From Douglas Blessing, Port Harcourt
A coalition of Non Governmental Organisations in the Niger Delta, have stated that the planned resumption of oil extraction in Ogoniland by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is a journey in futility.
The groups, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), We the People, Peoples Advancement Centre and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria(ERA/FoEN) made the assertion in a joint briefing, held in Port Harcourt.
Speaking, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, stressed that rather than address the legitimate concerns of Ogoni people, the government would think of resuming oil extraction in Ogoni when the land is still suffering degradation as a result of years of pollution.
He stated that the government should concentrate on remediating and cleaning the environment as recommended by the UNEP report than to encourage it’s subsidiary to resume activities on the land.
“It is disheartening to note in particular that in the wrangling over the ownership of OML 11 and the resumption of oil extraction in the Ogoniland, there has been no reference or consideration for obtaining the free, prior and infirmedco sent of the Ogoni people.
“It is not clear whether any consultation has been initiated with the affected Communities, or that their rights to a safe environment and interest has been taken into consideration. We consider these latest attempt insensitive, ill-advised and capable of inflaming suspicious and conflict in an area that is already very tense and prone to conflicts.
It is worrying that the government would think of resuming oil extraction in Ogoniland when the pollution of the last decades is yet to be clear, decrepit installations are yet to be decommissioned and the many recommendations of UNEP are yet to be fully complied with”, Bassey added
On his part, Comrade Celestine Akpobari, Peoples Advancement Centre, stated that before any extraction would be done in Ogoniland, the demand of Ogoni people and other stakeholders in the clean up process should be fully and urgently completed in compliance with the UNEP recommendations.
Akpobari said: “We are deeply concerned about the neglect of issues around ecological and social justice in Ogoniland. The world recognises that the people of Ogoni have suffered unprecedented pains and loses on account of oil extraction.
“No apology has been rendered for the destruction of their environment, the killing of their people, the loss of their livelihoods, the destruction of villages, the forced exile of their people and the murder of their leaders. To assume that the extraction of oil can commence whilst these issues remain on the front burner, is to be naive at best and cruel at worst.
It is the demand of the Ogoni people that a first step towards demonstrating goodwill is to exonerate the Ogoni 9 who were murdered by the Nigerian government for peacefully protesting the destruction of their envy”.
Akpobari added “It is our recommendation that the government puts a stop to any planned attempt to resume oil activities in Ogoniland. It should rather concentrate on redeeming the ecological disaster in the area, decommissioning aged oil infrastructure, replacing the lost livelihood of the people and securing justice for the countless Ogonis waiting for closure”.
