If the Federal Government does not act fast and address the seething anger over expectation of compensation as a component of the clean up, the entire $1billion effort may go down the drain.
This is the critical finding of the Symposium mounted by the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Rivers State which ended in Port Harcourt last weekend. The group examined the environment with particular focus on the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Ogoni Clean-Up, and the compliance level of stakeholders, especially Shell and the FG (through HYPREP).
The discussants also held that since the underpinnings of Ogoni struggle have been environmental injustice, remediation without compensation still harbours injustice; and this seems to make the scheme a hard sale to the Ogoni community.
The symposium resolved that for the UNEP Report and consequent Ogoni Clean-Up to have enduring result, remediation must be followed with confirmation and monitoring to prevent further degradation.
There was therefore, a demand for the Federal Government to address the underpinning desire for compensation because cleaning brings environmental remediation but does not address the aspect of human loss over the years.
It was emphasised that Nigerians and their government need to take the issues of environment seriously if we must ensure national security; including security of lives and property and food security.
The communiqué also pointed out that despite the hype by government and stakeholders, the issue of Ogoni Clean-Up seems to drag so slowly that it has created the perception of motion without movement. It was clearly pointed out that funds are not the problem of the Clean Up but stifling bureaucratic processes that make nonsense of procurement needs, thus, working against the expectations of the impacted communities. There was a call to grant waivers so that action can move faster without compromising transparency.
It was also observed that the agency responsible for the Clean Up, HYPREP, has not been able to communicate the processes to the communities and the press effectively, thus creating impression that the clean up was a fraud or political. Calls were made to open up communication to sell the exercise.
Participants commended members of the press for standing with the Ogoni community over the decades especially since the late Ken Saro-Wiwa broadened the awareness of the Ogoni on the environmental degradation of their land, but urged the press to do more on the issue concerning the Niger Delta region. The press was urged to deploy more resources in monitoring the clean up processes.
They observed that even as UNEP Report was not enough for the solution of the environmental degradation of Ogoni due to perceived influence of multinational oil corporations on the team, the Report at least validated the claims by the Ogoni of monumental degradation of their environment.
The participants averred that it is difficult for journalists to go into Ogoniland to do independent and investigative report due to grave security situation in the enclave.
It was painfully admitted that re-pollution has become the biggest threat to the clean up exercise with fears that more pollution sites must have emerged than the UNEP Report identified. The participants called on the FG to persuade the security agencies to do what is necessary to stop pipeline vandalism and not leave it to unarmed communities.
The participants commended the Correspondents’ Chapel of the NUJ for such a successful Symposium and urged them to sustain the watch on the environment and the Ogoni Clean Up.
Ignatius Chukwu & Favour Ichemati
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