Uche Henry
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CSLAC) has condemned what it described as “government’s lackadaisical attitude” towards Ogoniland clean up.
In a media discourse, the Programme Manager, Kolawole Banwo, said government’s lack of seriousness towards the region has done great harm to the people as much of its natural resources go into extinction leaving the people to suffer untold hardship.
According to Kolawole, since June 2016 when the Federal Government, led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, made a move to rehabilitate the region which has been damaged by oil spillage and other activities of oil companies in the region, much is yet to be seen as far as salvaging the lives and properties of the people is concerned.
He said, “the environmental hazards in Ogoniland and the Niger Delta is unbearable. This is because corruption still thrives, as well as weak institutions, breach of social contracts, state vs corporate organisations collision, among others, are still dominant coupled with political interests.
The human rights activist stressed that despite the people’s outcry, the government has not acted accordingly, which is the reason militancy and other criminal acts, including oil vandalism, still persist in the region. The situation, he said, has affected their source of livelihood adversely.
He disclosed that the findings by United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) show that there are still significant numbers of locations of serious threats to human health from contaminated waters to concerns over viability and productivity of the ecosystem, adding that pollution has penetrated deeper than many may have previously supposed.
He stressed that though the Federal Government has made some moves to ameliorate the plight of the people, much impact has not been made as fishes, crops and vegetation and other yields are on the decrease as a result of the activities of oil companies in the region.