February 10, 2017

Attn: Amina J. Mohammed, Min. Of Environment
Federal Minstry of Environment HQ
Block C, Mabuchi
Abuja.

Dear Madam,

CLEAN-UP OF OGONILAND: PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS

Following recent developments concerning the impplementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoniland, the Ogoni Scientific community, under the umbrella of “The Ogoni Environmental Foundation”, deem it necessary to make some procedural observations known.

OEF is a registered not-for-profit forum of Ogoni scientists and engineers (home and abroad) working in different sectors of environmental research and management, with extensive global reach and collaborations. The organisation’s goals and objectives include monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the recommendations of UNEP Report on Ogoniland are implemented according to international best practice.

We have been following up events on the clean-up proposals and noted that there are some deviations from the procedures as stipulated in the UNEP Report, which is the document that outlines the framework for implementation.

OEF wishes to thank and applaud the Honourable Minister of Environment and her team for appointing one of our best environmental scientists as the HYPREP Coordinator. We also congratulate the HYPREP Coordinator, Dr Marvin Dekil. However, we had thought that the project coordinator would have asumed duties as soon as possible, and immediately initiate a robust consultative process that will produce the cleanup and restoration template, with unambigous goals, objectives, milestones and timelines, etc. Needless to mention the need for sustained and proactive sentization outreach amongst the Ogoni population and other stakeholders in order to be able to manage the divergent expectations from the cleanup programme.

We are aware of a planned Pilot Test and ground-breaking event slated for this February 2017, at the instance of the Honourable Minister of Environment, who is set to resume her new job at the UN by March this year. While it is understandable her passion to firm up the cleanup process before her departure to the UN, it is necessary to tread cautiously by taking steps that would not undermine the net effectiveness of the project. By the appointment of HYPREP Coordinator, the technical committee earlier appointed by the Honourable Minister should be dissolved, and her parting efforts should be channeled at securing adequate and sustainable funding for the project. Most importantly, the attempt to deploy foreign bacteria or chemicals in the name of technology to carry out free trials in Ogoni environment is a derailment from the letters of the UNEP report. Technically, what is fundamental at this stage is to commission ground-truth survey of sites studied by UNEP and baseline assessment of polluted sites in Ogoniland, that were not covered by the UNEP study or were polluted post the UNEP study. It must be stressed that the alluvial and fluvial environments of Ogoni are ecologically dynamic and findings published 7 years ago by UNEP may not represent the present situation. In fact, there have been over 148 new spills in Ogoniland (after the UNEP Study) reported on SPDC Website and duly captured by NOSDRA. These scientific studies should go on concurrently with robust stakeholder engagements and community-level sentization to achieve maximum understanding of the process by the concerned citizens and, ultimately, secure their buy-in and collaboration.
The UNEP Report on Ogoniland is a scientific document and its recommendations require a methodical implementation.

In addition, it must be stressed that microbial flora (bacteria, protozoans and fungi) in Ogoniland cannot be the same as those in unrelated regions, and therefore the applications of allien microbes need be done according to best practice. A recent study have shown that DNAs of bacteria in Niger Delta are multiple and different in behaviour and nature. The pilot test will complicate issues by not only introducing exotic soil species that destroy some biological beneficial species, including indicators, but will homogenize the ecosystem which the world is avoiding ecologically. We maintain and advise that it is real sceintific business which due procedure must be followed to get the right result.
We have data on flora and fauna, as well as ecological processes in Ogoniland, some of which are published by our members in mainstream journals. As professionals, OEF members shall interface with HYPREP and continue to make suggestions and inputs requisite of a successful cleanup and restoration in Ogoniland –to set the right precedent for the entire Niger Delta. We hope our supreme professional opinion will not only guide the Hon Minister and her team but is also a wakeup call for all Ogonis and other stakeholders that we are watching event closely and we are also monitoring all activities surrounding the long awiated cleanup which our people paid various prices for and should still honor our past hereos by keeping the flag flying.

Posterity and divinity will not forgive us if we keep silent on this sensitive issue, as grevious rewards awaits any group,organisation or persons who fail or see this cangue on our people as an opportunity for them to make money or show disregard to God without putting humanity as the focus and do the right thing by allowing the restoration interest of Ogoni people to be their paramount goal.

We are sufficiently touched and pained when we remember lives that were lost to get national and international attention which is a vindication to our hereos past , that our land is still polluted and death rates are still on the increase from available records in our hospitals, which means we should get serious and take away politics and personal interest but should rather look at Community interest and the effect of this pollution with its attending consequencies which should direct and guide our actions, considering the seriousness of this issue at stake to Ogoni people, other stakeholders and international Community .

We hope the above will guide your actions going forward. Please accept the assurances of our esteemed regard.




Prof Friday Sigalo Dr Tambeke Gbarakoro
President Secretary




Cc:

1. The President, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP)
2. The President, KAGOTE
3. The President, Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers
4. The Chairman and Members of the Board of Trustees, Ogoni Trust Fund
5. The HYPREP Governing Council Members
6. The Project Coordinator, HYPREP
7. UNEP
8. The Managing Director, S.P.D.C
9. Amnesty International