OGONI CLEAN-UP IS NOT PROGRESSING SATISFACTORILY ….Nothing on ground in Ogoniland to show that cleanup can commence in August
SOCIAL ACTION joins the rest of the world to mark June 5, 2018 World Environment Day with the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”. We therefore wish to use this opportunity to react to some statements on environmental issues in Nigeria especially those bordering on the Ogoni/Niger Delta Cleanup.
Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action) has been monitoring the Niger Delta environment and the implementation of UNEP Report on Ogoniland since 2007 and in 2014 and 2016 published two monitoring reports on the Ogoni Cleanup. They are titled; “STILL POLLUTED” and “CLEANING IN A VACCUM”.
It is against these backgrounds that Social Action welcomes the statement credited to the Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil during a medical outreach in Taabaa Community on April 21, 2018 that the Ogoni cleanup would start in August 2018. The Minister of State for Environment, Mr. Jubril Usman was also quoted by the media during a briefing in Abuja to mark 2018 World Environment Day as saying that the cleanup would start by ending of August 2018. It is however worrisome and contradictory to also hear the same HYPREP Coordinator told Al Jazeera in an interview in his office, a month later on May 18, 2018 that the Ogoni cleanup would start in September and not the August that he told the public earlier.
While Social Action is not against the immediate commencement of the Ogoni cleanup after 7years of the release of the UNEP report on August 4, 2011 and 2years after the flag-off on June 2, 2016, the organization is however worried that the Federal Ministry of Environment and HYPREP are not prepared for the cleanup and therefore on a mission to “Cleaning in a Vacuum”.
We have doubt that HYPREP can undertake any credible and successful cleanup that meets international standard in August 2018 or even its new timeline of September 2018 when certain UNEP recommended preliminary steps have not been taken and the necessary facilities are not yet in place in Ogoniland. Our field monitoring report shows that HYPREP is not yet prepared for Ogoni cleanup even by December 2018 because the following UNEP Report recommendations are not yet in in place. They are;
1. Absent of Contaminated Soil Treatment Centre: This centre recommended by UNEP and its foundation laid by former Minister of Environment (current Deputy Secretary General of the UN), Amina Muhammed in February 2017 has been abandoned by HYPREP since Amina left office. This site located in Bori-Ogoniland is currently overgrown with weeds and we wonder how HYPREP intends to carry out the cleanup exercise without this vital facility in place.
2. Absence of Centre of Excellence: This Centre was recommended by UNEP and its foundation also laid by Amina Muhammed on February 27, 2017 with the planting of a tree but till date, the location in Bori is covered with weeds and we are wondering how clean up can happen without this fundamental facility in place.
3. Failure to Implement Emergency Measures: The emergency measures recommended by UNEP to precede the cleanup has not been implemented. This include provision of portable drinking water, Health Audit, etc.
4. Reneging on Promise to Re-assess of Oil Contaminated Sites, etc.: HYREP had said in the past that plans to re-assess contaminated sites in Ogoni to determine the currently level of pollution after UNEP Report in 2011 was partly responsible for the delay of the Ogoni cleanup. To address these, HYPREP made publications in national newspapers in 2017 calling for expression of interest by competent companies to carry out the re-assessment of sites assessed by UNEP and those not assessed by UNEP. HYPREP also went further in the said call for expression of interest and advertised for companies that would handle the provision of drinking water, assessment of water facilities in Ogoniland and health audit of the Ogoni people whom UNEP said had lived with pollution all their lives. It would however interest you to know that, till date, HYPREP has not awarded contract to any company to reassess polluted sites in Ogoniland that they claimed was partly responsible for the delay of the Ogoni cleanup but has gone ahead to advertise again in 2018; called for expression of interest, opened bid and ‘preparing’ to award contracts for the commencement of its mirage cleanup in August 2018.
5. Refusal to publish cleanup implementation work plan: Since the Flag-off of the Ogoni Cleanup exercise on June 2, 2016, HYPREP has failed to publish the cleanup implementation framework/wok plan. We (Social Action) also wrote and officially requested for the work plan but HYPREP refused to release the document if it exists.
We therefore dismiss claims by HYPREP that it would be able to start Ogoni cleanup in August 2018 with a wave of the hand because these pivotal facilities are not yet in place, excepts HYPREP is on a mission to impress the political class ahead of the 2019 general elections by cleaning in a vacuum.
HYPREP’s constant reneging on promises and shifting of goal posts for the commencement of the Ogoni cleanup is causing more harm to the Ogoni people who live in the polluted environment, breathe polluted air, drink oil polluted water and dying in their numbers over the environmental poisons.
We call on HYPREP to lay a solid foundation for a sustainable commencement of the Ogoni cleanup by implementing the emergency measures, constructing the Contaminated Soil Treatment Centre, Centre of Excellence, etc.
Besides, Social Action takes the recent directive by President Muhamadu Buhari for funds to be released for the Ogoni cleanup with a pinch of salt because similar statement was made in August 2015 to “Fast Track” the cleanup and this is where we are today still advocating for the cleanup to happen. We would have however taken Mr. President Statement more seriously if the President had made direct budgetary provisions for Ogoni cleanup in the 2018 Appropriation Bill. With the reverse as the case, we wonder where the funds that the President had directed to be released would come from.
These are indications and realities on ground in Ogoniland to show that the Ogoni cleanup is not “progressing satisfactorily” as stated by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR in his May 29, 2018 Democracy Day speech and that there is nothing on ground in Ogoniland to show that HYPREP is prepared to carry out cleanup in Ogoniland in August 2018.
Signed,
Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface,
Research/Progamme Officer, Social Action