Having observed that Ogoniland is suffering from the inimical effects of continuous oil production in the land, Nigeria’s Federal Government formally made a request to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to conduct an independent assessment of the environment and public health impacts of oil contamination in the Niger Delta and options for remediation. The Niger Delta is highly susceptible to adverse environmental changes occasioned by climate changes because it is located in the coastal region. Reports have stated that due to oil exploration and exploitation activities, the area has become an ecological wasteland.
The report contained a background to the environmental degradation in Ogoniland. It was stated in the report that Ogoniland is characterised by typically deltaic features; uneven terrain, numerous creeks, shallow brackish water bodies and a variety of vegetation types including swamp forest. The land has a groundwater either as localised aquifers or in hydraulically interconnected aquifers. Metaphorically and practically speaking, Ogoniland is not an Island. This has two implications. The first is that pollution from Ogoniland has the potential to reach and cross its boundaries as well as entering Ogoniland from extreme sources. The second is that the problems of Ogoniland cannot be solved in isolation. These issues are particularly significant with regard to pollution in creeks. Oil pollution, once it reaches the creeks, can move back and forth with the tides. This was the basic demographic features of the land.
The basic problem with the land, as observed from the report, was a widespread oil pollution and contamination by the activities of the oil companies. Between the 1950s and 1990s, oil industry infrastructure was progressively installed in Ogoniland to aid the drilling and production of mainly oil. Activities involve upstream (exploration and production)) and downstream (processing and distribution) operations. As in oil operations worldwide, the processes are managed by different entities. The two key companies with operational facilities in Ogoniland are the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) – Nigeria, which manages the upstream activities and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which deals with the downstream activities. Other oil industry facilities in the area were owned and managed by Port Harcourt Refining Company(PHRC),Pipelines and Products Marketing Company(PPMC) and Eleme Petrochemicals Company. The oil production in Ogoniland continued till 1993 when it was shut down in the face of massive campaign of public protest against the company’s operations in Ogoniland. Since then, Shell Petroleum Development Company has not produced oil in Ogoniland.
The most important thing about the oil production activities in the area was the continuous adverse environmental effects arising from the production of petroleum hydrocarbons. Petroleum hydrocarbons are naturally occurring hydrocarbons substances and depending on the length of the carbon, can occur in gas, liquid and solid form. However, hydrocarbons refer to chemical substances formed exclusively from carbon and hydrogen by the decay of organic substances trapped within sedimentary rocks. Liquid hydrocarbons found in nature are also referred to as crude oil.
Without disputing the economic significance of hydrocarbons as the primary source of fuel and its versatile application in downstream industries, the product also has major environmental consequences. Oil exploration, production and processing represent prime sources of exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons. However, there are other sources such as vehicle and generators emissions, burning of vegetation and trash (including domestic waste), food processing and use of cooking fuels. All these activities are commonplace in Ogoniland according to the report. The petroleum hydrocarbons, due to their chemical properties and physical qualities, have environmental consequences. The consequences can be found on the soil, water, vegetation, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife and human health.
Hydrocarbons substantially alter the physical and chemical properties of the soil once it comes in contact with it. The contact could be from the natural seepage of hydrocarbons to accidental seepage of crude oil on the ground. Once the soil has been contaminated, it poses significant threat to the health of organisms through direct contact or via ingestion or inhalation of vaporised soil contaminants. In the case of water, hydrocarbons can cause both physical and chemical effects by preventing oxygen transfer in the water column, thus affecting aquatic life-support systems. As regards vegetation, where spillage is not immediately attended to, oil spills often lead to fires, causing total or partial destruction of vegetation. In the same vein, the aquatic and terrestrial wildlife are not spared the harmful effects of hydrocarbons release and oil spills. Dissolved or emulsified oil in the water column can contaminate the plankton, algae, fish, eggs and the vertebrae larvae. Also, physical contacts with oil destroys the insulation of fur and feathers, and more often, birds ingest oil which have lethal or sub-lethal impacts through, for example, liver and kidney damage. Lastly, the people living close to this oil contamination are worse off from the impact of petroleum hydrocarbons. Residents in these areas, face the risk of dangerous exposure to hydrocarbons when they breathe, bathe, eat fish, drink water or accidentally eat or touch soil or sediment that is contaminated with oil. In addition to the chemical pollution by hydrocarbons, there are other environmental concerns linked with oil industry operations. These range from clearance of land for oilfield facilities, hydrological changes due to construction of roads and pipelines and contamination from chemicals other than hydrocarbons. This obviously is the situation of things in Ogoniland arising from the continuous and unceasing oil exploration and production activities.
After carrying out the environmental assessment of the nature and extent of the impacts of the oil pollution on the inhabitants of Ogoniland, it was noted that, to find lasting solutions to improve the environmental situation in Ogoniland, all the root causes need to be addressed. It further suggested emergency measures to be initiated in the form of operational and technical recommendations with a view to achieving environmental improvement or restoration and prevention of further oil spills. The operational recommendations consist of maintenance of oilfield facilities, decommissioning of oilfield facilities and prevention of illegal activities, oil spill response and remediation of contaminated sites. On the other hand, the technical recommendations for environmental restoration include the establishment of an Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre (ICSMCS), setting up of mini-treatment centres and rehabilitation of mangroves. There were also recommendations for public health and on follow-up monitoring. The report also contained recommendations for changes to regulatory framework by proposing the strengthening of the legal and institutional weaknesses.
The report was indeed a comprehensive and detailed master plan for the environmental remediation and restoration of the Ogoniland. At this stage, the report is inactive and ineffective unless and until sincere efforts are made by the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the implementation of the report. It is noteworthy to state that the approval of actions to fast-track the implementation of the report recently by the Federal Government for the earnest commencement of environmental clean-up in Ogoniland is a right step in the right direction on the part of the government. Part of the actions is the amendment of the official gazette establishing the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), set up in 2012 after the submission of the report, to reflect a new governance framework comprising a Governing Council, a Board of Trustees and Project Management. It is expected that the environmental clean-up will commence in earnest after the inauguration of HYPREP Governing Council and the Board of Trustees for the Trust Fund.
At this juncture, it should be noted that the environmental restoration of Ogoniland would require co-ordinated efforts on the part of government agencies and industry operators. The majority of recommendations require multi-stakeholder efforts co-ordinated by the Federal Government. All the major stakeholders concerned in the report, most especially the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) must initiate all actions to address all of the recommendations directed to them in the report.
The environmental clean-up in Ogoniland is a pathway towards environmental sustainability. Thus, treating the problem of environmental contamination merely as a technical clean-up exercise will ultimately lead to failure. Ensuring long-term sustainability is a much bigger challenge – one that will require co-ordinated and collaborative actions from all stakeholders. This must include putting an end to the widespread pipeline sabotage, crude oil theft and illegal refining that are the main cause of environmental damage in Ogoniland and the wider Niger Delta.
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