The Nembe oil spill

IF anything illustrates the sloppy manner in which issues of critical national interest are handled in this clime, it is the tardy official response to the recent oil spillage in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The leak, which occurred on November 5 at the OML 29 Wellhead 1 operated by Aiteo Exploration and Production Company Limited, reportedly polluted the Santa Barbra River and creeks for more than a month before it was stopped.  For 32 days, the spillage virtually despoiled everything in sight and almost brought life to a standstill in the affected areas. It was eventually halted through the combined efforts of the foreign consulting company, Boots and Coot and Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA), a group made up of oil and gas-producing companies in the country.

Members of the affected communities had cried out for succour as the spillage spread to fishing and farm settlements in the Abureni Kingdom in the Ogbia and the Abua/Odual local government areas of Bayelsa and Rivers states, respectively. During a press conference in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, leaders of the Abureni kingdom led by their traditional ruler, Collins Daniel, listed some of the affected communities to include Idema, Eboh, Obeduma, Iduma, Emago-Kugbo, Akani (Oghan), Amorokeni, Amuruto I and II, Oruan (Atubo I), Emalo and Abu. Other communities listed were Oboghe, Adueni, Emata-Theophilus (Mokili), Omomema, Ebililagh, Emata-Amoni, Emaerkirika, Emataiwaribo, Obhyoghan, Emata-Abiosi, Idumanamugbo, Emata-Inemo and Emataebi. According to the leaders, the incident had caused economic losses, environmental pollution, environmental degradation, misery and diseases among the people. They claimed that the management of the oil firm had not visited any of the communities.

On his part, while hosting the House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring during the committee’s courtesy visit to the Government House in Yenagoa on Monday, the Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri,  flayed the silence of the House on the incident. He said: “I stand by what I said during the period of the oil spill. There is nowhere in the world where an oil spill of such magnitude would occur and the legislators would be silent. I drew a parallel with the oil spill 10 years ago in the Gulf of Mexico. Here in the creeks of Bayelsa, we had a gushing oil spill for more than one full month and there was loud silence from my own constituency, the Green Chamber.”

To say the very least, the Nembe oil spill is a major catastrophe. According to reports, some two million barrels of oil were spilt, destroying the ecosystem and people’s means of livelihood. For far too long, the impression has been given by the Federal Government and state governments in the Niger Delta region that the oil-producing communities can survive any kind of tragedy. Nigerians would recall how, for a lengthy period of time, “Ogoni clean-up” became a mere catchphrase among politicians rather than a serious programme of action. The latest incident, which Governor Diri described as the worst of such tragedies in the Niger Delta and whose sight the Federal Government likened to a war zone due to the level of environmental degradation and destruction it orchestrated, should therefore cause governments at all levels to re-assess their approach to oil governance issues. It is difficult to imagine any modern country in which a spillage of the Nembe magnitude would be allowed to wreak such maximal damage before being put under control.

There can be no doubt that the latest incident has further compounded the problem of air and water pollution in the affected areas. The government and oil firms should go beyond offering palliatives: they should henceforth take preemptive measures against such massive destruction, socioeconomic dislocation and disruptions. Premium should at all times be placed on public welfare. The practice of mortgaging the lives of the long-suffering people of the Niger Delta while enjoying the rustle of petro-dollars must cease forthwith. The people cannot keep getting hard done by. Those constitutionally mandated to pursue and ensure their welfare, peace and prosperity must do their jobs or be impeached and dumped out of office. Needless to say, in the extant case, there must be proper clean-up of the affected communities and settlements using experts and deploying international best practices.

We sympathise with members of the affected communities and urge the Bayelsa State government and the Federal Government to give them all the support they may require at this time. The incident should be investigated, as oil cannot continue being a curse to the Niger Delta people.

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