Douglas Blessing
The Ogoni Ex-artisanal Refiners Forum, has commenced on its leadership sensitisation programme against re-pollution of the Ogoniland.
The group, yesterday, converged the ex-artisanal refiners in Bori, Khana Local government area of Rivers State, to begin the first batch of the training.
The training in collaboration with the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, was targeted at ending the menace of illegal refining activities in the area and encouraging healthy source of livelihood.
Mr Barinuazor Emmanuel, President, National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) and also the President General, Rivers State Ethnic Leaders Council, said despite the move, the federal government should provide alternative means of livelihood for the youths so they will not return back to illegal refining of the nation’s resource.
“We are here today to sensitises our people. In the UNEP Report, there was a recommendation that captured that the youth of Ogoni involve in artisanal refiners should be given a livelihood and also engage them.
“Those were supposed to be part of the emergency measures that HYPREP ignored but the current leadership of HYPREP headed by Dr Ferdinand Giadom and the Minister for Environment has deem it fit that we should go back and start to talk to our people because Oil Theft is one of the most dangerous activities going on in the Niger Delta today.
“Oil theft comes with the issue of arms and drugs. So we the youths of Ogoni have decided that we are not going to indulge to illegal refining. We are going to work with HYPREP to ensure that anything illegal refining must stop in Ogoniland.
“NYCOP being the mother of all the youth bodies in Ogoni have been mandated to bring together all the ex-artisanal refiners in Ogoni to end Illegal refinery in Ogoni.
“We are also telling government that you cannot only be looking at the faces of those that carry gun, you have given the opportunity to Tompolo to handle the issue of pipeline and others. What we want is to secure our own pipeline because we need oil resumption back to Ogoniland.
“Since we have asked our youths to stop illegal refining, the way will be treating People that goes with gun, the ex-militants, the same treatment should be given to our youths because we want to secure our environment, so that our parents can go back to their farms and fishing. We are also asking federal government to ensure that Ogoni youth be given the best fair training in 2023”, the NYCOP president advised.
On his part, Teddy Ereba, Chairman of the Ex-artisanal Refining ForumU urged the government to train the ex-artisanal refinersrhu and give them scholarship abroad to better their lives, also provide them with good jobs.
He added “We called on all the ex-artisanal refiners in Ogoni, to tell them to stop the ‘Kporfire’ (artisanal refining) because HYPREP promised to be training our people if we stop the refining business, that they will change their lives”.
Elvis Lebura, for Deputy secretary of MOSOP, said “We thought about the fact that if artisanal refining is a livelihood, is not enough to canvass for cleanup, we also should be concern about possible re-pollution. We are concern on how to forestall the re-pollution of the environment after the cleanup process have been concluded.
“We had continued in the advocacy through the support of the Minister and Project Coordinators of HYPREP. This programme intend to dissuade the ex-artisanal refiners from going back to the creeks, it will enlighten them.
“What we have achieved here today is that they have been enlightened of not just the impact of what has happened to the revenue profile of the country, of course the economy. But again on their health, they ignored the health implications. We let them know that is as good as commiting suicide when all you are labouring for, you may not be alive enjoy it because of the health implication.”
Speaking on the theme: “Revenue Loss, Environmental Impact and Health Complication”, Mr Jude Samuelson, advised the trainees against further involvement in illegal oil bunkery and refining.
Samuelson who sensitised the youths on the need to shun such illegal refining activities, stressed that the health and environmental implications is worst than the benefit.
