Governor Amaechi has shown some significant drive towards sustainable development since he assumed office in 2007. First was the focus on infrastructural development in the state capital, Port Harcourt. Secondly was the creation of an agency for sustainable development.
A recent issue on the front burner is the proposed Ogoni banana project. An estimated 2,000 hectares of land is to be deployed , an unnamed farmer of Mexican origin is in partnership with government on the project and as usual, the farm will likely be abandoned and sold out at give-away price to some “indigenous farmers” who eventually will turn out to be cronies of top politicians.
I would have considered the banana project a good one but for the non-economic sense it makes to me. It is my opinion and i maintain that the Governor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi had been ill advised on this project.
First is the fact that the 2,000 hectares of land earmarked for the project is outrageous for an a densely populated region like the Ogoni with a total land area of 1,000sq kilometers. Taking such mass of land from a small area like Ogoni where much of the land had been polluted by oil spills simply underscores the fact that the project is lacking in morality and no economic benefit can justify its establishment.
Secondly, the project is taking all of the farmlands that sustain Ogoni villagers. The implication is that food scarcity will result and social vices will be on the increase. In other words, the banana project will only worsen the security situation in the country instead of helping to solve them.
Thirdly, the Ogoni people have sounded their disapproval for the project and a listening government should find reason not to go on with such project. In an area where environmental degradation has rendered much of the land useless and unproductive, it appears to me that government’s insistence on taking away the only section that could still be used for agriculture and community sustenance is nothing short of a deliberate plot to cause hardship and food crisis in Ogoni.
It is my opinion that government does not need to deprive the people of all their land to achieve any level of economic development in Ogoni. Government should understand that these farmlands sustains poor subsistence farmers in Ogoni. Takingit from them is forcing death on them. Government should focus its energy on provision of water, electricity, roads, and quality education and not forcefully take that which sustains subsistence farmers from them.
Bumaa Lebe wrote in from Ontario., Canada.
Source: OgoniNews
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