Clark, who spoke with an emotion-laden voice at the ongoing national conference in Abuja on Monday, told the delegates that people living in the region deserved to be pitied.
He said those living along the coastlines should be helped, adding that something drastic must be done in order to minimise the biting effects of environmental degradation facing the region and its people.
He spoke while contributing to the debate on the report of the Committee on Environment. He said there was nothing new in the report, adding that the United Nations had in 2011, submitted a report to the federal government where in it stated that it would take 30 years to clean up the oil spills in the Niger Delta region.
The foremost Ijaw leader said the report recommended that $20bn was needed to clean up the mess. He revealed that it took the federal government two years to set up a committee to consider the report.
Clark said, “I would like to say that there is really nothing new in the report compared to the environmental report of 2005. The problem is the implementation of the report.
“Three years ago, the United Nations submitted a report to the federal government for the cleaning of Ogoni land. The report said it was going to take about 20 years to clean the area and that $20bn was needed. It was only last year that a committee was created to look into it.
“Very soon, the region might seize to exist if we do not do something, one day, we will be wiped out, while the rest people will be enjoying the things from the area.
“Our environment has been polluted. We sit on top of water in the Niger Delta, yet we do not have water. When I was small, we used to put a calabash outside and fishes will jump in. Now, my people eat ice fish.
“There are no more farm lands, no fruits. We have lost everything in the Niger Delta. Recently, Chevron had their equipment burnt. For three months, it was burning and there was nobody to put it out. Chevron has refused to compensate communities affected.
“The people are suffering. I am pleading. Do not think of what you get. Think of the area where these things are gotten. We need compensation. We need re-greening in our area.”
In his contribution, another delegate, Mr. Nnimo Bassey, said he was supporting the recommendation of the committee on resource democracy.
Mr. Nduese Essien drew the attention of delegates to page 39 of the report where the committee recommended that the Land Use Act be removed from the Constitution, arguing that virtually every committee set up by the federal government made similar recommendations.
He argued that if every statutory body set up by government offers similar recommendation over time, it was imperative for the Conference to be properly guided when dealing with the issue of Land Use Act and its removal from the Constitution.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ahamba. Said that it was unfortunate that many states had been unable to provide water to the citizens.
He said this action had led to the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes in every home the country with the attendant health hazards they have on the people.
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment