Education
Crude Oil Pollution: Establish Comprehensive Scientific Rehab Centres In Rivers State – Prof Ejima
In a bid to ameliorate the adverse effects of crude oil pollution activities on crop farms, relevant stakeholders have been urged to established comprehensive scientific rehabilitation programme centres in Rivers State.
Speaking while delivering the 47th Inaugural Lecture Series, titled: ‘Crude Oil Pollution, Crop Production And Farmers’ Welfare In Rivers State’, of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, last Thursday, the Inaugural Guest Lecturer, a Professor of Agricultural Production and Environmental Economics, Prof ThankGod Peter Ojimba stated that establishing such rehab centres in the state would go along way in addressing crude oil pollution and its negative effects on farm crops.
Prof Ejima stated further that the acquisition of crop farms from peasant farmers in Rivers State for crude oil exploration, exploitation and production activities have deprived crop farmers of tangible areas of land, resulting to lost of farmland and output, hence impoverishing these peasant crop farmers.
He stressed that the inadequate pattern of handling oil pollution issues by the multinational oil companies in the state had caused more hardship on crop farmers than blessings.
Ejima stressed the need to intensify the dissemination of benefits, from rehabilitation programmes as well educating crop farmers on best practices and functional measures to adopt in case of unavoidable crude oil spillage.
Ejima added that commensurate fine should be paid to owners of farm lands without delay or denial, adding that this would help these farmers look for alternative means of livelihoods instead of dying in abject poverty as a result of oil spillage.
“Adequate list of all farmlands affected by crude oil pollution should be compiled and commensurate amount of compensations paid by oil companies responsible for the acquisition of land affected to the owners of such farmlands promptly in line with economic trends in the country after the correct evaluation of land and crop areas lost have been ascertained by experts.
“If compensations are paid promptly to farmers affected by crude oil pollution, they will seek alternative means of livelihoods by diversifying their resources and sources of income to seek for greater off-farm income.
“This would in turn create less dependency on crop farming in crude oil pollution prone areas which will help reduce the tension, conflicts, violence, protests, poverty and hardship, agitation of resource control between the host communities and the multinational oil companies and the governments, among others,” Prof. Ejima recommended.
By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
The River State Commissioner for Education, Dr Peters Nwagor has called on media practitioners in Rivers State to deploy their various communication platforms toward promoting government programmes and policies aimed at achieving sustainable development in the education sector. Dr. Nwagor made the appeal when members of the Etche Ethnic Practicing Journalists (EEPJ) paid him a courtesy visit in Office in Port Harcourt. The Commissioner emphasized the strategic role of the media in shaping public perception, promoting government initiatives, and supporting policies capable of improving the quality of education and human capital development in the state. According to him, constructive media engagement remains essential in creating public awareness on educational reforms, students’ welfare, infrastructural improvements, and other interventions being implemented by the state government. Speaking on the recent appro
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