Diri’s alarm and the imperative of ending environmental pollution in Niger Delta

NOT many Nigerians outside the oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta may have fully come to terms with the magnitude of environmental degradation wreaked on the region as a result of oil and gas exploration by International Oil Companies, IOCs since crude oil was discovered in Oloibiri, in 1956, until the recent alarm raised by Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa state drawing national and global attention to what he described as the current ‘environmental genocide and the attendant deadly effects on both human and aquatic life.

We are deeply concerned that despite the establishment of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) under the Federal Ministry of Environment which serves as the lead agency for other oil spill contingency plans and ensuring compliance with environment legislation in the Nigeria’s petroleum sector from inception, by the IOCs, as well as annual budgetary allocation to it, the devastating impacts of their activities have lingered without remedies for decades at grave repercussions to the people and their ecosystem.

Diri stunned the editors and other stakeholders, who converged in Yenagoa, the state capital, recently for the Annual Nigeria Editors Conference, ANEC, firstly that the Glory of All Lands had been without electricity supply from the national grid  in the past three months before reeling out damning statistics of both human casualties and the environmental havoc done by the IOCs based on a new report from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, titled “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Costs of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria.”

Specifically, according to him, “One study estimates that in 2012 alone, oil spills in Nigeria, and predominantly in the Niger Delta resulted in over 16,000 additional neonatal deaths,” while “oil pollution and relentless gas flaring have engendered a grim tapestry of alien health conditions in Bayelsa” further revealing that “children are being born with severe deformities, respiratory diseases flourish, stubbornly defying even the most advanced medical interventions and therapies. Cancers, once a rarity, have surged in prevalence, infiltrating the villages like a spectre that haunts the very fabric of daily life”.

Sadly, raising further fears on the negative consequences of the uncontrolled pollution for current and future generations, the governor declared, “The environment itself has become a crucible of suffering. The air hangs thick with toxins, while the water, once a source of life, now flows with pollutants that carry the weight of despair. This unrelenting barrage of environmental degradation has transformed Bayelsa into an epicentre of health crises, forging a reality where illness and suffering have become the norm rather than the exception.”

We are deeply worried about the above grim situation and the fact that another direct consequence of the pollution is a reduction in life expectancy of Bayelsa people and residents to just 50 years, sinking well below levels deemed acceptable by global standards as against 61.79years in Nigeria. This may be the fate of most residents of oil producing states in the country.

With Bayelsa alone reportedly bearing the burden of 25percent of oil and gas pollution in the country, it has become imperative for Governor Diri not to leave any stone unturned in implementing the cardinal recommendations contained in the report. This must be in addition to building regional and national synergies including the active involvement of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN,  for the IOCs to address decisively the decades-long issue of environmental pollution and degradation in the country.

Regrettably, though there are no consistent figures of the quantity of the millions of crude oil spilled in the Niger Delta over the the years, the resultant environmental degradation from gas flaring, dredging of larger rivers, oil spillage and reclamation of land due to oil and gas extraction across the region costs over  US$758 million annually.

It is also a matter of serious concern that almost 68years after crude oil was struck, a product that the country relies over 90percent for her foreign exchange, there hasn’t been any effective national blueprint to tackle the recurring cases of oil spillage that continue to engender sorrow in the bearing communities. This, must stop.

We consider the current situation very pathetic coming many years after environmental campaigners such as the former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, Ken Saro-Wiwa and his kinsmen paid the supreme price for advocating environmental justice for their people from Shell, more so when the devastating oil spillage on Ogoni land has not been fully cleansed with the indigenes still bearing the pain till date.

Recall sadly too, that the protracted struggles of Ogoni leaders to protect their environment from harmful oil exploration were met with severe repression, culminating in the tragic execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders in 1995 by the military junta of late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha.

Again, only recently, President Bola Tinubu in a special message to commemorate the 2024 Ogoni Martyrs Remembrance Day expressed

solidarity with the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) and all Ogoni citizens to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the Ogoni nation’s interests, stressing that this year’s

commemoration, with the theme: ‘After Price, Comes Prize,’ reflects the nation’s commitment to acknowledging the pain and the lessons of the past as we aspire for a brighter future.

“We honour their memory by recognising the sacrifices made and pledging to strive for a future characterised by peace, justice, and sustainable development for all communities, particularly those in the Niger Delta”, he further declared.

But we make bold to insist that past administrations have not given the expected clean up in the Rivers’ communities the desired attention and seriousness it  deserves. For instance, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, exclusively dedicated to addressing the environmental challenges in Ogoniland has recorded minimal success despite suspension of crude oil operations in the area by Shell in 1993 following social unrest arising from concerns regarding oil industry operations, revenue distribution, and petroleum-related contamination.

It is against this backdrop that Mr. President should go beyond mere rhetoric and ensure that NOSDRA instituted by an Act of the National Assembly of 2006 with the core mandate to oversee the implementation of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), closely supervise the IOCs for them to fully comply with relevant environmental laws that would henceforth guarantee pollution- free environment in the treasure base of the country. This should be in addition to cleaning up all identified polluted land and water in the region before now.

We further demand that relevant federal agencies should as a matter of urgency collaborate with the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission with a view to addressing the water, air and land pollution ravaging the communities to minimize if not totally eliminate the devastating health hazards that the people of Bayelsa have been subjected for decades. Besides, the IOCs must at all times be fully held accountable for their oil and gas exploration activities in the Niger Delta by the relevant agencies of government, since the welfare and security of citizens remains the primary purpose of government.

Therefore, the Federal Government should consider Governor Diri’s timely alarm that the unchecked activities of the International Oil Companies have turned the hitherto prolific rivers and fertile soil of Bayelsa into a wasteland, as a wake up call to map out a comprehensive master plan to tackling the many years of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta which the country relies heavily to generate the needed revenue for her social, economic and technological development. A stitch in time certainly saves nine.