On the day Ken Saro-Wiwa and his compatriots were hanged in the Port Harcourt prison, this columnist and another colleague, who then was at The Guardian, Dr. Amanze Obi, were in that troubled zone to report updates. Since the arrest of Saro-Wiwa and others, and the setting up of the Justice Auta-led Tribunal to establish their culpability in the earlier killing of four Ogoni elders, Ogoniland and Rivers had witnessed a frenzy of tragic events.
News organisations deployed reporters to unearth different angles to the story as it then unfolded. Amanze scouted Ogoni interiors while one was assigned to chase after families of all the slain chiefs- Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Oragie and Samuel Oragie.
Unknown to Obi and I, that November 10, 1995, was the day set aside for the hangman’s noose to complete its assignment. In fact, unknown to us the deed had been done as we hurried to return to Lagos. The government of General Sani Abacha had decided to hurriedly execute the verdict 10 days after, without allowance to contest the judgment at the appellate court. The justice Auta-led Tribunal had convicted the environmental activists of charges of “incitement to murder.” The tribunal found Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, Saturday Dobee, Paul Levura, Nordu Eawo, Felix Nuate, Daniel Giokoo, John Kpuien and Baribor Bera guilty.
When we arrived the Port Harcourt Airport, we discovered it had shut down for the day. Somehow, a lone plane belonging to Okada Airline arrived and needed to return to Lagos that late. We were lucky to be allocated seats in the nearly empty plane and returned to Lagos. It was at Rutam House Headquarters we heard of the execution. Reporting in those days was largely manual. No handphones, no Internet and no social media. News at the timedidn’t enjoy the Internet speed and reach it has attained today, but it got heard all the same and credibly too.
As a result of that experience, each time Ogoni is in the news as it has been for a while now, one is tempted to join to say something. More of a nostalgic impulse. Right now, Ogoni is gaining attention of government, in the countdown to renewed oil exploration. Government is eager to ramp up oil production to boost revenues and Ogoniland is one sure place to get crude.
To demonstrate the renewed interest, President Bola Tinubu has signed the law establishing the Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) to be sited in the Ogoni town of Tai. The president promised more opportunities for Ogoni sons and daughters to participate in thedevelopment of their communities. The president also promised to address decades of historical grievance in the region.
Before the wells were shut, due to the Ogoni uprising, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), was reported to produce 130,000 barrels of crude per day from the lucrative OML 11, stretching to OML 2. In the years between 1958 and 1993, Shell was reported to be responsible for 3,000 oil spill incidents that occurred from 1976 to 1993. It is not only Shell that caused environmental degradation in Ogoniland. The NNPCL pipelines leaked substantial petroleum product that affected the soil and underground.
Ogoni became the cynosure of global attention because of the environmental activism waged by the people, leading to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report of 2011. The report noted that the environmental restoration of Ogoniland would need a coordinated approach on the part of government agencies, industry operators and communities.
The report envisaged opportunities for new investment, employment and renewed sense of cooperation after years of divide and rule tactics by government and industry operators. To follow up on the UNEP report, the Federal Government established Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), to address the environmental concerns.
In June 2016, former vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, set in motion the $1 billion Ogoniland cleanup and restoration programme on behalf of the Federal Government, with a promise to restore the peace and progress in the communities.HYPREP confirmed that there are no less than 160 sites that require remediation for soil and water contamination in Ogoniland, some of which are at medium and others of very high-risk levels.
Public health was threatened with unacceptable levels of carcinogens. The mangrove cover of the Bodo shorelinewas destroyed severely, particularly in the 2008 and 2009 spills from Shell’s Trans-Niger pipeline, causing losses in fishing waters and forests. A lawsuit emanated from the spills and a subsequent out-of-court settlement was brokered.
An opportunity to witness HYPREP’s remediation efforts was quite revealing. Massive earth excavation works are ongoing at locations in Ajen-Okpori, Eleme Local Government Area, to restore the soil to pristine level for agriculture and other communal activities to safely take place. The soil had been degraded, such that levels of treatment are recommended.
The experts explained that treatment with biomaterials could recover the soil over time, and if certified fit by National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency(NOSDRA), the soil is returned to its former site. Water treatment is done same way to restore the nutrient value of ground water. This is done consistently until the water is certified fit for fishing and drinking by the people. There is also a chemical method of treatingsoil and water, depending on the contractor and the terms agreed.
There is also the 560 hectares of what used to be farmlands at Obolo, Eleme, that is undergoing remediation. According to HYPREP, this expanse had endured leakage fromthe Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL), whose pipelines had injected contaminants into the ground water for decades. The excavation here is equally massive, with the contractor separating hydrocarbons from soil, using low-pressure water to manually remove contaminants and still keeping the water intact. This is a natural, chemical-free method.
The procedure to restore the devasted shoreline between Goi and Bomu is painstaking, but rewarding. This shoreline was affected in the spills of 2008/2009, during which the vegetation cover was scorched, killing plants and animals. To restore the shoreline, clean water is injected meters-deep to push out underground pollutants. The sludge is then collected and evacuated. This process is repeated severally and as soon as the shoreline is certified free of contaminant, it is then ready for planting.
At Bomu, mangrove restoration site, HYPREP reported the planting over 1.3 million mangrove trees covering 560 hectares. Many civil society/media stakeholders have planted mangrove in solidarity with the restoration efforts. HYPREP’s communication team listed 39 mangrove restoration sites that are ongoing. Tender mangrove trees dot the shorelines and with great care and persistent nurturing, there is hope that not too long from now, substantial recovery could be on the way. There are noticeable smiles on the faces of the people, as they now have access to clean water.
There are water contracts in the communities, including drilling of boreholes and provision of motorised pumps at Alesa in Eleme; Ebubu/Nsissioken-Ogale, also in Eleme; Terabor/Biara in Gokana; Korokoro/Nonwa in Tai and others. There is also appreciable network of roads for the people to traverse the communities and be productive.
The Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER), is projected to be ready in September 2025. HYPREP Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, assured that CEER, one of the recommendations of UNEP will serve as hub for innovation and research on environmental issues in the country and beyond.
After the ecological devastation as well as psychological injury to Ogoniland, there are now noticeable repair to the damage. One point to make here is that government don’t need to wait until irreparable damage is done before corrective measures are taken. Government don’t need to wait for people to die before repairs are carried out on assets of high economic value.
The absence of a culture of maintenance is largely responsible for the devastation that occurs at locations where economic activities take place. For example, there are hundreds of abandoned minefields across the country that are left to despoil the environment. There are petroleum pipelines crisscrossing the country, which have not been repaired for decades. The ground water around these pipelines are disaster zones waiting to happen. Residents of Ejigbo, in Lagos have reported petroleum products seeping into their wells without attention paid by relevant agencies.
If Ogoni people did not cry out over the pains they suffered and continue to suffer due to the activities of oil companies in their homelands, they probably would still be suffering in silence. Citizens need to hold government accountable for their actions, especially the exploration and exploitation of resources. The $1 billion that is now committed to restoring Ogoniland and the consequences of the degradation would have been avoided and best practice would have been saved.
It is a fact that HYPREP has commenced the cleanup of Ogoni. These efforts have to be sustained because there cannot be an endless purse to draw from. For the efforts not to amount to throwing money at problems, the monitoring exercise must be robust. Local content must be encouraged to get the cooperation of the people.
As it often happens in similar agencies, HYPREP must avoid the temptation of too much bureaucracy. The regulatory authorities should avoid politicising their role. They must avoid undue interference and turning the project into a contract binge.
Civil society and environmental activists must not be tired of Ogoni issues. They should not assume that the battle is over. There’s still a lot of work to do to return the rivers and soil to their days of innocence.