Ever
since oil was discovered in the Niger Delta more than sixty years ago
the lives of the people, there, has been blighted by widespread
ecological and environmental pollution. It has reduced people’s life
expectancy, led to the abandonment of their primary occupations
as
farmers and fishermen as oil pollution has destroyed both land and
fishing grounds. There is widespread unemployment and general unrest.
This has led to general dissatisfaction amongst the people and is
partially to blame for the renewed calls for the re-establishment of the
defunct Biafra republic.
Disillusioned
and unemployed youths have taken to arms destroying pipelines and
installations and kidnapping oil workers in a bid to get something back.
These groups go by many names and the notable of all, presently, is the
Niger Delta Avengers – who are currently negotiating with the
government. Apart from frequently wreaking havoc on oil installations
they also frequently battle each other. In the past fifteen years the
Federal Government has had to frequently send troops down to the region
to try and restore law and order.
Unfortunately
the damage is done. The multi- national oil companies operating in the
region have been allowed to get away with so much for so long
considering the fact there are no laws in Nigeria forcing them to
clean-up or invest in the areas. Also over the course of over fifty
years the oil companies have colluded with both military and civilian
governmental officials to have things their own way. The 1995 execution
of the environmentalist/writer Ken Saro Wiwa exposed BPs complicity in
his death and connivance with the then government of the late Sanni
Abacha.
In
recent years there have been attempts to appease the warring militants
of the region to the extent of bribing them to lay down their arms and
sending some abroad to gain further education. There have also been
feeble attempts at a clean-up operation.
Unfortunately
both attempts have failed. Paying off the militants hasn’t convinced
them to lay down their arms. Not only is it not a lasting solution to
the problem it has encouraged rogue splinter groups to emerge to earn
‘easy money’ from the government. Leaders of such groups have become tin
gods who have splashed out money received on 4X4 jeeps and a luxurious
lifestyle ignoring the masses they claim to represent. And the clean-up
of the polluted areas will take forever – if an attempt is even made to
start.
Nothing
will work until the Federal Government forces the oil companies to take
full responsibility for their actions. When the BP- operated DeepWater
Horizon oil rig exploded in 2010 killing eleven workers and causing a
massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the American government not only
forced BP to clean-up but fined the company more than $4 Billion
Dollars- and that’s not counting other pending private lawsuits against
the company. This money will be used by the government to compensate and
rehabilitate all those affected by the disaster.
Though
it will be virtually impossible to get the oil companies operating in
Nigeria to agree to do a clean-up a forced levy can be imposed upon them
for re-development of the region.
Call
it a ‘Niger Delta Re-Development Fund’ where monies collected from the
oil companies will be used to relocate worst-affected smaller
communities(if need be) to new settlements, to provide social amenities,
education and most important of all – employment!
Someone
robbed of their health and livelihood by oil pollution is bound to turn
to mischief. The oil industry is a vast industry that employs thousands
of workers every year. Why not make it a priority to recruit,
exclusively, from the local indigenes first? Why not give the job of
clean-up operations to these Niger militants to keep them out of
trouble? The oil industry has a lot of tertiary companies that support
their operations. Why not force these companies to re-locate to these
districts or get them to establish branches in theses improvised areas?
If you establish a company, for instance, that dry cleans/launders
workers overalls and employ fifty local people you are actually taking
fifty people off the street who might otherwise be troublesome.
Also,
education is very important here and should not be forgotten. Most of
the militants, currently terrorizing the region, are in their late teens
or early twenties and giving them access to a good education will give
them a better chance in life. Already some schemes are in place that
provides scholarships but it needs to be more widespread.
Establish
a tax-free or low-tax zone to encourage both domestic and foreign
investors. Foreign trawlers who come to fish off our waters would more
than likely be interested in owning a processing plant in such an area
instead of having to freeze their catch and cart it off to their
countries.
Since
the discovery of oil in the Niger Delta all the indigenous cottage
industries have all but disappeared. With proper funding, probably from
government backed micro-finance banks, this can be revitalised. This
will give the local indigenes an alternative source of income to what
they’ve lost from farming and fishing.
Bribing
militants or confronting them, leaving oil companies un-governed and
un-checked and coming up with impossible schemes to clean-up the
pollution will never solve the Niger Delta problem. Getting the Niger
Delta militants educated, employed and out of trouble and dealing with
the oil companies with a more firmer hand will.
'Solution to the Niger Delta Problem: How To Appease the Warring Militants' by Tony Ogunlowo
Reviewed by getitrightnigerians
on
09:07:00
Rating:
Hmmmmmmmm!
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