Oil in the Niger Delta, clean-up begins. It is Ken Saro-Wiwa's victory
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
The Nigerian government has announced the launch of the clean-up of the area, devastated by oil activities. It will take 30 years to complete.
Oil in the Niger Delta, clean-up begins. It is Ken Saro-Wiwa's victory
The Nigerian government has announced the launch of the clean-up of the area, devastated by oil activities. It will take 30 years to complete.
After decades of struggles, deaths and legal battles, the Nigerian government announced on 2 June the launch of a gigantic clean-up plan for the Niger Delta, devastated by oil extraction activities. This is a programme never implemented before, the scale of which can be easily grasped by considering that it will take between twenty-five and thirty years to complete. At an astronomical cost, estimated at no less than one billion dollars.
The victory 20 years after the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa
The decision by the African nation represents, in effect, a historic victory for the local population, which has been calling for years and years for the area to be cleaned up. It was back in 1993 that oil giant Shell was forced to abandon the Ogoniland region, following a popular uprising led by activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. The environmental militant had in fact denounced the serious environmental problems caused by oil exploitation in the Niger Delta. He paid for his struggle with his life: two years later, on 10 November 1995, he was killed at the conclusion of a trial widely regarded as a sham by much of the international community.
Niger delta oil spill clean-up launched – but could take quarter of a century trib.al/TmpcN3M
The multinationals exploiting the oil present in the area, however, denied their responsibilities for decades, pointing instead to sabotage of infrastructure — carried out by certain rebel groups — as the true cause of the pollution that has devastated the Delta's ecosystem. At the start of 2015, though, Shell itself was convicted by a British court and ordered to pay £55 million, equivalent to around 84 million dollars, in compensation to the more than 15,600 Ogoni fishermen of the Bodo community, for the crude oil spills that occurred between 2008 and 2009 alone.
NIGER DELTA AVENGERS: We just blew up 2 Chevron oil wells read.bi/1UjikNo
Nevertheless, anger in the area has not subsided. Armed groups, who have proclaimed themselves "Niger Delta Avengers", have repeatedly attacked a number of installations, causing considerable damage.
"But the Niger Delta clean-up is not enough"
Yesterday a Shell Nigeria representative, Osagie Okunbor, stated his intention to participate in the clean-up of Ogoniland. However, according to Ledum Mitee, the veteran leader of Saro-Wiwa's Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), the effort announced by the government will not be sufficient. Speaking to the AFP news agency, he explained that what is needed is "a broader awareness to address the problems of marginalisation, underdevelopment and economic exploitation of the region".