Ogoni Clean-Up: NGO Hails Buhari

An NGO, the Health of
Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari, for approving action to fast-track the clean-up of devastated environment of Ogoni land in Rivers.
The NGO’s reaction is contained in a statement issued by its Communications Officer, Mr Oluwafunmilayo Oyatogun, and made available to the newsmen in Port Harcourt.
It would  be recalled that the president, on Wednesday gave approval to fast-track the clean-up as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
The statement, however, said that the implementation of the plan coming four year after was “unconscionable by all standards.’’
It also called for the renaming of the body saddled with the exercise from Hydrocarbons Pollution Restoration Project ((HYPREP) to “remediation’’ project.
According to the statement, the objective is to remediate the environment, not to restore pollution.
“HOMEF recommends that the name be changed to Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) or Hydrocarbons Clean-up Project (HYCUP).
“Better still, the body should be renamed as Ogoni Environment Restoration Agency as recommended by UNEP.
“If the idea is to pave way for an agency that serves the entire Niger Delta, the needful thing to do, while having a specific project for Ogoniland, would be to rename the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as Niger Delta Environment Restoration Commission.’’
The statement quoted Mr Nnimmo Bassey, the Director-General of HOMEF, as saying that there were rough edges that still required to be addressed for a smooth take off of the clean-up project.
“A significant aspect is the non-inclusion of at least one representative of civil society in the structures set up by the president.
“The role and deep stakes of civil society in the struggle for the clean-up of Ogoniland and the Niger Delta cannot be overlooked. Their inclusion is essential for oversight reason,’’ Bassey said.
He also commended the Federal Government for the $10 million for the exercise.
The director general, however, said Shell, the oil giant which it described as the “polluter’ should be made to pay the $1 billion estimated by UNEP as “a start sum without further prevarications.’’
“This laudable step of President Buhari should be followed with a commissioning of environmental audits on other devastated territories in the Niger Delta.
“These should be the starting point for an urgent and thorough auditing of the total state of the Nigerian environment, from the South to the North and from the East to the West,’’ he said.
Bassey also commended the Ogoni people for their consistent and dogged struggles in ensuring that their environment was cleaned up.
He said the exercise, coming 20 years after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni martyrs, who championed the struggle showed that their sacrifices were not in vain.
“President Buhari has a golden opportunity to fulfil his campaign promise to implement the UNEP report and should do so expeditiously,’’ the NGO said.