From Douglas Blessing, Port Harcourt
To ensure a clean environment and sustainability of livelihood, a non governmental organisation under the aegis of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) organised a 3-days sensitization programme for Eteo community in Eleme, Eleme local government area of Rivers State.
The programme titled “Cycles of Reflection meeting with Community farmers to better understand issues of land grabbing”, witnessed the presence of representatives of various villages in Eteo community, especially those recently affected by oil spill pollution in the area.
Speaking at the event, representative of HOMEF, Mr Stephen Oduware said they are in the community in solidarity to sensitise the people on how to peacefully fight for environmental justice and secure their livelihood without violence.
Oduware who noted the impact of oil spill in Eteo community, said the idea of the meeting was to build community power for resilience, resistance and so that they would be able to work in unity, and get the justice that they deserve.
He said: “We are here in Eteo community to see that they have sections of reflection on certain aspect of what community people should know in order for them to come together to push for that which they really deserve, to push for a healthy and clean environment, for their well-being and livelihood justice.
“We are here today to discuss solidarity and it is all about how community people can come together to identify with a cause within themselves that they can rally around to project their voices. You will recall that there has been series of oil spills in Eteo community and it calls for serious action.
“Most of these communities pay the heavy price for the exploration and exploitation of crude oil. They pay with their health, livelihood, almost everything because they are bombarded from the air, with gas flaring, from the land with pollution in their farm and even pollution on water. Above that we also that the life expectancy in Niger Delta has reduced because of these issues.
So, the idea is for us to build community power for resilience, resistance and so that they would be able to work in unity, and get the justice that they deserve”, he explained.
On his part, Coordinator of Oilwatch, Kentebe Ebiaridor, said the sensitisation centered around solidarity, looking at how to strengthen community relationships, especially in ensuring a cleaner and safe environment.
Ebiaridor said “We have noticed that most of the situation in the Niger Delta we have what we call Divide and Rule tactics which has always been used by multinational companies. We believe that if the community can stand together as one, they should be able to fight and stand against such divide and rule tactics that would come up.
In doing that, it ensures that they can come together, ask for environmental justice, they can seek what is good for the community.”
One of the participants, Gabriel Kaa-Oloyin, who spoke with The AUTHORITY, at the venue of the meeting, expressed delight that such programme was brought to their community and assured to syndicate what he learnt to members of his immediate community in Eteo.
“This group, HOMEF is really sent by God, they trained us on how to come together, work together for a common interest”.
Expressing one of the experience the community had recently on oil spill, he said “Recently, the pipeline of NNPC spilled oil in our community, yet the company has tight security. This community does not do bunkering and so the staff and contractors of NNPC knows what happened to the pipeline.
“The damage went from the pipeline through the forest, our farmlands into the sea going to Onne, killing our fishes. It destroyed our source of livelihood”, Gabriel lamented.
