Due to the impact of these extractive processes on the environment the health and life span of the people has reduced drastically, many lives have been lost to various diseases caused by toxic fumes and flares from the extractive oil Industries. The poisons released by the oil spill fumes and flares have contributed more to climate change and global warming than all other sources in sub-Saharan Africa combined.
One of such affected areas in the region is the oil rich Ogoniland in Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoniland which has an average population of over 830, 000 people has been ravaged and seriously impacted by oil spills and gas flares up to the extent that some communities such as Goi community and others around have been left destitute due to loss of livelihoods, lack of portable drinking water and agricultural produce as a result of a massive oil spill which occurred in the region in 2008 in Bodo community in the locality.
Ever since this massive oil spill the lives of the people have remained stagnant as they no longer live their normal lives. They live from hand to mouth as their sources of livelihood have been destroyed since the people are predominantly farmers and fishermen. The people’s rights to secure livelihood has been violated and this has led to series of peaceful revolts in the land where oil corporations have been sacked from operations in the land in demand for cleanup and environmental justice but to no avail.
In 2011 United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP) came up with a Comprehensive study and recommended that the land should be cleaned up, but over four years now the land is yet to be cleaned up by Shell, the culprit, and the Nigerian government. The people of Ogoniland and other Niger Delta region are living in abject poverty, despite the fact that the region stands as a major hub to the economic boost of the Nation, yet it’s going through tough times as the average life expectancy of the citizens is about 42 years, their drinking water is contaminated with Benzene a known cancerous chemical 900 times above WHO recommended standard, and the air is polluted with fumes of hydrocarbons which leads to respiratory diseases of all sorts and the people of Ogoniland die daily from various kinds of unexplained
health complications.
They usually experience a series of strange health issues including girls experiencing early menopause at the age of 19- 20years, the situation is so sad and so bad. Most times when I pay visit to this region, it places me in a sober mood all through that week because lives are being lost daily due to greed for wealth from fossil fuel extractions. According to Comrade Che Ibegwura, an Environmental activist from River State, Nigeria; “For years, we have lived with continuous gas flares. Our farmlands have been polluted. We labour hard to plant, but little comes out. Our roofs are corroded. Our air is polluted. Our children are sick. Even the rainwater we drink is contaminated with black soot from the gas flares. We cannot continue with this suffering.”
After Many years of protest and struggle, routine gas flaring was outlawed in 2005 in the Niger Delta but gas is still been flared up to date and this violates human rights. It is therefore recommended that an effective response to the health impacts of extractive industries must be engaged at community, national and international/global levels, and must encompass not only superficial measures of health outcomes but meaningful solutions. An adequate plan for community people’s health will also address the myriad of social, economic, political and environmental issues intertwined with health. Governance reforms must be guided by principles of transparency, participation, accountability, community determination, reciprocity, and enforcement of laws and treaties, among others and above all Oil should be left in the ground where it belongs and alternative sources of energy should be harnessed
Oil Extraction Crisis in the Niger Delta By Atake- Enade Cadmus, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, (HOMEF), Edo State, Nigeria Cadmus@homef.org
