Ijaw youths have called for a global attention to massive pollution of rivers criss-crossing communities in Bonny, Forcados and other settlements in the Niger Delta region.
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A delegation of the youths led by the interim President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Worldwide, Kennedy Olorogun, toured the affected communities in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states and were shocked by the magnitude of contamination.
The delegation in a report signed by Olorogun and Secretary of Council, Frank Akiefa, found thousands of fish killed by the pollutants and washed ashore the river banks, which were emitting foul smell.
Olorogun said: “If you go to Bonny now and see for yourself; you will be amazed at the extent of destruction that had taken place. You will see dead fishes floating on top of the river. Fishermen in the area can longer go to fishing and you know the times we are in; in this season of Coronavirus, you can better imagine what the people in these areas are going through.
“The entire body of water surrounding these Communities are saturated with oil spills. Everything in the water is dead. What these communities are facing is also applicable to other riverine communities of Delta, Edo and Bayelsa. If nothing is done urgently, it may lead to uprising”.
The youths accused the oil multinationals operating in the region of hiding under the Coronavirus pandemic that had stolen the world’s attention to discharge toxic substances into the rivers.
Speaking on the matter, Olorogun said: “The coastal communities of Bonny, Forcados and other surrounding communities are presently facing severe cases of oil pollution and other toxic substances in the midst of the global pandemic.
“At the moment, marine life and the lives of the people of these coastal areas are under severe threat. The entire water body surrounding these communities have been severely despoiled by oil spillage and other toxic substances.
“There are reports that some of the major oil companies operating in these areas may have discharged very dangerous toxic substances into their rivers and creeks; coupled with oil spills which have resulted in the death of marine and aquatic life.
“These multinationals operating in the region care less about the environmental and economic impact of their oil explorative and expliotative activities. Their major goal is to satisfy the insatiable quest for pecuniary gains by their underhand imperialist and local collaborators.
“The leadership of the Transition Implementation Committee of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) would not sit idly and watch any community in Ijaw land or Niger Delta being destroyed by the avarice and greed of people who have not and are not contributing to the economic wellbeing of the Country.
“The Council is calling on relevant government institutions and agencies to swiftly come to the aid of these Ijaw Communities of Bonny, Forcados,Kula and other riverine communities in the area to mitigate the effect of the oil pollution and the discharge of toxic substances that are presently destroying aquatic and marine life”.
Olorogun particularly appealed to government institutions such as the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to look into the matter.
He said other human right organizations should rise to the occasion and put an end to the senseless and meaningless destruction of marine life, including the lives of humans and the ecosystem by oil companies.
He said: “We demand that a high-powered investigative panel should be set up by the federal government where appropriate sanctions would be meted out to anyone or organization found culpable and adequate compensation should be given to the people of the area to serve as deterrent to these companies and organisations.
“We have a government that has deliberately refused to send palliatives in this period of national and global lockdown to communities in the Niger Delta. And they say we are ‘one Nigeria’. A time will come and very soon when resources found in our area would be used to develop our communities alone.
“Oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta are suffering severely under the yoke of mindless and barbaric exploitation of the resources in the region. Before the federal government declared lockdown in some states including the FCT, communities in the Niger Delta were already in economic and environmental lockdown.
“The people living in these communities no longer see themselves as citizens of Nigerian. Something needs to be done urgently. The extent of environmental pollution in the area is alarming. The death rate from oil and gas explorative activities of these multinationals exceeds what the world now know as the novel Coronavirus.”
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