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Tag: ogoni

  • MOSOP to Fed Govt, Shell: cease talks on resuming oil production in Ogoni

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has given the Federal Government and the Anglo/Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), a seven-day ultimatum to cease engagements on resuming oil production in Ogoni.

    It vowed to resist the divide-and-rule tactics of SPDC and the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the oil production arm of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    MOSOP, through its President, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, yesterday at a news conference at its secretariat, off Ken Saro-Wiwa (formerly Stadium) Road, Port Harcourt, declared that their actions could ignite  conflict and violence that would skirt the forceful attempt to return to in Ogoniland’s four local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    Shell was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993. A renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight activists were hanged at Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    Shell’s spokesman Joe Ollor Obari said: “SPDC stopped oil production in Ogoni in1993 and has no plan to return to oil production there.”

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people said: “In the course of the Ogoni struggle, over 2,000 were killed by the invading military, 14 Ogoni communities were decimated and destroyed, and many Ogoni people fled into exile. Ogoni refugees are still held up in Benin Republic and seek sanctuaries in other parts of the world.

    “In recent months, there had been intense and deliberate attempts by the oil industry to return to Ogoni oilfields through the back door.”

     

     

  • Ogoni clean-up…the fears, the facts

    Ogoni clean-up…the fears, the facts

    The state of the Ogoni clean-up has raised posers. PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA, who has toured the oil spill sites in the four local government areas in Ogoni with the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme (HYPREP) Team, provides the answer.

    In 2011, the Federal Government constituted a committee to study the spill in Ogoni land  and the report of the committee known as the UNEP report has given birth to a fresh hope for the people. It has also come with fears.

    The Project Coordinator, Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme (HYPREP),   Mr. Marvin Dekil,  an Ogoni son, said  to kick- start the process  of the cleanup, a Board of Trustee, Governing Council  and the office of the Project Coordinator was constituted for easy implementation.

    The Acting President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo had last year inaugurated committees that would facilitate the implementation. But till date the people of Ogoni are worried over the continuous delay in the implementation. The truth is that many Ogoni indigenes are looking at Ogoni cleanup  with the view that it will lead to distribution of cash, compensation and settlement of land owners. Unfortunately,   the money is tied to training and empowerment.

    Dekil said the exercise has different phases.

    He explained: “Yes, we have started, but   since the cleanup project is on stages it is not everybody that would understand that something is going on at this stage.  But we have done a lot, that was why we decided to visit your community to brief you of what we intent to do in your community.

    “The project is being backed by the Federal Government to clean all the affected Ogoni communities, but this is Ogoni project.  We need to reach out to the communities. We need to inform you that Federal Government is ready to clean up Ogoni. We are about to commence work. We are visiting the entire sites. Some companies have already moved in to the spill sites testing their equipment and expertise. But, we have not awarded them the job; anything they do now is from their own money. We will be carrying out training for women, youths and those with requisite knowledge in specialized areas that would help the cleanup process.

    “No oil spill site will be left unattended and we will respect your community and cultural boundaries. We are here to do a thorough job for Ogoni people. We will bring people who will examine the drinking water you have here because we will bring good drinking water. We will bring people who will visit all the sites.  The provision of water and health impart assessment are important to us. We will bring experts all over the world including Rivers State Ministry of Health to know the health impact of the people and provide treatment were needed.”

    During the visit to some communities in the four local government areas of Ogoni land, including a courtesy  visit to the palace of their monarchs,  the project coordinator insisted  on open meeting where the youths, women, elders and chiefs would have equal opportunity to speak and ask questions.

    Some of the questions are: how many years would this clean up last? What will be their benefits, is the cleanup going to stop us from fishing , if you train and  provide job for the youths what about our women and elderly people. Since you are going to bring some companies to work in our community can you considered us to do some of the jobs under the local content policy. When are you starting, the water you said you are going to provide is it going to be centralize or to install in each of the community.

    The coordinator said: “The water is in two phase for remediation process we are going fix all the already existing water facilities in the affected communities and in the long measure we are going to install water tanks in the communities.  On whether we are going to carry you along, the project is Ogoni project definitely we are going to train some youths including empowering the women. As I speak some Ogoni youths who have degree in the related field are already working with us. We are going to train more youths even those who have no degree.  In addressing the water needs, we will do something that will provide quick water for the people before the permanent water treatment plant will be installed. We want to beg your support so that we can be sure that the water facility you already have before can be maintained. We are to train 1,200 women from the four Local governments everybody is going to benefit.”

    When HYPREP team visited the chairman of Ogoni Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Chief Godwin N.K Gininwa, the Gbenemene of Tai Kingdom, the people came out enmasse to welcome their visitors.

    For them the federal government should first of all fix the bad roads linking the area, which, they said, has become a nightmare for the people.  They promised to give necessary support to HYPREP project coordinator.  They also made it clear that the cleanup should reduce crime in the area through provision of job for the jobless youths.

    While commending the Federal Government for fulfilling their promises to Ogoni people, Chief Gininwa also thanked God that money was not paid to be shared among the communities but tied around the project, adding that this could have resulted into bloody communal clashes and family problem.

    A visit to the  tensed   Kpor community in Gokana local government of Rivers State showed that the crisis rocking  chieftaincy stool in the community may be a setback for the companies  testing their equipment at the oil spill sites because both the youths and the elders are divided. Our investigation revealed that the cleanup can only be successful when there is peaceful co-existence among the communities in the area.  Of course, HYPREP has done one of the crucial aspects of going round the communities in the four local government areas to sensitise the communities to understand the important of the project and give their approval, especially the youths of the area.

    During an Ogoni stakeholders meeting, which took place at the HYPREP office in Port Harcourt, Ogoni leaders–   made up of traditional rulers, politicians, businessmen and community heads– demanded to know the challenges facing the project coordinator’s office which they believed is affecting the speedy implementation of projects in the oil spill  affected communities.

    They expressed dissatisfaction over inability of the stakeholders, including IOC to contribute their quota of the $1billion clean up in Ogoni land, adding that it was not enough to present an Ogoni man at the front as the project coordinator.  They said every necessary thing required at the office of the project coordinator should be provided.

    The Ogoni leaders  insisted that the project coordinator must always open up and feed them with information  to enable them pressurise the government, board of directors and others to fast tract the project.

    Mr. Barinua Wifa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who chaired the meeting, said the essence of the meeting was to listen to the overview of the cleanup from the project coordinator and know what role to play as Ogoni leaders. He said it is legitimate for people to show concern about the issue affecting the people and its environment but it is totally wrong to play politics with issues that are affecting the people.

    He called on the Federal Government to be sincere and provide adequate fund for the project implementation in Ogoni land, stressing that, Ogoni leaders cannot allow anybody, be it Federal or state to play politics with Ogoni project.

    Another Ogoni son at the stakeholders meeting was Hon Dike Matthew, member Representing Tai Constituency in Rivers State House of Assembly.   He called on HYPREP to take urgent step in providing water to the affected communities.

    Hon. Matthew said: “The UNEP report stated clearly that the drinking waters in the area are not safe for consumption. So why are they still telling us that they are going to provide water when water are yet to be provided to this affected people. If UNEP report said water source has been contaminated and that drinking the water in those areas is poisonous, yet the people are still drinking the same water, something need to be done urgently to protect the lives of the people.”

    The Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallou   and United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Stuart Syminton,  visited Ogoni and interacted with the people and HYPREP team.

    Kallou stated that the remediation process involved technical approaches that needed a lot of time to achieve a result. He urged the people of the area to give the Federal Government a chance to be able to deliver a better result.

    Kallou said: “I am here today on a familiarization visit on Ogoniland. I am here to have a better understanding on the impact of the oil spill and the progress that has been made in the implementation of the UNEP assessment of the devastation in the area. There are two conclusions I want to draw in my visit. This is a very technical investment; it is not a rural type of investment where you are going to see houses built within a short period of time. My appeal is patience, to ensure that the required technical needs are met and to ensure that at the end of the cleanup it is properly done.”

    For Mr. Stuart Syminton, United State Ambassador to Nigeria said his visit to Ogoni was to get information about the cleanup. He commended the idea by HYPREP to think of providing water and building of health facilities to the communities in Ogoni area, adding that the project should target on the people by ensuring that everyone is happy at the end of the day.

    He noted that United States would partner with government and those handling the programme to achieve a good result for the people of Ogoni and the people of Niger Delta.

    Syminton said: “We are here to access the progress in Ogoni land, we are happy to hear that work has started, we are also glad that they are thinking on how to provide clean water for the communities including the provision of health facilities. This is part of the remediation; it is not about starting this project, it is about the people, the community and to ensure that everybody is involved.

    “The United States is interested in the area of provision of health care facilities and we are going to look at areas to partner with you, but we are happy that something is going on in Ogoni land.  We would like to know how the fund is being release to you, what is the structure of the decision making body of this programme. Are the people affected full represented, who are these people, is the private sector and local community part of the structure. I will advise that you source your manpower locally.”

  • MOSOP: why Ogoni’ ll not allow resumption of oil production

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has declared that the people of Khana,  Gokana, Tai and Eleme will not allow resumption of oil production in their areas without broad-based discussion with the masses.

    It called on the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to stop attempts to re-enter Ogoniland, through the back door.

    A communiqué  yesterday by the MOSOP President, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara issued at the end of the Ogoni special congress at the Peace and Freedom Centre, Bori-Ogoni, MOSOP said: “To consolidate and stabilise the peace in the area (Ogoni), the Rivers State government is called upon to initiate, as soon as possible, a process for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the repentant cultists.

    “Congress calls on the Rivers State and Federal Governments to increase security facilities in the area (Ogoni), including personnel and equipment for intelligence gathering and immediate response to crimes.

    “Congress charges all sons and daughters of Ogoni, particularly traditional rulers, politicians and the youths, to work assiduously and collaboratively with security agencies to stamp out criminal gangs from our (Ogoni) communities.”

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people expressed its appreciation to Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike for extending the amnesty programme to repentant cultists in Ogoni.

    It lauded the roles played by different individuals, organisations, churches and the immediate chairmen of the four Ogoni LGAs in restoring peace in the troubled land.

    MOSOP said: “Congress urges HYPREP (Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project) to make public its work programme, to enable people of Ogoni communities and other stakeholders to follow up on the implementation of the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) report.

    “Congress calls on HYPREP to immediately embark on the implementation of emergency measures, particularly as they relate to provision of water, health evaluation of Ogoni people and the training of the youths and women.”

     

  • Clean-up delay: UN begs Ogoni to be patient

    Clean-up delay: UN begs Ogoni to be patient

    Six years after the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland, the United Nations has appealed to the people to exercise patience with the Federal Government over the delay in the commencement of the implementation process.

    The team of UN made the plea yesterday at a contaminated site in Kwawa community, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during a familiarisation visit.

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo last year inaugurated committees that would facilitate the implementation.

    The Resident Coordinator United Nations in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallou, who led the team, stated that the remediation process involved technical approaches that needed a lot of time to be achieved appropriately.

    Kallou, who disclosed that it was his first visit to Niger Delta, noted that he was in the area to have firsthand information on the devastation and the level of work done.

    He noted that work was on going in the implementation process and urged the people of the area to the give the Federal Government a chance to be able to deliver a better result.

    Kallou said: “I am here today on a familiarsation visit on Ogoniland. I am here to have a better understanding on the impact of the oil spill and the progress that has been made in the implementation of the UNEP assessment of the devastation in the area.”

    “There are two conclusions I want to draw in my visit. This is a very technical investment; it is not a rural type of investment where you are going to see houses built within a short period of time. My appeal is patience, to ensure that the required technical needs are met and to ensure that at the end of the cleanup it is properly done.”

    “The beneficiary communities or the affected areas are looking up to what are the critical outputs of this investment, but the project is on. It needs to be given time to ensure that the technical aspect of the work is done properly.

    “We need time to allow the experts on the ground to do the critical analysis that are required before an investment is done. My advice to the project coordinator to look at a diversified approach with a rural development focus within the project itself that can be delivered in a short term.”

    The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, the body in charge of the remediation process, said it had commenced fully the training of graduates who would work to achieve the project.

    The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Dr. Malvin Dekil, said over 12 people from different environmental related courses were been trained in different skills of remediation.

    He noted that there would be reassessment of impacted sites during the implementation proper as to capture the level of impact on the ground before a remediation plan is sketch for the area.

    He said: “We will take every site and capture the current contamination profile before we design a remediation plan for that area. We a will address that technically.”

     

    Wike appeals for urgent action

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has called on the leadership of the United Nations (UN) to prevail on the Federal Government to implement the clean-up of Ogoni-land, which was flagged off last year.

      Speaking at the Government House, Port Harcourt yeesterday when he granted audience to the United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, the governor regretted that nothing has so far been done on the Ogoni clean-up.

      He said large scale environmental pollution in different parts of the state leads to environmental degradation, which negatively affects the sources of livelihood of the people.

      He said the clean-up of Ogoni land should not be politicised, as it dwells directly on the development of the area.

      The governor said: “Yesterday in the Senate, somebody said that the Federal Government has not done anything as far as Ogoni clean up is concerned. When we were saying it, they said we were playing politics.  But now, it has dawned on them that nothing is being done.  So, we urge you to intervene.

      “Part of the problem we are having today is because of the lack of attention by the Federal Government when it has to do with Rivers State.  We will provide you with Helicopter to see what we are talking about.  Don’t only read it on papers. You will really pity us. “

      Speaking further, Governor Wike said: “The Federal Government has taken our oil and our environment has been degraded.  Nothing seems to be done.

      “We urge you on your own part as the United Nations to impress on the Federal Government that this clean up is very serious.  Let it not be a political issue. We should not play politics with the lives of the people.”

  • Ogoni communities discuss clean-up of ravaged environment

    Ogoni communities is discussing  how to clean their farmland, rivers and other natural habitats after the Federal Government initiated plans to fast-track the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) report on the restoration of land polluted by oil in the Niger Delta region.

    The government amended the official gazette, which established the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project, among other decisions that would pave way for the restoration of the Ogoniland and other oil polluted areas in Niger Delta region in 2017. But Ogoniland is still affected by oil pollution, as cleaning exercise is yet to take place.

    The Bodo Council of Chiefs’ Chairman, Mene Slyvester Kogbara, said discussions were ongoing to ensure that oil-ravaged areas were cleaned. Bodo communities have 16,000 people who are located in Kogana Local Government Area of Rivers State, he added.

    In an interview with The Nation, Kogbara said the affected communities have been holding meetings with companies contacted to do the job by the oil firms. He said: “The communities through their chiefs have been holding meetings with the firms that are contracted by oil companies to clean the land. A meeting between the communities and the firms that are going to clean the land was billed to take place last Friday but it did not hold. The representatives of the oil cleaning firms were not available due to some reasons. We are almost arriving at a period, when the land and the rivers would be purged of oil pollution.”

    He attributed the absence of oil cleaning firms at the meeting to communication gap, adding that the problem would be resolve soon. He said residents of the oil-polluted communities are upbeat that their areas would be cleaned coupled with the fact that their conditions would be normalised soon.

    According to him, socio-economic activities have been paralysed due to delay in cleaning the areas.  “Despite efforts made by the Federal Government to ensure the wellbeing of people in the oil producing areas of the Niger Delta, the residents are living in abject poverty. The 12,000 acres of farmland in Ogoniland has been destroyed by oil. Also, oil spills have destroyed the rivers in Ogoniland.

    “Farming and fishing are the traditional sources of livelihood in Ogoniland but due to oil-pollution, the residents have not been able to earn a living. They are primarily farmers and fishermen implying that they do not have any other means of livelihood. That is why they (residents) are at the mercy of oil firms that produce and explore oil in the areas. Until Ogoniland is cleaned, no meaningful progress can be achieved in the area,” he added.

    He commended the Federal Government for putting in place measures to restore peace in Niger Delta region, stressing that the development would speed up activities in the region.

    He said the processes of reclaiming the land and other natural habitats from oil pollution were long, adding that residents of the affected communities would enjoy in the long run. He urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the value chain to work together to develop Niger Delta region and the oil and gas industry, stressing that this is the only way by which the potentials of the industry can be harnessed to improve the economy.

  • Ogoni clean-up too slow, says MOSOP

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has expressed concern over the clean-up  of Ogoniland, saying “it is too slow.”

    ‘’We are very uncomfortable with this slow pace because the environmental pollution in the area is not lessening instead it is deepening and the more it is delayed the more it spreads and deepens, it said.

    Its spokesman, Bariara Kpalap told The Nation on telephone that the slow pace was not helping the situation, adding that people are still dying in large numbers from environmental pollution.

    The people who are mainly farmers and fishermen, he said, could no longer fish or farm because the rivers were destroyed by oil spills.

    “People are dying as a result of the pollution, our fishermen can no longer fish, the contamination of the waters have killed the fishes, so nothing has happened,’’ he said.

    According to him, the problem has not abated because nothing has been done to address the environmental pollution in Ogoni, adding that the environment still remains polluted.

    “We want this issue of pollution in Ogoni land to be resolved and we do not see how continued delay will help and that is why we are insisting that this whole thing should assume a level of response through implementation.

    “In a situation where it takes about six months for a fast-track action to be announced, it takes another six months or more for the Governing Council and the Board of Trustees to be announced and inaugurated, it takes another six months or more for ground breaking to be done, it takes another six months or more for kick off and just like that, the impact is not being felt.

    ‘’We want something that will be more pragmatic than it is now.’’

    According to him, because of this delay, people are beginning to lose confidence in the exercise, adding that they to feel that the whole thing is a trick.

    He urged the government to be committed to the clean-up, adding that the exercise must be active. ‘’I must confess that the pace is extremely slow, though the process is on because the project manager has just been appointed and he only assumed duties on the  March 1, I think that on assumption of duties, he will now have to organise the secretariat, get things in shape and begin to draw up action plan, a framework for the process, all these things will require time to develop and design after which the exact plan will now be sent to the governing council for approval before any meaningful implementation can take place.

  • Army denies molestation of women in Ogoni

    Army denies molestation of women in Ogoni

    The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has denied molesting women or other people in Ogoniland’s four local government areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme. It declared that some cultists and other criminal elements in Ogoniland were crying wolf where there was none.
    The Division, through its Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, stated this yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
    It said: “The attention of 6 Division, Nigerian Army has been drawn to a malicious publication in some online media on the purported molestation of some women in Ogoniland by some recently-deployed soldiers.
    The Division wishes to assure the good and peace-loving people of Ogoniland, Rivers indigenes and Nigerians at large that the publication is totally false, mischievous and is at best a failed and unsubstantiated attempt by some cultists and other criminal elements in Ogoniland at crying wolf where there is actually none.”

  • UNEP Report: Ogoni banks on peace for progress

    The feeling of Ogoni stakeholders at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Integrated Soil Management Centre was that there must be a mutual peace among the leaders, youths and communities before any meaningful development could take place in the area.

    The historical event, which took place at  Kwawa community and School-to-land  Bori, in Khana Local government of Rivers State,  was performed by Minister of Environment Mrs  Amina Mohammed, as  part of the implementation of United Nation Environment Programme  (UNEP) in Ogoni land.

    From one speaker to another it was all about how to make the youths give the Federal Government a chance for a successful implementation and how the stakeholders would work in synergy for the common good of the project.

    The Chairman, Ogoni Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, King G.N.K. Giniwa, Gbenemene of Tai Kingdom, said there must be peace first before any progress could take place in Ogoni land.

    He said: “Today is another day in the history of Ogoni land. I want to specifically appeal to Ogoni people in Ogoni land to give peace a chance. We need peace; we must work together in harmony to achieve progress.  Let the Federal government ensure that this dream come true. I’m the father of the Ogoni land, I know my people, if you give them something good, they will appreciate it. This project must be taken with two hands and in doing that there must be peace. “

    The President, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Comrade Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, who called for a minute silence for those who died in Ogoni struggle, also called for peace in the area.  He said Ogoni people must be grateful that the Federal Government decided to make them happy.

    He called on Ogoni people to work hard for the interest of peace and ensure that the project was successful.

    “First, we must be grateful, the Minister of environment, Mrs  Amina Mohammed, has done a great job in taking us this far. But we need to ensure peace; I want to challenge all Ogoni people that we must make sure this project did not fall. This is our project; its success would depend on the ability for mutual relationship, love and harmony among the communities, stakeholders and the youths of Ogoni land.”

    Secretary to the Rivers State government (SSG) Chief Kenneth Kobani, a son of the soil, who represented Governor Nyesom Wike, said despite the short notice to the governor, he was determined to see the success of the project and decided to donate the land to build the centre.

    The SSG said Ogoni people should count themselves lucky to be the first to receive Federal Government support on this project when Ogoni was not the first place where oil was discovered in the Niger Delta.

    “ I want to appeal to my people, they should know that managing the expectations of the people  is a problem of its own. And there is no way a project of this magnitude can be made over night, of course, UNEP report stated that it would take 20 to 30 years to succeed in what we are starting here today. I believe this exercise was long coming; if you recalled oil was not first discovered in Ogoni land but in Olubiri in Bayelsa. So, we are indeed lucky and privileged people for receiving this amount of attention from the Federal Government. I will therefore appeal like other speakers in this event that the time for peace and development is now.”

    The National Coordinator, Ogoni Solidarity Forum (OSF), Celestine AkpoBari, said the people of Ogoni were excited about the clean-up.

    “We are excited because some people have already said the clean-up will not take place, what the minister is doing here today is a testimony that  something is taking place here in Ogoni and for them to come and lay a foundation stone  shows  that something is happening and they are ready to go.  The delay in the implementation is not deliberate, there are structures being put in place. The minister is now the Deputy Secretary of the United Nation and she needs to put things in place before leaving. The only encouragement she needs from Ogoni people now is for us to maintain peace for the progress of this project.”

    Hajia Mohammed, who was accompanied by the  Minister of State for Environment and other top senior officers of the ministry, said President Muhammadu Buhari was interested in the development of the Niger Delta.

    She  said the Ogoni clean-up was part of President Buhari’s campaign promises to Ogoni people, adding that the project was not for sharing of  money but investing money for the development of the area. The minister noted that the government would begin the clean-up with the training of 1,200 Ogoni women.

    Mrs. Mohammed:  “Calling for peace, to me, this is the greatest support you have given me and I will continue to look behind to cherish it. The development of Ogoni land is the priority of this administration started by President Buhari as one of his campaign promises. This is the recognition of the fight and struggle of injustice of Ogoni People. The issue of clean-up is not only for Ogoni people but for the rest of Niger Delta where oil exploration has impacted negatively to their environment.  I know, you will be asking after now, what next? What we want to do is to start something that in the next five years, people will attest the government effort.  In the next 20 years, we will restore Ogoni land to where it was years ago.

    “From the community leaders, youths, women, oil companies, civil society groups everybody must play his or her part to ensure that we succeed. The clean-up in Ogoni land is not just for a particular section of people it is a collective responsibility. We also have the board of trustees. I want to recognise you.  I’m glad that   Ogoni man is your project manager; after today, he will not know rest until he finishes the cleaning. We want the sons and daughters of Ogoni land to benefit from this project; everybody will be carried along. Those of you that cannot do it will be trained to be part of it.  So, we are not leaving you behind; even if you don’t have the ability, you will learn on the job. What this means is that we are trying to find peace, unity and progress of the Niger Delta. There are many people who have benefited from the injustice and misery in Ogoni land and we will not allow them to do that again.

    “This project is a collective effort; we must ensure that we succeed; we are not here to be sharing money but to invest money.  After the clean-up, we are to provide jobs to you. That is the reason we want to keep this place clean. President Buhari has talked about the diversification, but the way we are polluting the environment here, there is no diversification for Niger Delta. There would be no diversification of the economy of Niger Delta if we continue to pollute the environment.  We are pleading, let today be a new era in the Niger Delta. We must stay clean after the clean-up. We are also going to begin this project by training our youths. Let me say that the most important thing for us is our women because they carry the burden of what was happening in all these days.  Today, we are going to start with 1,200 Ogoni women in this project.  Please what we need is for people to come and tell us how we can clean and how to sustain the cleaning.”

     

  • Group commends FG’s training scheme for Ogoni women

    The Federated Ogoni Women Association (FOWA), has commended the Federal Government for approving a special training and empowerment scheme for 1,200 Ogoni women in Rivers.

    The Secretary of FOWA, Mrs Charity Nwido, made this known on Monday in Port Harcourt, said the scheme would assist women who were impacted negatively by pollution.

    Nwido noted that the training, an aspect of the Federal Government’s Ogoni clean-up programme, was aimed at providing alternative livelihood for the female peasant farmers.

    She said that the training programme would assist women in the area who she said suffered more than 60 per cent of the impact of the environmental degradation in Ogoni land.

    “Ogoni women bear over 6o per cent of this environmental pollution because they form the bulk of the farming population of the area.

    Nwido said because of the environmental degradation, women in Ogoni land recorded poor harvest and diminished income.

    She said: “women development is essential to a successful clean-up as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

    “I believe that this training programme will provide opportunities for the Ogoni women to engage in other means of livelihood, pending when the soil will have been restored for normal agricultural activities.’’

    She appealed to the Federal Government to establish a cottage hospital in the area that would effectively take care of the health challenges of the people, especially women and children.

  • Ogoni clean up: MOSOP seeks quick replacement for minister

    Ogoni clean up: MOSOP seeks quick replacement for minister

    The President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, did not mince words while describing the competence of the outgoing Minister of Environment, Hajia Amina Mohammed, during a media roundtable organised by the umbrella organisation of Ogoni people on December 22.

    The roundtable on the implementation of the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental assessment of Ogoni land took place at the MOSOP Secretariat, Off Ken Saro-Wiwa (formerly Stadium) Road in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015, appointed Mohammed as the environment minister. Mohammed, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the reformed Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), was on December 15, appointed as the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

    The environment minister, immediately after her appointment by President Buhari, took special interest in the Ogoni clean-up and the implementation of the recommendations contained in the UNEP report.

    The UNEP’s team of environmentalists made 76 recommendations. 50 of the recommendations are for the government, 22 for the Anglo/Dutch oil giant, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and four are for Ogoni communities.

    UNEP’s recommendations are divided into two parts. The first set of recommendations, once implemented, will have an immediate positive impact on Ogoni land, while the second set of recommendations has longer timelines and which when implemented, will be a path to sustainability that will bring lasting improvements for Ogoni land and Nigeria as a whole.

    MOSOP president said at the media roundtable: “Mrs. Amina Mohammed was not working alone on Ogoni clean-up. She was working with a team, including the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril. Definitely, we (Ogoni people) are going to miss Mrs. Mohammed. We are going to miss her passion, commitment, dedication to duties and hard work.

    “We are pleading with President Buhari to either elevate the equally-competent minister of state for environment or appoint a committed substantive minister of environment, in order to fast-track the Ogoni clean-up.

    “The Ogoni clean-up process has begun, but the actual clean-up has not started. The clean-up is to be done in an environment where there is nothing (no structure). You cannot compare the intervention in Ogoni land with the intervention in the Gulf of Mexico, already with Environmental Protection Agency for over four decades in the United States of America and it is one of the most highly-respected environmental protection agencies in the world.

    “The USA has already-established institutions that can respond immediately to such situations. The situation in Ogoni land is not like that of USA and that is why UNEP made recommendations about institutions’ building and having adequate structures on the ground, which are being addressed. Before the end of January 2017, there will be a Project Manager, who will be in charge of the day-to-day affairs of HYPREP. Applications were received from within and outside Nigeria.”

    Pyagbara also stated that the high level of youths’ unemployment in Ogoni land must be holistically addressed, stressing that if urgent measures were not taken to absorb the teeming young population that were graduating without jobs into gainful and meaningful employment, people would be looking for alternatives like illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism to survive, while urging government at all levels and the private sector to rise to the occasion.

    He noted that there would be no way to address youth restiveness or criminality, without tackling unemployment.

    MOSOP president, who is also one of the representatives of Ogoni stakeholders on the Governing Council of the reformed HYPREP, also stated that for Ogoni clean-up to be successful, there must be peace in the area, stressing that without peace, there would never be the much-desired sustainable development and that nothing noteworthy would be achieved in the area.

    Pyagbara also stated that the UNEP report came as a result of the collective struggle of Ogoni people, who non-violently challenged environmental degradation that was taking place in Ogoni land, because of pollution from crude oil and gas.

    MOSOP president noted that the struggle led to the launch of the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) in 1990, especially for greater part of Ogoni’s resources to be for Ogoni development; adequate and direct representation, as of right and the rights of Ogoni people to a clean environment, among others.

    While also speaking at the roundtable, one of the representatives of Ogoni stakeholders on the Governing Council of the reformed HYPREP, Dr. Batam Ndegwe, admonished all Ogoni people and other stakeholders to fully support the clean-up of Ogoni land and the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the UNEP report.

    MOSOP president states that: “As a response to the continuing destruction of the Ogoni environment, unparalleled military repression and horrendous human rights abuses in Ogoni land, that attended the prosecution of the non-violent struggle of the Ogoni people, the United Nations responded by creating the position of the Special Rapporteur on Nigeria in 1997 and appointed Mr. Soli Sorabjee to the position.

    ”In his report to the 48th Session of the then United Nations Commission on Human Rights in March 1998, the Special Rapporteur recommended that the Nigerian government should undertake an independent environmental study of Ogoni land.

    ”This was the setting that led to the invitation extended to UNEP in July 2006, within the context of the Ogoni-Shell Reconciliation Process, to carry out the environmental assessment of Ogoni land.

    ”The UNEP released its report on August 4, 2011. As a response, in July 2012, the Federal Government set up HYPREP.”

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2005, appointed Rev. Fr. Matthew Hassan Kukah (now Bishop) as the mediator between the Ogoni people and SPDC.

    As part of the reconciliation process, an impartial, international agency was to be appointed to undertake an environmental assessment and supervise the clean-up of the areas damaged by the effects of oil operations in Ogoni land.

    Buhari, on August 5, last year, approved many actions to fast-track the implementation of the  UNEP report on Ogoni land.