Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari was ably represented by his Vice-President, Professor Osinbajo, at an historic event that took place in my village, Bodo….the official launch of the clean-up of contaminated water and land in Ogoniland, as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP. Ogonis are not the only victims of chronic pollution caused by decades of oil exploration and production.
Ijaw, Tsekiri and so many other communities ALL OVER the Niger Delta has been profoundly affected by environmental degradation that has cost lives, severely undermined human health and impoverished those who depend on traditional occupations such as fishing and farming for basic survival. This launch shows that this government is willing in principle to right these wrongs. But launches are, at the end of the day, just symbolic events and public relations exercises. And this kind of problem can only be solved by an efficient process.
The process that is about to be undertaken in Ogoniland will be monitored by international observers as well as Nigerians; and it must be managed diplomatically and skilfully if the authorities want to achieve great or passable results. There are indications that certain individuals are hell-bent on politicising this process in a negative way. And they must be prevented from playing dodgy games that will generate conflict and jeopardise the integrity and success of the process.
I have already received several bitter complaints from Bodo indigenes who are extremely upset about the fact that not one traditional ruler from Bodo was allowed to speak yesterday, even though they were supposed to be co-hosts and had been given the impression that their voices would be heard. They claim that they were insulted and silenced because they are not close to Ogoni APC leaders. And if their suspicion is accurate, I am very disappointed. A significant number of Ogonis are PDP supporters or politically neutral. And, given that Nigeria is supposed to be a democratic nation, the concerns of those who are not members of President Buhari’s party should also be respected and addressed.
This UNEP project can only be properly implemented by a cross-party coalition of stakeholders of all political affliations. It’s not about PDP or APC. It’s about Ogoni, Rivers State, the Niger Delta, Nigeria and our global image as a country. Chief Nyesom Wike, the PDP Governor of Rivers State, has pleasantly surprised me by displaying a laudable and statesmanlike commitment to working with the Federal Government, to ensure that the Ogoni project goes well. And, by the way, while Wike was waiting for the presidential entourage to arrive from Abuja, he described it as “distinguished” (even though it contained some of his biggest adversaries!) and also described Buhari as “the father of the nation”. If Wike can forget about petty partisan politicking, within this context at least, every other participant in the process should take a leaf out of his book.
This process is going to be an immensely lengthy one – the UNEP report has said that remediation will take about 30 years. And many of us will be dead in 30 years time. But we are privileged to be part of the pioneer group that is helping to kick-start the process.
And our children and grandchildren will thank us if it works. So, yes, there are many complications ahead and numerous pitfalls on the horizon; and there will be many tough challenges to contend with, including worrying financial issues (raising the billions required to do a thorough job will not be easy). But I am cautiously optimistic because I’ve spoken to Hajiya Amina Mohammed, the Honourable Minister of Environment, and her Minister of State, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril. And I believe that they are decent technocrats who are likely to take us through the initial stages of the process intelligently and sincerely. In the meantime, let me extend heartfelt thanks to President Buhari for reaching out to Ogonis. His predecessor, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was a fellow Niger Deltan who comes from an oil-producing area, so has personal experience of the downsides of the oil industry. Yet, he didn’t take this important step on our behalf. Jonathan should be forever congratulated for handing over to Buhari peacefully. But it’s a pity that it is an “outsider” like Buhari – not our Brother Jonathan – who will go down in history as the man who took Ogoni woes seriously!
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