Some women in Ogoni land have accused the management of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) of complete failure, in the on-going Ogoni clean-up exercise.
In a one-day interactive session titled: ‘HYPREP’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) On The Ogoni Clean-Up’, organised by Ketbetkache Women Resource and Development Centre, last Monday, participants expressed dissatisfaction over the clean-up exercise.
They alleged that nothing significant has been implemented in regards to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Emergency Measures and others.
The women regretted that the joy they had for having an Ogoni man to head the project has turned to nightmares as HYPREP Head, Marvin Dekil, and other Ogoni indigenes have remained calm watching the entire clean-up process yield no positive result.
Speaking to The Tide, Dr Patience Osarojiji recounted the ugly experiences she had with HYPREP, wondering why HYPREP professes that they practice an open and all – inclusive policy when in reality, the reverse is the case.
Osarojiji stressed that HYPREP has failed the people of Ogoni and as such, the women can no longer keep silent and allow the world believe in what is not on ground in Ogoniland, adding that the palliative measures expected to ameliorate the plight of the Ogoni people have been flawed.
She added that HYPREP ignored the recommendations in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Emergency Measures such as the provision of short term potable sources of drinking water, health registry to ensure those that consumed water from the contaminated sources are tested and properly treated, the posting of signs in areas where hydrocarbons were observed on water surface to warn the people not to swim, play, bath or fish in such areas.
Osarojiji stressed that others were the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the comprehensive debomission of oil facilities that fail, an asset integrity management plan, the setting up of an integrated contaminated soil management centre subdivided into four units namely: Incinerator, Themal Soil Washing and contaminated water units.
She maintained that what is on ground in terms of the Ogoni Clean-up is a total deviation from UNEP report recommendations. She called on the management of HYPREP to operate a true open policy by allowing people with good ideas and suggestions interface with them, instead of moving around the Ogoni area with heavily gadgeted military men.
Osarojiji stressed further that if HYPREP were sincere in the Ogoni clean-up exercise there would be no need for them to come to the area with heavy military men nor to even place military men all over their premises, adding that more money is rather being spent on security than the clean-up itself.
Also speaking, another woman activist, a councilor in Gokana Local Government Area, Hon Dorathy Korgbara, stated that it was disheartening to see HYPREP avoiding some major questions she asked during their last meeting with HYPREP, she promised to mobilise women in her area so as to ensure that HYPREP do the needful.
Korgbara regreted that it’s more than three years since the Federal Government flaged off the Ogoni Clean-up, yet nothing significant has been done, and quoted the Federal Government as saying: “ the implementation of the UNEP report recommendations on the Ogoni clean-up will be done holistically such that would ensure total accountability, transparency, true and sincere partnership, guarantee job creation for young people as well as agro-allied, proper representation of the people at the grass roots as well as putting in place industries needed for processing agricultural produce,” among others.
She emphasised that it is expected of HYPREP to build a modern industrial enterprise centre to drive the Clean-up process and employ hundreds of Ogoni people.
In his paper presentation, an environment expert, Dr Sam Kabari, stated that baselines study is key to success Indicator and KPIs, adding that it was regrettable that out of all the KPIs HYPREP only has baseline on environment which is a dangerous signal that would not lead to a successful actualization of the Ogoni Clean-up exercise.
Kabari, who works with the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development urged women from Ogoni areas to give their full support to HYPREP so as to ensure a huge success in the Ogoni clean-up exercise.
He urged women to understand that one of the mandates of HYPREP is livelihood restoration, charging the the women to know that they are the most impacted, hence should peacefully demand for their livelihood through advocacy and dialogue, among others.
Earlier, the executive director, Ketbetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Madam Emem Okon, had noted that the event was strategic as it would create opportunity for women drawn from the local government areas in Ogoni land to engage and to deduced from HYPREP’s activities, the proper implementation of KPIs by HYPREP or not.
Emem also charged the Ogoni Women Development Initiative to draw up their programme of activities, noting that bringing them to the knowledge of the centre would give a faster response to some of their challenges saying: ‘we expect the women group to do more as people expect to hear from the women groups in the area’.
She emphasised that the women groups ensure that the KPIs were gender sensitive noting that as part of its contributions in ensuring a huge success in the Ogoni clean-up, CEHRD is ready to take inputs from the women groups at the end of the interactive session, to work with HYPREP so as to ensure a huge success in the Ogoni Clean-up exercise.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana