Clean Up Of Ogoni Land – A Promise Kept By Buhari, By Chukwudi Enekwechi
Editor
Posted On Aug 26, 2015
On January 9th 2015 in the course of his presidential campaign at a town hall meeting in Ogoni land, Rivers State organized by then Governor Rotimi Amaechi, President Muhammadu Buhari had promised that if elected president he would approve the clean-up of Ogoni land as recommended in the UNEP report. Over the years, the problem of environmental degradation in oil-bearing communities of Niger Delta has been a recurring one. Indeed, the issue was at the heart of the struggle by Niger Delta youths before peace was restored through the amnesty programme. With this approval by the Buhari administration the people of Ogoni land can heave a sigh of relief that their decades of struggle over environmental related issues have finally yielded result.
What this goes to show is that Buhari is a listening and caring president, and has the interest of all Nigerians at heart. This again casts doubt on the false claims by some cynics that Buhari’s administration is engaging in acts of favouritism and nepotism.
Considering the negative impact which environmental degradation has on the Niger Delta ecosystem, especially aquatic life, agriculture and water pollution, we can safely draw the conclusion that the recent approval to commence the clean- up will greatly improves the quality of lives of the people of the Niger Delta in general and Ogoni land in particular.
Though this is coming some decades after the agitation by late Ken Saro Wiwa started, yet it is gratifying that a new administration has made it a priority in their policies.While this policy direction is laudable, it is hoped that as the clean-up starts in earnest, that preemptive measures will be put in place to avoid a repeat. This is to ensure that the remediation programme endures and achieves its defined objectives.
It could be recalled that due to the massive degradation which oil exploration had on Ogoni land, its farmland, waters and peoples, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People began a campaign for the greater control of oil and mineral resources through the “Ogoni Bill of Rights” in 1990. This was under the military regime of the President Ibrahim Babangida. By November 1992. MOSOP made a demand for $6 Billion to be paid by Shell within 30 days as compensation for oil spills on their land and its environment impact, failure which the company was asked to vacate Ogoni land.
Subsequently in 1993 Saro Wiwa mobilized a crowd numbering over 300,000 to press home their demands, and this opened a pandora’s box in a way that violence enveloped the Ogoniland and later consumed the lives of four prominent Chiefs, whose role some members of the community considered treacherous towards the realization of the main objective.
The resultant effect was that the government of the day blamed the killings on Kan Saro Wiwa and his followers, and after undergoing a secret trial he was put under the hangman’s noose in November 1995.
The agitation culminated in the intervention of the United Nations at the behest of Obasanjo administration which undertook a comprehensive study of the area and released a report, which itself formed another platform for the continued struggle for total restoration and remediation of the affected areas by the Ogoni people.
Since then, no administration has made any tangible or strenuous effort to address the concerns of Ogoni people until President Muhammadu Buhari came to the saddle. By redeeming his campaign promises to the Ogoni people, he has demonstrated by extention an irrevocable commitment towards the needs and aspirations of all Nigerians.
To demonstrate the seriousness he attaches towards the realization of the above stated objectives, he has constituted the board of Trustees and Project Management Team of the Hydro Carbon Pollution Restoration roject (HYPREP) in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations. The report had also recommended an initial capital of $1billion to be contributed by oil prospectors in the region, with particular emphasis on Shell which has its oil pipes traversing the length and breadth of Ogoni land.
By Mr. President approving an initial $10 Million to be contributed by the oil companies operating in the area within a period of 30 days, he has demonstrated in concrete terms government’s avowed commitment towards ameliorating the environmental problems besetting the Niger Delta. There is no gainsaying that this part of Nigeria has borne the major burden of oil exploration, and the decision to pay attention to their plight is commendable.
To successfully tackle the environmental problems of Ogoni land and Niger Delta in general, there is the need for a coordinated approach by all stakeholders. Oil companies, local communities, states and local governments, civil society organizations must pull resources together to restore the environment.
By paying attention to the problems, the Buhari administration has demonstrated clearly that they are willing and able to carry all Nigerians along in their policies and programmes. Indeed, President Buhari is a listening leader and every now and then his interventions have helped solve age-long intractable problems. The direction Mr. President is going is an indication that finally a Daniel has come to judgment, as we shall begin to witness a proactive leadership.
It takes a man with fidelity to keep promises that were made during political campaigns. I believe that with his methodical approach, President Buhari will eventually address various issues affecting the six geo-political zones of the country. As the popular adage goes “Rome was not built in a day”, and what this implies is that noticeable differences will be witnessed in all facets of our national life sooner than many cynics think.
Also, the composition of members HYPREP which comprises two members of the community, oil companies and NNPC will have between the four members, one representative each from the Federal Ministries of Petroleum and Environment the “impacted” state – Rivers and a Project Manager to head the secretariat will form the membership of the governing council of the newly constituted Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP).
By all means, this is a formidable team that can turn around the fortunes oil polluted communities, especially Ogoniland which has become the focal point of the effects of environmental degradation in that of the country. It is also gratifying that the various groups, especially the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni people, MOSOP has appreciated the effort of the Buhari administration in deliberately addressing the concerns of the region and indeed all other regions.
Worthy of mention also is the role of the United Nations Environmental Programme in arriving at a workable solution on the environmental degradation of Ogoni land. Their involvement stemmed from the request of then President Obasanjo in July 2006 to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the environmental and public health impacts of oil contamination in Ogoni land and Rivers State, with options for remediation. UNEP did a comprehensive assessment of the affected areas by deploying their specialized manpower and eventually came up with work plans and realizable budgets for the clean-up to the Federal Government in 2007.
With these proactive moces by the Federal Government, it is expected that all stakeholders, especially the major oil companies who caused the problems in the first instance will cooperate fully to ensure the realization of the Federal Government plan. Government should also go a step further to make the Programme all inclusive by incorporating all the affected communities.
On a general note, we can easily draw conclusion that President Muhammadu Buhari as a man of fidelity has kept his promise to clean up Ogoniland, and this is the case in all other sectors as he has continued to live up to Nigerians’ expectations.
Chukwudi Enekwechi
An Abuja Based Journalist and Politician
08065507972
