The Niger Delta is an ecological disaster of incredible proportions,” said Osondu Agwuike. “It is a disaster in every possible way,” I said. “It boggles the imagination.”

“Farmlands covered over with sludge, creeks and rivers covered over with oil sleek, fishes and other marine life, the people’s source of food, killed off, blazing infernos of gas turning their nights into perpetual day, with ever-present threat of a conflagration, the people living in terror.” “It’s hell on earth.”

“It is hard to believe that successive governments of the federation have tolerated this.” “Unfortunately the federal government, the state governments and the local politicians have presided over this disaster for 50 years. They have neither ordered the oil companies to clean up the place, nor punished them for failing to do so.”

“The press has not made enough noise about the condition of the Niger Delta.” “The press may have grown tired of reporting the condition of the Niger Delta.”

“The press should never get tired of reporting evil,” he said. It should never get tired of pushing the keepers of the public interest to live up to their responsibilities, commending them when they do and condemning them when they don’t. In fact, this is the media’s primary and daily duty.” “And it’s not as if it is impossible to drill oil and still keep the environment clean and safe and preserve or even upgrade the people’s way of life. This is done everywhere else on earth.”

“Yep, Nigeria is always an exception—a negative exception—to global usages and global standards.” “Why is that?” I asked. A naïve question, maybe.

“Because Nigeria is a nation led by fools. Nigeria’s leadership is brain-dead.” “The news out there, I hear, is that people are asking: What’s wrong with Nigeria, anyway? They look at you one kind: You’re from Nigeria? So you’re one of them? But you look sane and even intelligent. I thought all Nigerians were . . . .”

“You know, O.J., if Nigeria’s oil wealth had been well managed and invested instead of embezzled and wasted by the senior civil servants, military rulers and civilian politicians over the past 50 years, Nigeria could have been where India, China, Korea and Malaysia are today. Nigeria could have been a technological and industrial power, producing much of what it uses and providing its people near-full employment, universal literacy, good education, safe drinking water, clean washing water, plentiful and affordable health care, steady electricity, smooth roads, good public transportation—all the basics by which to measure a good life in the 21st century.” “Instead, Nigeria is a wasteland. Same old sufferhead. What a pity!””

“Man, if you want to see what oil can do, take a trip to the Middle East.” “You don’t mean that old theatre of war and everlasting violence? What would I want with Israel, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon or Iraq?”

“I mean the Gulf States—Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and especially the United Arab Emirates. Where Niger Delta is hell on earth, UAE is paradise on earth. Their main cities, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, are built to answer all arguments. Their environment is not degraded, their people are not neglected, oppressed or suffering. Why? Because the leaders believe in themselves, in their country and in their responsibilities. While they have not converted their country into a technological and industrial power, they have done the next best thing—used the oil wealth to buy their people a decent 21st century standard of living, with all the amenities.” “Yes, I’ve heard a lot about Dubai. I hope to visit it someday. They say its sky-scrapers touch the sky. But of course that’s just a figure of speech.”

“It is. But it does have the tallest skyscraper now on earth. This is no Brasilia-in-the-wilderness. From get-go, the city was built as a tourist attraction, a spectacular showpiece, rivaling and out-shining every one of the world’s great cities in glamour and architectural wonder. Paris, London, Moscow, even New York are old-fashioned in comparison. And not even Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo can match its modernity.” “Well. They really put their oil wealth to use. “

“They did. No jungle warfare and all that, killing each other until you forget what you’re fighting for. Nigeria is a terrible disappointment.” “I must say I fear for our brothers and sisters in Ghana. They recently found oil, and are quite excited. Who can blame them? I hope they never follow Nigeria’s bad example. Same with Angola, which now produces more oil than Nigeria.”

“Ghana’s president already said he will not follow Nigeria’s bad example.” “If Kwame Nkrumah was their Mao Tsetung who didn’t survive . . .” “Squeezed out by the Western powers . . .”

“Let John Atta Mills and future leaders be the Deng Xiaoping and his successors who will make Ghana into a technological and industrial power to be reckoned with.” “I say yes! We need something to be proud of on this continent . . . .”



http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9827:what-oil-can-do-2&catid=96:columnists&Itemid=350

Lets hope Diezani Allison-Madueke brings back sanity and common sense to the oil industry.

People in the oil producing regions should be compensated and a vast environmental cleaning exercise initiated to restore rivers and farm land to nature's best.

Oh Allison my babe.

na wa o!!

frosbel:

Lets hope Diezani Allison-Madueke brings back sanity and common sense to the oil industry.

People in the oil producing regions should be compensated and a vast environmental cleaning exercise initiated to restore rivers and farm land to nature's best.

Amen

Frosbel, for a change i agree with you. I created a thread like this a while back where i highlighted the same issues.

In my thread i suggested that the FGN should close down all in-land pipelines and oils rigs and only drill oil offshore. According to NNPC stats 70% of Nigeria’s oil is offshore. I recommended that the FGN should issues close down all inland pipe lines and bar people from drilling oil on land. Instead licenses should be issued to as many companies as possible to drill offshore.

While this is being done, a clean up company should be hired to come and clean up the Niger delta area. The clean up could last up to 5 years before it is completed. Once the clean up is completed, the Niger delta could be turned into a tourist attraction like the Brazilian Amazon forest. Some parts of the Niger delta can be converted into to world class water front residential estates like the ones in Florida.

I have attached a picture to illustrate my vision for the Niger delta. This will create employment in the construction sector for indigenes of the Niger Delta and it will attract foreign investment. The Niger delta area is a very good candidate for a tourist city that could spot expensive golf estates, 7 star hotels and marine villages.

Jonathan unfortunately does not have that kind of vision ,he is only concerned about 2011.That is why i get taken aback when I see some ND folks on this forum supporting him blindly even though he has done absolutely nothing to change their lives since he became the acting president.

He is busy trying to please the militants, if I were in his shoes, i won’t be bothered about the militants, i will focus my attention on the youths of ND who are unemployed. The militants are greedy themselves so they do not care about the people of the ND.

If I were the president, my first order will be to shut down all those inland pipelines and start a clean up exercise. I will also send in marine biologists to access the ND, give me a status report on how far the damage is and make recommendations on what can be done to restore the indigenous marine life there.

The only thing that moves a nation forward is great ideas and discipline. I have both but unfortunately Jonathan does not.

He is busy trying to please the militants, if I were in his shoes, i won’t be bothered about the militants, i will focus my attention on the youths of ND who are unemployed. The militants are greedy themselves so they do not care about the people of the ND.

Even though Militancy was the consequence of a failed government oil policy, I agree that today many of them are interested in personal fortunes rather than the general populace in the Niger Delta region.

If I were the president, my first order will be to shut down all those inland pipelines and start a clean up exercise. I will also send in marine biologists to access the ND, give me a status report on how far the damage is and make recommendations on what can be done to restore the indigenous marine life there.

A priority

The only thing that moves a nation forward is great ideas and discipline. I have both but unfortunately Jonathan does not.

Maybe his hands were tied by various factors in the past but now that he is in power, he can make a difference by surroundung himself with intelligent advisers, people with valid ideas and national interest rather than personal gain.

I must say this , sometimes women are more disciplined , less liable to be corrupted and more eager to produce results than we men. Therefore do not be surprised if Diezani Allison-Madueke brings some sanity and sense of purpose to the issue of the Niger Delta fairly quickly.


My only fear is that in 2011 some new minister with a different moral ethic will sabotage all her efforts if at all she does make any.