The federal government has announced its readiness to commence the much awaited clean up of Ogoni Communities degraded by many years of incessant oil spillages. Olugbenga Adanikin examines the mood of the people and leaders of the affected communities .
THE oil spill in my community in Gokana local government has cost me my health, entire livelihood and forced a compulsory separation from my four years old Denis. It is so sad that I could not provide for his needs such as common clean water, because it is no longer common to us here in Ogini land’.
This was the agonizing testimony of 32-year old Vincent Mbora, a popular farmer, who survived and fed his family with proceeds from his farm until Goi, his community, became degraded due to oil spillage from the controversial Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Another indigene of the degraded community, a mother of four, whose late husband was a victim of the spill, similarly shared her predicament on how the situation forced her children into street begging in neighbouring communities in order for the family to survive the perilous times.
As the federal government commences the clean up of the numerous communities that fell under the harrowing impact of degrading oil spillage, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), is lamenting the health hazards which the oil spillage had caused the communities.
A visit to various locations in Goi and Patrick Creek showed completely polluted river, having oil on its surface. Obviously, there are no surviving water creatures living underneath. The mangrove swampy area, that would have served multi-purpose needs is also totally destroyed by thick black crude oil. Visible erstwhile farmlands in the environment, with traces of yam, cassava and maize tendrils, are now soaked with oil.
As a result, for over a decade, the people of Ogoniland endured harsh living conditions borne out of the need to survive. Even a first time visit to the community may need not be told of the hopeless level of the poverty afflicting the people courtesy of the many years of unabated oil spillage that left several communities in sorry states.
Couples with the alarming governmental abandonment that is visible in the lack of basic social infrastructure such as power, potable water and good road network, the effect of oil degradation has in no doubt, left the Creek communities of Ogoniland in a state of socio-economic powerlessness.
It was gathered that the only source of drinking water has since been contaminated with carcinogenic benzene, a chemical said to be 900 time higher than the acceptable World Health Organisation (WHO) standard. The lingering negative environmental impact on these communities attracted global outcry such that stakeholders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), kept advocating for a quick remedy process to salvage the situation.
Many years of struggle
The journey to remediation commenced in 1996 when the Federal Government decided to take the bull by the horn. Chief Alex Akinyele, who was Chairman National Reconciliation facilitated a sub- committee known as the Ogoni Negotiation Committee to look into the several issues raised at the commission by Ogoni people.
After the inauguration with prominent Ogoni indigenes as members, the committee attracted attention to the communities in many ways but such was never adequate as the land remained devastated and the people redundant. Not much was heard of the committee after the Akinyele committee winded up.
After several efforts between 2005 to 2009, it became evident that the affected communities needed to be sanitised and the people, gainfully engaged, if an epidemic of unimaginable proportion was to be averted. To this end, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was commissioned by the Federal Government to do comprehensive assessment of the spillage induced environmental destruction of Ogoni communities.
UNEP’s report was presented to former President, Goodluck Jonathan in August 2011. Unfortunately, the administration could not implement the elaborate report, which appeared satisfactory to the Ogonis, because of its perceived inclusiveness. There were various agitations and protest for its quick implementation.
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Environmental Rights Actions (ERA)/Friends of the Earth held several
protests, wrote petitions and press briefings to advocate for the implementation.
However, some had attributed incompetence and lack of required know how to the delay in implementation. Eventually, on 16th July, 2012 the immediate past government set up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to design the implementation frameworks.
At this stage, it was decided that the Federal Ministry of Environment should spearhead the entire remedial process as against Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources initially assigned with the responsibility. But until 2014, nothing really serious was achieved.
Now the clean up begins
President Muhammadu Buhari had, on resumption of office, promised to restore their livelihoods and end the sufferings of the affected communities by cleaning the oil devastated communities. And, as against continuous procrastinations, the federal ministry of environment has now completed plans to commence real clean up exercise of the Ogoni oil spill.
It is no more news that the clean-up exercise is long overdue considering the disastrous effect on livelihood of Ogoni inhabitants. After about five years since the submission of the UNEP report, the ministry finally disclosed plans to embark on the clean-up before end of the second quarter.
But the seemly resilient people were already losing hope. After about five different consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders and numerous visits to the affected communities including polluted sites, the Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, recently told the communities that the clean up would commence in “few weeks.”
During the last stakeholders meeting held with representatives of the affected communities in PortHarcourt, the Minister sought the cooperation of the communities. It is expected that the clean-up which would take about 25 years to be completed, would eventually restore the livelihood of the people.
But beyond that, Mohammed said it was important to also consider life after the clean up. Meanwhile, the affected community wanted a situation where they would be fully considered in the entire process of the UNEP report implementation. But the Minister was quick to inform the audience that the clean-up was not about money-sharing but a deliberate effort to bring respite to the people.
She emphasised it was no political affair, thus need for all stakeholders especially from the state government to actively partake in the cleanup process especially in terms of security. Mohammed said, “Security is very important to the clean-up process of Ogoni Land and roles of the State government is so vital.
They will participate actively when and how. We need to sensitise the people better also so they will know what we want to do. It is not about sharing money. It is about investing in the future of the people of Ogoni Land. In the next few weeks, we will begin to roll out the time line.”
The demands
The meeting which was attended by this reporter was a replica of a town hall gathering, where affected communities were offered the opportunities to give inputs before the final remediation commences. The Minister personally anchored the discussion that featured questions and answers.
During the meeting, the participants sought for equal representations as well as full inclusion. President, National Union of Ogoni Students, Barizasi Dume, demanded for youth empowerment as a core post clean-up agenda. Women folks on their part sought for capacity building for women before, during and after the exercise.
President, Federation of Ogoni Women Association (FOWA), Gladys Nwanam, emphasised that when women are empowered, it would have multiple effects on the entire family. Ogoni Women leader, Mrs. Veronica Goi reiterated the need for women development, stressing that women were always at the receiving end when issues of empowerment are discussed.
So, she advised the Minister to first focus on the primary affected communities before extending to other communities in the Niger Delta region. “Let us train these women, not to go to Geneva. No. So when the UNEP report is being implemented, they will know the area they can fit in.
Don’t train the youths alone because without the women, the youths cannot function effectively. So train both youths and women. So, by the time you want to commence cleanup, you can do it in a conducive environment.”
Consultants who were also present at the stakeholders meeting were quick to pull the Minister’s attention to the fact that the indigenes best understand the terrain and should be given an opportunity to consult for the ministry.
Lamentations
The Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Roseline Konya described the UNEP report as unbiased thus accepted by majority of the Ogoni inhabitants. She said it ought to have been implemented since 2011 but the State had patiently waited for additional five years for the project to commence.
Konya commended federal government decision to kick-start the clean-up, adding that “what is required is confidence building on all sides. This can be done by building the capacity of youths in Ogoniland and translating the UNEP report into actual cleaning, restoration, projects that will manifest in the physical to the benefit of all.
“Let us stop playing politics with it. We cannot afford to play politics with issues bordering on our people drinking water
contaminated with carcinogenic benzene that is 900 times above acceptable World Health Organisation (WHO) level.” she added.
However, a popular Ogoni activist and President, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Legborsi Saro disclosed that, “the delay in the implementation of the UNEP report has had some negative consequences on the health of our people including an increased mortality rate resulting from organ failures.
“We believe that these negative experiences could have been averted had the government given the desired attention to the report when it was released in August 2011.” But the Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed restated need for adequate security and peace for effective implementation of the UNEP report on the clean-up.
She said the sensitisation became necessary to ensure interest of every affected community including women, children and youths are captured in the clean-up process. Earlier, ýProf. Ben Nani, a respected scholar in the community urged the Minister to setup a trust fund and inaugurate a board that would manage the trust.
Nani emphasised important role of the board before the cleanup could commence.ý Fortunately, the Minister disclosed plan to consider inputs from the various stakeholders such as to setup a committee on training of women and youths, equal representation in terms of expertise, indigenous communication with the people and setting up of board members.
