken from 142 groundwater monitoring wells drilled specifically for the study and soil extracted from 780 boreholes.
It said the findings were “alarming both in terms of human health protection and environmental protection.” For instance, in one community, at Nisisioken Ogale, in western Ogoniland, the report said families were drinking water from wells contaminated with benzene – a known carcinogen – at levels over 900 times above World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
UNEP concluded that “The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world’s most wide-ranging and long-term oil cleanup exercise ever undertaken if contaminated drinking water, land, creeks and important ecosystems such as mangroves are to be brought back to full, productive health.”
This gave birth to the Ogoni Cleanup, launched by the Nigerian government in 2016. HYPREP, which operates under the Federal Ministry of Environment, has the mandate to “remediate hydrocarbon impacted communities and restore livelihoods in Ogoniland,” based on the 2011 UNEP report on Ogoni Environmental Assessment. HYREP was established in 2012 and commenced operations in Ogoniland in 2016.
My participation in a tour of remediation projects addressing the negative impact of oil operations in Ogoniland was an eye-opening experience. The tour, organised by Media Voices for Accountability (MVA), involved seasoned journalists and supported a narrative change. Headed by Dr Dakuku Peterside, MVA works to “promote transparency, accountability and dialogue in public affairs.” There was strong evidence of HYPREP’s focused improvement of impacted communities as well as its commitment to sustainable development in the targeted areas.
The beauty of HYPREP is its value additions beyond UNEP’S recommendations. For instance, we visited the Kporghor/Gio and Barako water schemes, which boast modern water treatment facilities that provide potable water to communities. We also visited the 100-bed Ogoni specialist hospital and the 40-bed Buan cottage hospital, which are nearing completion.
The high point of the tour was the visit to the grand and ambitious Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), which is in the last phase of completion. It stands on 28 hectares of land. Designed as an international research centre for environmental issues, it is a statement on continuity of environmental intervention. It is created “to promote learning and benefit other communities impacted by oil contamination in the Niger Delta and elsewhere in the world.”
These project sites, seen on the first day of the tour, on March 10, provided valuable insights into HYPREP’s impressive and commendable efforts.
On the second day of the tour, an adventure-filled boat ride to see the results of the mangrove restoration project earned HYPREP more praise. At the Bomu site, in Gokana Local Government Area, it was a delight to see “juvenile mangroves” growing in restored areas. This was an instance of success. The cleanup objective at this site, which is to allow the reintroduction of mangrove, had been achieved. In a symbolic demonstration of support for the cause, the group of visiting journalists participated in a mangrove planting session.
The stench of contamination was unmistakable at the Kpor site, one of the 34 shoreline remediation sites across five communities in Gokana. Evidence of the devastating effect of oil spillage and leakage could be seen at the shoreline at Goi. The water was unrecognisable. Vegetation had disappeared. Biodiversity was destroyed. Remediation workers struggled to clean up impacted areas, working with machines, shovels and water hoses. It was a dark picture.
Soil and groundwater treatment schemes at Ajeokpori, Ogale, Eleme Local Government Area, told a similar story of contamination resulting from oil operations in Ogoniland. Mountains of excavated soil and vast pits punctuated the site. The removal of contaminants and restoration of the soil is to ensure revegetation. This had been achieved at the Obolo Ebubu site, among others. The visiting journalists saw evidence of soil remediation at this site.
The UNEP report recommended a $1billion Environmental Restoration Fund for Ogoniland or Ogoni Restoration Fund (ORF) to be co-funded by the Federal Government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd and the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Ltd Joint Venture. The initial capital injection is to cover the first five years of the clean-up project. According to the report, contaminated land areas in Ogoniland can be cleaned up within five years, while the restoration of heavily-impacted mangrove stands and swamplands will take up to 30 years.
HYPREP should be backed to sustain the ongoing remediation efforts. The tour showed that the organisation is living up to its responsibility and is on course regarding its mission in Ogoniland: ‘Remediating the environment and restoring livelihood.’
HYPREP Project Coordinator Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey described the project as “the first of its kind in this part of the world,” adding that it is “work in progress.” During his interaction with the visitors at the organisation’s corporate office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, he observed that “When the public is not properly informed, they will be misinformed and misled.” That was the essence of the tour.
