The people of Ogoni in Rivers State, under the aegis of the factionalised Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) are now divided over the report on oil spills in the area which was recently submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
?LEADERSHIP WEEKEND observed that while a faction of the MOSOP, led by Mr. Ledum Mitee, accepted the UNEP report, another MOSOP faction led by Hon. Goodluck Diigbo, rejected the report on the ground that the people of Ogoni were not involved in it.
?A statement issued yesterday in Port Harcourt by the Mitee-led MOSOP, welcomed the release of the report, pointing out that the long delay in the release of the report raised a lot of apprehension amongst the Ogoni people and their supporters.
The statement signed by Mittee also said that “MOSOP welcomes the release of the report after its long delay, which has raised a lot of apprehension amongst the Ogoni people and our supporters”.
It added that though the organisation championed the agitation for environmental audit and cleanup of Ogoni land and had a representative in the presidential implementation committee on the project, headed by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the people of the area were excluded from the processes leading to the released report.
“Whilst MOSOP has consistently expressed concern that in spite of the fact that we championed the agitation for environmental audit and cleanup of Ogoni and indeed was nominated to serve on the presidential implementation committee on the project, we and the generality of the Ogoni people have been excluded from the processes leading to the released report.
The result was that the process was being driven by the polluter, Shell, including the weak government agencies , DPR and NOSDRA, we note with some relief that the Report has vindicated the position we have held that our environment has been devastated by a succession of oil spills since the inception of oil
exploitation on our land.
“However, after 4 years and $10m spent on this project, MOSOP finds it truly outrageous that in so far as the Report, in essence, simply tells us what we already knew- that oil exploitation has caused extensive environmental damage in our land, Shell may have just been able to buy, with a study – 4 years of doing absolutely nothing to correct its mess in Ogoniland and the Niger delta region,” the statement added.
But in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND in Port Harcourt yesterday, the Diigbo-led faction of the MOSOP, said the faction was challenging the integrity of the UNEP report, alleging that the report was informed by data and information solely supplied by Shell and the government without actual study on the ground.
In the statement, signed by Diigbo himself, the MOSOP faction described the report as a high profile media game, insisting that the purported meeting between UNEP officials and 23, 000 Ogonis was only on paper.
“UNEP report is a high profile media game. It began a day earlier with a news flash of Shell admitting responsibility for oil spillage in Bodo, Ogoniland. Then a report appeared, exactly in line with several other failed promises by Shell, stating that $1b will be spent for oil damages of 55 years, accompanied by an air view of a wealthy looking city at seaside that has nothing to do with Ogoniland.
“This is absolutely a regrettable act of disinformation and cover-up. Who determined that restoration of Ogoniland would last for 30 years? What is the extent or estimate of overall damage? Everything is dictated to us, the Ogoni people who have lost our means of livelihood, subjected to economic burden, and poverty,” it said.
But the faction which outrightly rejected the report, called for a second expert opinion on the UNEP report, which would not consist of UNEP officials but representatives of Ogoni people and independent experts that would be appointed by MOSOP for the purpose of equity and fairness.
“The outright rejection of this report can be thoroughly justified on the basis of lack of integrity owing to UNEP violation of due process and the arm-chair characteristics of the report.
“However, MOSOP calls for a second expert opinion on the UNEP report by independent experts, not including UNEP team members. This should include Ogoni representatives and independent experts appointed by MOSOP for purposes of equity and fairness,” it said.
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