Ogunpa Canal literally overtaken by refuse dumped by residents of Ibadan
Nigeria has been
rated as the second highest gas flaring nation in the world.
This was contained in a report entitled, “after Bodo”, effective remedy and recourse options for victims of environmental degradation delated to oil extraction in Nigeria” issued by the Centre for Environment Human Rights and Development ( CEURD) in Port Harcourt.
The publication, which said that the country also accounts “for over 10 per cent of total gas flared globally also lamented the lack of incentives for oil producing communities in the country.
“Few will dispute that environmental degradation is rampant throughout the oil producing region of Nigeria ‘whether due to oil spills, gas flaring, dumping of waste associated with drilling, artisanal refining of other related activities, the impacts on land, water and vegetation and consequently on human livelihoods and health are widespread and severe.
“There is little hope that each environmental degradation will lesson or lease, unless there are serious and sustained multilateral efforts to curb pollution and remediate the environment” in the report, also described as unfortunate the unavailability of policies to formally tackled oil related pollution in the Niger Delta. “Unfortunately, at present, the proper incentives are not in placed for government and the oil industry, licensed and unlicensed/black market to firmly tackle oil-related pollution as they would, if they are truly committed to the well being of citizens and the environment.
“Instead, an easy calculation reveals hefty profits on one side and relatively minor available penalties imposed for pollution or lack of cleaning up.
“Litigation risks are limited and spin machines manage to counter reputational risks” it said.
The centre stressed the need for persons or communities affected by oil-related environmental degradation to be allowed to access real and sufficient remedy, stressing that the remedy must be equivalent to immediate short-term and long term harms and losses they suffered.
The group also stressed the need for oil companies to always take responsibilities for oil-related pollution, adding that communities in the Niger Delta will no longer accept the situation where oil companies blamed every pollution on sabotaged.