The Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, Dr.
Godwin Uyi Ojo, in this interview with Edu Abade says the cleanup process of
Ogoniland announced at the commencement of the President Muhammadu Buhari
administration with funfair has been politicized due to diverse interests...
He
argues that Shell’s membership of the governing council can only be likened to
a judge sitting on his own case. He also expressed concerns over the
desecration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has culminated in the
partial passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) recently by
the Senate. An environmental activist for more than three decades, Ojo insists
that oil as an exhaustible resource, will become obsolete on 20-30 years and
advises Nigeria to explore alternative sources of energy.
What, in your view, is actually delaying the cleanup of
Ogoni land for over two years after the Federal Government announced its
commencement?
The cleanup process was flagged off with funfair and with
raised expectations that things will be done in Ogoni. But we have seen clearly
that the cleanup process of Ogoniland has been politicised and the diverse
interests in the process has not been properly managed to the extent that there
are different expectations from different interest groups. This is one of the
serious problems why the cleanup has not commenced. And because it has been
politicised, the flag off itself is a mere political statement with what we
have seen. Two years down the line, not a drop of oil has been cleaned up.
Do you think that Shell has a hand in this dilemma?
Yes. I think the cleanup process and the entire setup shows
that the sovereignty of the Nigerian state has been compromised because Shell
is the chief culprit responsible for the pollution. Not surprisingly, Shell is
a member of the governing council while other oil companies have
representatives on the board of trustees. So, Shell is a judge in its own case
and this is one of the reasons we suspect that they are protecting their
interests as a company that is well known for making promises that it does not
intend to keep. Shell’s membership of the governing council may have
compromised the process.
Are the Ogoni well represented in the committee set up by
government, including the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP)
committee?
Well, individually we can say yes, but in terms of
institutions, they are largely marginalised. The United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP) report recommended the setting up of Ogoni Restoration
Authority (ORA) but that has not taken place. Instead, the Ogoni have been
muscled and what you have is a pseudo institution called HYPREP, which has
taken the place of ORA. The intention was that the Ogoni would then be
empowered to run the institution and ensure a proper cleanup. Although headed
by an Ogoni and one or two persons on the board of trustees, the HYPREP is
inadequate. The main issue is the institutional framework in place and the fact
that the ORA has not been settled at all, is a major problem.
In this regard, do you think the Ogoni are united in their
resolve for the clean up to take place?
I can tell you that the Ogoni are largely united for the
cleanup to take place because while a consensus may not be achieved, the
overwhelming majority yearn for the cleanup for which Ken Saro-Wiwa and his
Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) compatriots paid the
supreme prize. So, the struggle has been on and majority of Ogoni people have
been at the forefront with Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and other civil
society groups. By and large, the ERA is committed to continue working with
communities, especially the Ogoni, to put pressure on the process and ensure
that people’s expectations are managed and ensure that the cleanup takes place.
In addition to that, we have been at the vanguard of the protection of the
environment in Ogoni. We clamoured for the UNEP report to be released and for
the study of Ogoni land. We are still calling for the cleanup of the Niger
Delta through environmental and impact assessment. For the past six years, we
have been on this struggle in ensuring that justice is in Ogoni.
What is your take on Shell’s decision to commit only $200
million yearly for the exercise, instead of $1 billion recommended by the UNEP
report?
I think Shell is eating its cake and trying to have it,
because they are the regulated that has become the regulator. They are being
let-off the hook by the Federal Government. The UNEP report recommended that
they commit $1billion initial take off grant but they have been able to say
whatever the reason, which is untenable because you are making profit and you
have made the money, we are asking for a fraction of that profit. So, Shell and
the Federal Government, instead of paying $1billion, as recommended by the UNEP
report, have said they want to pay $200 million yearly for the cleanup. But as
we speak, while that is grossly inadequate, only $10 million has been released
for the year 2017. So, we are calling on the Federal Government and Shell to
declare the amount that they will pledge to the cleanup process in 2017, next
year and beyond.
The UNEP asked the Ogoni to be patient with the Nigerian
government, if you remember clearly. So, what exactly does that mean in the
context of the cleanup project?
I think more than any minority tribe in Nigeria, the Ogoni
has been more peaceful and more patient in terms of the environmental
disintegration and responses that we have seen. But having said that, I think
that UNEP itself should be more political in putting pressure on government and
the process to ensure a cleanup, especially when they see that there are
violations of their recommendations… We have seen a situation where Shell
advertised for contractors and people for the cleanup process and they have
also said that 12 people have been trained for the cleanup exercise. This is
preposterous because we are talking of a gigantic technology driven process and
here they are trying outdated measures. The critical element is that UNEP ought
to be in the forefront of the cleaning process because they have a pool of
competent contractors. They have not only gone through the process before but
they will deploy the appropriate technology for the cleaning. Again, you don’t
need new breed technocrats in the cleaning process. The National Oil Spill
Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) was supposed to be detecting spills but
they are so handicapped that they can neither detect spills nor respond to
them. This is the process to empower them so that they are able to monitor and
provide technical solutions to spills. I think Nigeria is missing it because
the right institutions are not being consulted. NOSDRA should be empowered to play
a central role in the monitoring of the cleaning process. Right now they are
not able to discharge that responsibility. Of course, you know that some of
these cleanup sites that Shell has said have been cleaned up in the Niger Delta
are not cleaned at all but they have been certified as clean by NOSDRA.
Why hasn’t Shell decommissioned, yet it is divesting from
most onshore facilities and moving offshore?
This is one of the enemies so strong that we think UNEP and
the Federal Government should address calls for a decommissioning of Shell
facilities. That is, facilities that are active should be rendered immobile or
decommissioned in a way that they do not continue to be active. That virtually
means removing obsolete facilities and equipment. It means leaving the place
but they are trying to continue to put a foothold on Ogoniland. Shell has
destroyed their image in Ogoni and there is no love lost between the company
and the community. So, it will be hard for Shell to go back to Ogoni. But I can
tell you I had letters from communities that Shell has been trying to re-enter
Ogoni by changing some of the pipelines. This can result to serious conflict
because cases have not been settled and so on. Shell should not use the cleanup
process to re-enter Ogoni land. That could be very fatal.
What about the movement from onshore to offshore?
The movement from onshore to offshore is a deliberate
attempt to leave behind the environmental degradation, mess and pollution they
have created onshore. That is why they want to run away. We are saying that
Shell should not be allowed to divest from onshore and move offshore without
clearing up their mess. They are responsible and will remain responsible and
should, therefore, cleanup Ogoni and the entire Niger Delta.
What is your opinion on the Petroleum Industry Governance
Bill (PIGB) and the balkanisation of the original Petroleum Industry Bill
(PIB)? Do you think the communities would get a fair deal on this, especially
as the PIGB was partially passed by the Senate recently?
I think the lawmakers got it wrong when they balkanised the
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and renamed it the Petroleum Industry Governance
Bill (PIGB) and only recently passed it partially. We reject it completely. The
passage of the PIGB is no more than window dressing and a grope in the dark.
This is highly unacceptable. The bill is pro-industry and fails to provide any
holistic approach to resolving the persistent resource conflicts, environmental
degradation and human rights violation being perpetrated by transnational oil
companies operations in the Niger Delta on a daily basis. Since rural farming
and fishing livelihoods have been destroyed what innovative ways are being
proposed to account for this? The earlier versions of the Bill in the previous years
recommended the inclusion of at least 10 per cent equity fund from oil revenue
to be devolved to the host communities so that they can be involved in decision
making and community development of their areas. In this present bill,
community concerns are grossly neglected. The bill cannot be appreciated by a
piecemeal approach. We are told there will be other three or four bills that
are in the making. The question is where are the other Bills? Let the Senate, and House of Representatives
put all the cards on the table to allow for transparency and accountability in
the process. What constitutes environmental infractions and penalties were not
specified in the bill making it irrelevant to resolving conflicts in the oil
fields of the Niger Delta. The bill has very little or no value added beyond
investments, dividends and profits to the detriment of the people.
What is the future of oil, given all the challenges
surrounding it locally and internationally?
Oil will become obsolete in the next 30years. There are now
electrical cars. There is now a global Paris agreement for a gradual
de-carbonisation process. You will see a transition from fossil fuel dependency
to renewable sources of energy. Nigeria and other countries will become lagging
if they don’t develop a renewable energy hub in West Africa. We are not
thinking of energy transition and when we signal leave the oil in the soil, we
are talking about Nigeria beyond oil because oil will become an obsolete
resource in 15, 20, 30 years.
Has civil society played enough roles in the clean up
process in Ogoni land and with other environmental issues?
Civil societies in Nigeria are filling the gap of opposition
in providing critical reflections on governmental policies and governmental
programmes in terms of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The
role we have played in sustaining the struggle for the cleanup of the Niger
Delta through peaceful protests, advocacy, workshops, local empowerment, has
helped to enhance environmental awareness in Nigeria. We strongly believe that
a critical mass is being built up and this has led to increasing voices
speaking up in defense of the environment. Having said that, civil society
should understand that they need not be sucked into the Ogoni cleanup process
and the HYPREP itself must understand it is not only those that are working
within the structure of the cleanup that they should consult. There are others
who seek not to be sucked in, but want to ensure independent monitoring for the
cleanup process. We see a situation where HYPREP is making consultations with
civil society and choosing those to consult, which is rather arbitrary. So,
civil society will continue to push. A major challenge presently is that some
civil society groups have mushroomed into mouthpieces for government and even
Shell.
What has the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the
Earth (ERA/FoEN) done to ensure that the Ogoni gets justice and fairness in the
cleanup process?
In the Niger Delta, ERA/FoEN has been at the forefront of
the struggle to put the cleanup of the area in the front burner and we have
ensured that we continue to talk about gas flaring. We have secured several
governments’ commitment to end gas flaring but each of those commitments was
never honored. Ours is to advocate and bring issues before government and
believe that government will listen to us one day. Of course, we signaled the
cleanup process that has become a major platform for this government. So, we
will continue to push for the cleanup and institutions have been set up. I
would say we are making progress but how would the situation have been like if
ERA and other civil society groups were not speaking as we do. I think we are
building the critical mass and we are responding to the misadventures of
multinational oil companies, we are educating people… There is environmental
awareness in the country and people are more interested in environmental issues
more than in say, 20 years ago. We have been championing the struggle on a
global scale to ensure that transnational corporations answer for their human
rights violations. On June 5, 2015, the United Nations passed a resolution that
transnational companies should be held accountable for their environmental violations
and we are working with global partners to bring corporations to account.
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