Ogoni clean-up: Can it achieve desired restoration?

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) of the Federal Ministry of environment recently assured the people of Ogoni land in Rivers State that it is committed to the completion of the exercise. However, despite the $1billion dollars that had been earmarked to implement the project, there still seems to be glaring neglect. HELEN OJI reports.
In the beginning Recently, the United Nation E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o g r a m m e (UNEP) makes recommendations to the government, the oil and gas industry and communities to begin a comprehensive cleanup of ogoniland, restored polluted environments and put an end to all forms of ongoing oil contamination. Expectedly, on June 2, 2016 the Federal Government of Nigeria launched the $1billion Ogoni clean-up exercise amidst a visibly elaborate event that drew the attention of the world. The event obviously became a platform for the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who represented the President, gave an insight to strategy being employed in carrying out the project. He said: “It was not just a clean-up exercise; it was part of a strategic and holistic plan to provide employment for the people of Ogoni.
“The methodology for the cleanup will ensure job creation for young people. The agro-allied industries required for processing of agricultural produce will also be put in place because the most important thing is for the people to have their ancestral ecosystem back through restoration of their normal way of life, including occupation that the existing pollution has taken away from them. Two months after, the inaugurated Board of Trustees for the Hydrocarbon Pollution and Remediation headed by the former Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed has been riddled with inactivity more than one year after.
F i n a n c i n g o f t h e p r o j e c t, r e p o r t implementation and matters arising The seeming bone of contention and major concern about the project has been the financing model. According to information gathered, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its joint venture partners such as Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Total and Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) are expected to make contributions towards the clean-up.
H o w e v e r, o b s e r v e r s h a v e pointedly attributed the delay in the commencement of the exercise to lack of funds despite the impression of funds availability created by the government. In fact, at the inauguration of the HYREP board, Senator Magnus Abe, Senator representing Rivers South-East Constituency confidently declared that the $1billion needed for the initial phase of the project was readily available and the world renowned financial expert, Mr. Wale Edun was specifically brought on board to assure financiers of integrity of funds management. Stakeholders had at different form Amina The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) of the Federal Ministry of environment recently assured the people of Ogoni land in Rivers State that it is committed to the completion of the exercise. However, despite the $1billion dollars that had been earmarked to implement the project, there still seems to be glaring neglect.
HELEN OJI reports. ventilated a divergent views on the workability of the Cleanup project, they hinged their arguments on the fact that the for a country just exiting recession couple with its unprecedented debt burden, embarking and completing such huge project might be an herculean task or better still, an exercise in futility. They observed further that further delay in the clean-up exercise will only perpetuate the misery of the people in the area. Considering also the fact that the inhabitants of the area wake up daily to stark reality of imminent diseases staring them in the face including cancer the deadly. Borrowing from the words of the former UNEP’s Executive Director Achim Steiner, “The people of Ogoniland have paid a high price for the success of Nigeria’s oil industry, enduring a toxic and polluted environment for decades and this is definitely not the way to compensate a people that have made such significant contribution to the socio-economic development of our nation.
The least our government can do is to commence the clean-up exercise with the hope that the ecosystem of Ogoniland will be restored someday as shown in the UNEP report,” Reeling out its displeasure at a recent gathering, President of National Youth Council of Ogoni People, (NYCOP), Young Npkah, expressed worries that insecurity of fresh pipe-line laying and resumption of oil exploration has suffered mindless delay. Speaking further, he warned that neither pipe-laying nor oil exploration would be allowed without an allencompassing negotiation. ‘
’ Two years into a promise is enough time to mobilize the needed workforce for a project that is billed to last for 30 years and the sooner work begins, the better, as that would build confidence in the people’’ Npkah added. Also reacting on the issue recently while hosting members of the Senate Committee on Environment who were on a visit, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, expressed total frustration that the Federal Government about the Federal Government readiness and genuine in executing the clean-up exercise. He said Federal Government action has rendered the project to a mere public relations thing aimed only at gaining political mileage and nothing else, adding that the people of Rivers State were tired of procrastination in relation to the execution of the clean-up.
A renew hope or a farce? It would be recalled that the Muhammadu Buhari administration had times without numbers declared its unwavering commitment to the issue of equity and justice as regards alleged neglect of the Niger Delta people in the early life of his administration. Similarly, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP’s) report on Ogoniland had long released a mapped out plan on how to approach the Ogoni issue and its degraded environment during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration amidst poor implementation. Significantly, after its inauguration, the Buhari administration had renewed the hope of the Ogoni people on its desire to kick-start the implementation process Apart from the Board already in place, all stakeholders including are expected to contribute about N2 billion in seeing to the project completion while the Ogoni lands inhabitants are also expected to play a role. While all hands must be on deck at ensuring that the process of restoration is seen to fruition, it behoves the Federal Government to also at this juncture lead the way by taking further steps towards implementing the report, having shown commitment by setting up a framework in order to allay the fears of the people so as to once again enhance peace and prosperity in the region..

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