The formation of a Hydro-Carbo Pollution and Restoration Project (HYPREP) announced by Petroleum Minister Diezani Madueke appears not to have impressed Ogoni people about government’s committment for the cleanup of Ogoniland as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme, unep.
Here is an article by DumBari Tsaro Deezua. published in THENIGERIANVOICE
As reported by Nigerian media outlets on July 20, 2012, the formation of a Hydro-Carbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to look into the environmental ruins caused during oil exploitation in Ogoni land should be a welcomed development.
The Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani A. Madueke’s remark, that “the project shall implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme report on Ogoni land as well as investigate, evaluate and establish other hydrocarbon impacted sites” is as expected, cautiously embraced at different quarters of the Ogoni population.
The Ogoni home-front (in Nigeria) is seemingly cautiously optimistic about the report, while the Ogoni Diasporas are quite torpidly, even tacitly, appreciative of the initiative as well. Bye-and-large, the Ogoni people are not rejecting the proposal but are also not all-out exuberant about the implementation plan as recently outlined by government either.
The Ogoni people are skeptical, one may say. The question is; are there good enough rationales for skepticism? Probably yes, because the government should be implementing the report recommendations by now, rather than forming one committee after the other to “look into” the recommendations of a previous, more credible and more high-powered committee.
The Ogoni people know too well, that pollution, either in the air, in surface waters, or in the underground water systems knows no ethnic boundaries. Cleaning up the Ogoni environment without cleaning up the equally impacted surrounding areas may amount to cleaning a portion of an open lake and expect the cleaned portion to remain clean without cleaning the entire lake. The Ogoni people started fighting environmental issues well before much of the world knew it was a problem; meaning that the Ogoni people know well enough to understand that cleaning up the Ogoni area without cleaning up the entire Niger Delta area may not be much of a cleanup, after-all.
Needless to say then, however, that the Ogoni people want the government to clean up the entire Niger delta.
On the other hand, it is understandable that the Ogoni people are weary of govt. using the pretext of a broader Niger Delta Hydro-Carbon assessment exercise to hold-up on the immediate implementation of the Ogoni UNEP report. And understandably so however, when the dire consequences of delayed action on the report, as stated by UNEP, is taken into account. It is too grave and too deadly for the Ogoni people to wait indefinitely—pending the completion of assessment of the other sites, knowing that 13months in only the Ogoni area by UNEP Professionals will mean about four years and more to finish same exercise in the entire Niger Delta area.
Ogoni people should not be made to bear incessant accounts of deaths due to a polluted environment while waiting for a HYPREP regime in which the Ogoni people do not have much of faith anyway. Recent memories of previous failures of committees bordering on Niger Delta issues; the Rev. Father Kukan’s committee and the Ledum Mitee led Technical Committee are references in question. The UNEP report on Ogoni is too serious and, delay is too dangerous for the Ogoni people. This particular report cannot be allowed to stall and sink into paralysis as did many previous reports and recommendations on Ogoni.
Implementation of the report recommendations had already taken too long. Implementation of Ogoni UNEP Report and assessment of other sites in the region could run concurrently, but action on one should not be contingent or delayed on the events of the other. All assessments, recommendations and monetary estimations of the Ogoni report was carried out separately: The implementation should be treated in same manner and not entangled with the assessment of other sites.
Ogoni had always been on the receiving end of repression; always Nigeria’s punching bag—irrespective of who is in charge of government; even with a President from Ogoni backyard, whose ascendancy to the presidency is largely an ‘Equity Derivative’ of Ken-Saro Wiwa’s struggle and the sacrifices of flesh and blood by the Ogoni people.
No surprises then, that—the Ogoni people are still being ignored or unnoticed—undermined, disregarded and smothered with contemptuous insolence in Jonathan’s Nigeria! No appointments for Ogonis; no support for Ogoni agenda; an utter disregard of the sacrifices made by the Ogonis for the Niger Delta to be even noted on the political map of Nigeria.
It is about time for the Ogoni people, MOSOP Nigeria, the Ogoni Diaspora, Ogoni political leaders and community leaders to stop banking on a false hope that President Jonathan knows our pain and grief. Yes, he knows; but, does he care? Ogoni people should be now praying for the soul of a lost friend, President Umaru Yar’Adua.
As always, Ogoni people: All hands must be on deck! You cannot change the past oppressions of you, and you cannot change the actions of those who are bent on oppressing you: You cannot change what others will do; but what you can always change though, is how you react or respond to them.
It is that time again—to defend Ogoni.
The NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry were creations aimed at remedying some of the underdevelopment and unfairness issues in the region, principally because of the struggle pioneered, in recent times, by the Ogoni people. Without question, the Ogoni people have been shoved to the side as usual; no leadership position in any of those agencies, no notable contracts and no substantial projects in the Ogoni area. The Ogoni people do not want the UNEP Report implementation plan go the same way by having a lumped-up Niger Delta cleanup program in which Ogoni people will not have an insight look at how the exercise is being carried out. Be it the contracts or the supervision of the program, the Ogoni people want to be in charge. It is that simple!
DumBari Tsaro Deezua.
Source: OgoniNews
