The President of Ogoni Liberation Initiative, Dr Fabeke Douglas, has said that President Bola Tinubu may have indeed become the friend of Ogoni people because of pardoning late Ken Saro-Wiwa and others and granting approval for the Federal University of Environment and Technology in Ogoniland.
Douglas made the assertion during a chat with The Guardian in Abuja, saying, “Mr. President has demonstrated his love for the people of the area, which is a recognition of the efforts of late environmental rights activists, leading to the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme.”
OLI President added, “The crude oil pollution in Ogoniland has affected rivers, streams and underground water but UNEP recommended an alternative mode of drinking water be provided as an emergency measure since the entire water bodies is polluted, and it was never executed.”
On the present condition of the Ogoni environment, he regretted that the area is heavily polluted with hydrocarbons; the people are still drinking contaminated water with heavy benzene concentration from the boreholes drilled by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
“There is no public health awareness of the dangers of the activities of people living in the oil impacted communities. They still drink water from wells as against UNEP recommendation. The health of the assayed to ascertain their health condition, not done,” Douglas added.
On oil resumption, he maintained the Ogoni people will be glad to welcome oil exploration due to several economic benefits, stressing that in an era and period where the land is heavily polluted, any resumption of oil will spark up local and international outcry, more than during the UNEP Environmental assessment of Ogoniland.
He said, “The Ogoni will revolt and opposition political parties and Environmental Rights will condemn it in its entirety because the land is still polluted. Accelerate the clean-up process before oil resumption. Probe all past and present leadership of HYPREP and just mere sack and appoint alternatives.”
