After years of delay, Vice-President
Yemi Osinbajo yesterday launched the implementation of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the clean-up of Ogoniland
and impacted areas of the Niger Delta, but warned that the federal
government would no longer tolerate oil theft and illegal refineries in
the region.
This is just as the Rivers State
Governor Nyesom Wike said the state would provide the required platform
for the successful clean-up of the area.
Addressing a mammoth crowd at Bodo
Town in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Osinbajo, who
represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the event, expressed regrets
that oil exploration and production in Ogoniland and the Niger Delta
region had negatively affected the ecosystem.
Delivering the president’s speech,
Osinbajo, said: “I recall the time as a military Head of State when I
visited Bodo Town in Ogoniland. During that visit, I commissioned a
large fishpond and planted a tree as a sign of government’s concern for
the environment.
“Unfortunately, since then, the
degradation of land, water and air has done huge damage to the fragile
ecosystem of the Niger Delta, especially Ogoniland.
“Oil exploration and production have
been going on in Nigeria for six decades. Oil has given a boost to the
Nigerian economy, but the ecosystem of the Niger Delta has been severely
damaged. Fishing and agriculture have been badly affected.
“There are Acts, enactment, laws,
guidelines and regulations to govern the operators of the oil industry.
However, either because of lack of will or willful non-compliance with
environmental laws, the environment has been put in jeopardy.”
Giving an insight into what gave rise
to militancy in the region, Osinbajo on behalf of Buhari said: “The
various communities in the Niger Delta region, noting the negative
impact of oil production and lack of consideration for best practices,
quite rightly commenced the struggle for justice and fair play in the
conduct of business by oil industry operators.
“This, unfortunately, led to the loss
of lives and property. International concern was raised while past
governments were urged to take decisive steps to address the issue.”
He noted that former President
Olusegun Obasanjo engaged UNEP to undertake a mission towards the
clean-up of Ogoniland but expressed regrets that the previous
administration led by Goodluck Jonathan did not implement the
recommendations.
“The report was submitted to my
predecessor while still in office in 2011, but the implementation was
not accorded the necessary support it required. The people of Ogoniland
continued to suffer from pollution of air, land and water,” he said.
Osinbajo recalled that the president
promised the people of Ogoni during the 2015 election campaigns that he
would implement the clean-up of the area if elected president, adding
that the flag-off of the exercise was a fulfillment of that promise.
“We are determined to right the wrongs
of the past, where the people of this land were treated unfairly and
their environment unduly degraded,” Osinbajo said.
He reiterated: “Today, we are in
Ogoniland, in the heart of the Niger Delta to fulfill our promise to you
and to bring justice and succour to our people. The clean-up of this
land will require change on the part of all those who deal with the
Niger Delta environment, particularly the oil companies and our
communities. The tempo of this assignment increased when my cabinet was
constituted.
“The Honourable Minister of
Environment consulted all relevant ministries to actualise the UNEP
report. We are therefore laying a solid foundation today for the
restoration of the fragile ecosystem of Ogoniland and the rest of the
Niger Delta.”
He noted that the UNEP report
indicated a timeline of 25 to 30 years to achieve full restoration of
the environment of the Niger Delta. “The first step begins with a solid
foundation, which would be brought about through consultation,
transparency, accountability, investing in the people and the
environment,” he said.
He called on all Nigerians
irrespective of political affiliation to support the effort of the
administration as “our lives to a great extent depend on the quality of
our environment”.
He warned: “Let me seize this
opportunity to sound a note of warning that the current oil theft and
illegal refining will not be tolerated. The regulators of the oil
industry must live up to expectations. They must ensure that oil
companies carry out their operations in line with universal best
practices.”
He said the administration was laying a
foundation for change, adding: “The government places a high emphasis
on the diversification of our economy. This is to ensure that our
economy is strong and capable of supporting our teeming young people
through job and wealth creation.”
In his address, Wike said the state
would provide the required platform for the successful clean-up of
Ogoniland and the implementation of the UNEP report.
He said: “The Rivers State Government
will ever be willing to provide the platform for the smooth achievement
of this long awaited intervention.
“We acknowledge that this is a federal
initiative. The direct impact is borne by our people. We therefore urge
all our stakeholders to embrace and support this federal government
gesture and ensure a hitch-free exercise.”
The governor commended Buhari for
initiating the clean-up, noting that the presence of top officials of
the Rivers State Government indicated that the state would fully support
the exercise.
“We therefore welcome this initiative
wholeheartedly as shown by our enthusiastic presence, believing that the
recommendations of UNEP will be systematically executed. This is
because we believe that only environmental justice would restore
sustainable peace, stability and socio-economic progress in the Niger
Delta.
“We therefore commend Mr. President’s
determination to close this ugly chapter in our country’s history.
Although this has taken long in coming; it is never too late when it
comes to the environment. Therefore, Mr. President sir, your presence in
Ogoniland today is a testimonial of the long awaited clean-up and
remediation exercises of the Niger Delta polluted environment,” the
governor stated.
The Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina
Muhammed, in her welcome address said the implementation of the UNEP
report was a promise that is being kept by Buhari, calling it a
collective responsibility.
“It will require the trust that we
have lost over the decades; it will require transparency and
accountability and it will require proper representation of the people
in what we are doing in investing in their future. It will also require
that we do things differently. That is why this administration called
for change,” she said.
The Executive Director of UNEP, Mr.
Achim Steiner, in his remarks, confessed that the task of producing the
report was a great risk taken by the UNEP team but thanked the Obasanjo
administration for taking the initiative to start the process of
cleaning up the devastated Ogoni environment.
He said UNEP was deeply committed to
standing by the federal government and the people of Ogoniland to ensure
the success of the clean-up process.
The Minister of Transportation
Chibuike Amaechi also recalled the efforts he made as the sitting
governor in the state, to persuade former President Jonathan to start
the process of implementing the UNEP Report, pointing out that the
efforts did not yield the desired result.
He however lauded Buhari for taking
the bold step to ensure the commencement of the exercise, adding: “He
promised and he is keeping with that promise.”
In his address, the
President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr.
Legborsi Pyagbara, thanked Buhari and everybody that has supported “the
Ogoni cause for the flag-off”.
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