₦airaland Forum

[size=14pt]Nigerian oil pollution may need world's biggest clean-up: UN[/size]
By Ola Awoniyi (AFP) – 3 hours ago
 
ABUJA — Decades of oil pollution in Nigeria's Ogoniland region may require the world's biggest ever clean-up, the UN environmental agency said Thursday as it released a landmark report on the issue.

The United Nations Environment Programme also called for the oil industry and the Nigerian government to contribute $1 billion to a clean-up fund for the region that activists say has been devastated by pollution.

Full restoration of the region could take up to 30 years, UNEP said.

Activists reacted to the report by issuing harsh criticism of oil giant Shell, historically Nigeria's largest producer, which operated in Ogoniland until it was forced to withdraw amid unrest there in 1993.

Shell maintained its stance that oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining were the main causes of pollution.

"The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world's most wide-ranging and long term oil clean-up exercise ever undertaken if contaminated drinking water, land, creeks and important ecosystems such as mangroves are to be brought back to full, productive health," UNEP said in a statement.

The study of the effects of pollution in Ogoniland, part of the Niger Delta, the country's main oil-producing region, follows a two-year assessment by the UNEP.

Its report marks the first major attempt to scientifically document the effects of oil pollution in the region of mainly farmers and fishermen. UNEP called the wide-ranging assessment "unprecedented".

The report points out major health risks in the region of Africa's largest oil producer.

"In at least 10 Ogoni communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons, public health is seriously threatened," the UNEP statement said.

"In one community, at Nisisioken Ogale, in western Ogoniland, families are drinking water from wells that is contaminated with benzene -- a known carcinogen -- at levels over 900 times above World Health Organization guidelines.

"The site is close to a Nigerian National Petroleum Company pipeline."

After being presented with the report, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, the first head of state from the Niger Delta, said the government would consider how to move forward.

"The Nigerian government is going to discuss with Shell and other oil companies that have operated in the area and other relevant agencies of government to see how we can handle this report," he said.

Anglo-Dutch Shell, Nigeria's oldest operator, was forced to leave Ogoniland in 1993 following community unrest sparked by poverty and allegations of environmental neglect, however pipelines still cross the area.

"Although we haven?t produced oil in Ogoniland since 1993, we clean up all spills from our facilities, whatever the cause, and restore the land to its original state," Shell said in a statement after the report was released.

"The majority of oil spills in Nigeria are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining."

Amnesty International took aim at Shell in its reaction, alleging it has failed to deal with years of spills.

"Shell must put its hands up, and face the fact that it has to deal with the damage it has caused," said Audrey Gaughran of Amnesty.

Amnesty has estimated that, if all types of oil pollution in the vast Niger Delta are added up over the past half-century, it would be "on par with the Exxon Valdez every year over the last 50 years."

Ledum Mitee, the head of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, an regional activist group, called for the government to withdraw Shell's licence to operate in reaction to the report.

Ogoniland was the native region of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the renowned environmental activist who was executed by a Nigerian military government in 1995 after what was widely considered a show trial, drawing global condemnation.

His activism and execution drew the world's attention to Ogoniland.

Just this week, Shell accepted responsibility for two oil spills in Ogoniland. The Bodo community took legal action in Britain against Shell over the spills in 2008 and 2009, which affected rivers and waterways over a large area.

A spokesman for Shell's Nigerian operations said it would pay compensation but said the process could take several months.

The company said the amount of oil spilled amounted to some 4,000 barrels and maintained that illegal refining and oil theft were the major causes of environmental damage.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gRtJxh9hpjnho7njM50_5mUkQvdw?docId=CNG.22a775fe529cfc482bb6c28cd3f32f95.21

texazzpete:
Even Man 'o' War go batshit crazy when they are given whips and the tacit authority to flog people they think they can get away with flogging.

Now you want to arm these poorly trained folk with live weapons. Does that make any sense at all?

It's a Nigerian thing. When you make a man stand in the hot sun while he watches his mates zoom past him in expensive cars, homicidal rage starts building up.

Homicidal rage? Damn!
Sir, why are you so scared like you're up to no good?

We must continue praying for Aregbesola, so that one day, he will finally stop talking and start working.

Loose, loose, loose! Holy Ghost Fire! Holy Ghost Fire!!! Holy Ghost Fire!!! Holy Ghost Fire!!! Sapana, your back will bend!!

https://greaterharvestatthehills.com/clientimages/49971/prayer-title.jpg

[size=21pt]Lol![/size]

^
Lol! If only words could produce development!

Waiting for dry season, waiting for his first 365 days to expire before doing a days job, waiting for commisioners, waiting for hope.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.

mellie:
I grew up hearing my parents reminisce consisently on the glories of the buhari/idiagbon era. BUHARI'S tenure lasted only abt 18 months b4 he was ousted by IBB yet he left an unforgettable mark. In his time bribery & corruption plummeted and discipline was instilled by a strict rule of law. People dared not litter the streets and there was security even the terrorist group that tried to heat up the polity at that time were crushed b4 dey cld issue out statements.

Where did you hear this tosh? In a beer palour?

mellie:
O.K mousieur beef, Buhari is the strong leader in dat list & albeit i'm from the SE I hav no regrets voting for him. True he wasn't a perfect. NIG does not need a perfect leader. All we need is a president who does more good than harm to the polity. FASHOLA is adjudged to be one of NIG's best govnors. He has made mistakes in the toll gate saga and not giving property reclamation a human face but d improvements he has made in lagos in terms of infrastrure, sanitation, tourism etc outweigh his errors

So how come you were so ashamed of his record that you started yarning on a childish tangent? What did your "strong" leader do in all his coup plots from 1967 until he was overthrown? Buhari spent his entire military career in one coup plot or the other, even overthrowing a democracy. He is no better than a sharia inspired armed robber.
In his backyard, there are 10 million plus almajiri's, yet a clown like you thinks there is something admire about that devil. If Buhari was a "strong" leader, there wouldn't be 10 million plus almajiri's today, more than anything though, their existence proves his backwardness; sadly, his followers tend to be similar, they are either crude or in the extreme, ethnically and religiously bigoted youth corper killers.

Buhari is best known for a represive regime that jailed journalists for telling the truth, because it embarrassed govt. In a Buhari govt, there would be no Nairaland.
You come here mouthing off loudly, yet like the rest, you are just ignorant and too lazy to use your mind.

mellie:
@beaf, even JONA'S godfather OBJ failed in his third term bid. And remember (if u were born then) that when ABACHA tried to enlongate his rule, he suddenly died of cardiac arrest a la chemical 1. Nig is not uganda or zimbabwe or any of these african countries, we have 2 many powers dat be and dey wnt tolerate a presidnt overstayin his welcome. GEJ is playing with fire. He might just get burnt.

Your type shouldn't pretend to be civilised. Join boko haram. Lol!
Dude, show us your "strong" leader or zap, nobody is interested in your crap talk.

[quote author=gboye_1999 link=topic=727021.msg8850975#msg8850975 date=1312439377]@ Beaf

True shell must pay adequate enough compensation to this communities but let us also utilize the opportunity to examine ourselves. A host of times, sometimes up to 90% of the spills are caused by members of the communities themselves.
Bunkering, vandalization so as to claim some short-sighted economic gains are the major reasons aside shell's non-challant posture that cause spills in the Niger Delta.

The whole issue still boils down to lack of good governance to provide basic amenities that would have pipe breaching a non option.[/quote]Where did you get that dubious figure, aside from being told by Shell? Are Nigerians crazy?
Shell is admiting that this single spill in Ogoni land is 250 times the figure for the spills they have caused in more than 50 damn years of exploitation. Yet here you are defending them.

Experts who studied video footage of the spills at Bodo in Ogoniland say they could together be as large as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, when 10m gallons of oil destroyed the remote coastline.

Until now, Shell has claimed that less than 40,000 gallons were spilt in Nigeria.

All you need do is run a simple calculation that would allow Shell just a dozen spills a year (although we know there have been more than 7000) and the incredible wickedness of both Shell and past Nigerian govts stares you in the face.

Sometimes I wonder if it is hunger or ethnic bigotry that lowers the average Nigerian IQ to lizard level. What else would make any Nigerian defend Shell? No wonder Nigerians find it easier to get truth and justice abroad (as in this case).

slimyem:
web-based crap.dont have correct statictics but i doubt 20 percent of the country's population have access to internet.hw they go read it?
Besides,i dont even think that a sensible measure right since the basic problem are still staring at us in the face.Ours is the case of'leaving leprosy to cure ring-worm' .God help this country!

Can you name a single country where the flood warning system is not web based?
After you have failed to do the above, would you be kind enough to suggest where the system should be based (e.g. in the market, motorpark, "my office", "my house" etc)?

Please, I'm waiting.

kalokalo:
98% of oil spills in Nigeria are caused by vandalization/sabotage/oil thieves mostly by the locals themselves. An oil company will not cripple its own financial bottomline by vandalizing its own installations and pipelines and spill oil when it would mean massive losses to it in hundreds of millions of dollars!

Why would they spill oil they can sell for $$$ in the international market . It goes against every economic common sense. The other 2% is usually due to the government sometimes preventing the oil companies from performing periodic maintenance on their infrastructure since since it would mean a shutdown and revenue loss for the country.

I don't know if this is illiteracy, stoopidity or just such low self esteem that you can sell your own people. This is an excerpt from the article:

Shell said it accepted the spills were caused by equipment failure and not by sabotage or theft

IMHO, $250 million is peanuts for a spill the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez (one of the World record spills). Check how many billion it cost BP to fix the spill and clean up in the US. In the meantime, we have Nigerians like kalokalo with such low self esteem issues, that they even rush to Shells defence when Shell has made a full confession. What is wrong with some people? Is it because Shell is owned by whites?
Slavery and colonisation ended long ago.

OmoLisabi:
Your bigotry will never allow you to tell the truth. When did playing a tape of people coming outside of Aso rock translates to collecting bribe?
Na wa for you o.

Bigotry? Pure foolishness, I am sure you don't quite realise how you come across. Are you sure you have a grasp of what that word means?

The matter is before the court, so let the tape be played and the judge decide.

Tambuwal made a very firm claim that foreign countries are supplying boko haram. But the security agencies seem to know much less than him. How did Tambuwal get to know what he knows?
Strange.

Unfortunately, the court deems Mustafa to be mentally fit.

The tape needs to be played in court and subjected to legal scrutiny. Mustafa is under oath and the court is bringing itself to ridicule by postponing the playing of the tape. It is also endangering the case against Mustafa, if the courts irresponsible actions allow all and sundry to begin making all sorts of comments.

Pandora's box has been opened and nothing anybody says outside that court can close it. That tape must be played.

ola olabiy:
Where is mr Beaf?

Later, then.

Dunce.

ola olabiy:
I am sure, as a programmer, you've been asked to write the codes for this FEWS. Isn't it?

No, I haven't. But is your Earth shaking stup1dty down to jealousy of others?

mellie:
why do people engage in pointless arguements with this boy called beaf? His support for GEJ is so laden with sentiment with hardly any cogent logic and his hatred for buhari is rooted in bigotry. His knowlege on Nigeria's history is poor as well, dat's why he cannot fathom why people respect buhari. He sounds like a spoilt adolescent. Are u sure he is not GEJ's son? Cos he's too damnd emotional about the man. @beaf, Boy, does your daddy know the amt of time u spend in nairaland tryin to launder his image?

Your contribution would have made a little sense if only you had been able to take up the challenge to give us examples of Nigeria's past "strong" leadership and how that benefitted the country. You can't, so scoot.

koruji:
What is the URL?

Sorry for missing your post earlier bruv, this is the url; http://nigeriafews.net/
It doesn't seem to be nearly complete yet.

ola olabiy:


Ehm . . . .ehm . . . .
I suggest Maiduguri.

Its a useful habit to know what you are laughing about before laughing, lest you expose yourself to ridicule.

OmoLisabi:
I dey laugh at this Nigerian officials abi. In a country where less that 10% have access to the internet, i wonder why it should be Web based. I dey laugh o

Where do you suggest it should be based?

OmoLisabi:
I dey laugh o.

. . .At what?

ola olabiy:
^^Cronies need to line their pockets.
Flood defence in a country where people use boreholes and latrines.

No layout. . . .nor guidelines . . . . nor best practices

Cart before the horse

It isn't a flood defence, but a flood warning system. It is to alert populations about severe weather conditions so they can flee on time. I imagine that the info on the website will be available to TV and radio station weather reports.
Countless numbers of people die from drowning in flood waters and countless millions in property are lost as well, year in year out. The warning system is to prevent such. If it had been in place earlier, lives would have been saved in the recent Lagos floods for instance.

Mpetempe:
Mr. PRESIDENT has dissappointed me, us, Nigerian.
He said that the 6yrs Single tenure was not original to him but his boss.
Now U see! Someone who made much promises during his campaign, none of his promise is establish while his trying to invent dead man's, gone and forgetten agenda.

Another form of fustration.

Lol!

You vultures and vampires tell lies like water too!

Image123:
How much o! Web based flood warning, wahala see problemHow much o! Web based flood warning, wahala see problem

Wow!

Such an outpouring of "intelligence!" The World of science will be stunned.
Dude, you are supremely talented, can we build a shrine to worship you? LOLZZZ!!!!

[quote author=alj_harem link=topic=727033.msg8847721#msg8847721 date=1312394301]beaf, u were not talking like this when MEND was destroying the country

did u?

i no understand you [/quote]Dude, stop pretending to be daft, its stopped being funny.

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=727028.msg8848088#msg8848088 date=1312397954]Police go oppress these people die.[/quote]With Presidential priviledge, the policeman born of woman that will oppress the civil defence corps has not yet been born.
My prayer is that these guys form the nucleus of a brand new police force, we are sick and tired of "roger" mentality.

blacksta:
Lol - you are never serious - anything to ridicule facts - address the points  and dont shoot the messenger

Which are you, the one on the right or the one on the left?

debosky:
How has it faced down the oil conglomerates? Has it instructed them to stop flaring even if it costs some production? Has it instructed them to stop shipping in expats to the loss of Nigerian staff?

Instead under GEJ the PIB has been watered down so much and still not passed or implemented.

I stand by my claim that GEJ is a weakling till proven otherwise.

Read up on the Local Content laws which were introduced by the current govt and are now in force. As for the PIB being watered down, we all know the Shell owns Nigeria (which is a solid reason to force them out), so the PIB making even partially making it through the NASS as it has is a miracle, not weakness. I think govt needs every encouragement to face down the bastar'ds, thieves and parasites that have had an easy life on the backs of the country's suffering populace.

erico2k2:
lol I knew you was gonna come up wiv da answer, No you see where teh BEEF cometh from,see what this would mean ,these sale should be reviked and done the proper way, what do you recon?

The sale would either be trashed or the man will be forced to make enough concessions that the deal begins to look unattractive. There's no two ways.
The second option is a really distant one, it is more likely that the shock of the scandal would cause the sale to be revisited or bogged down in the mother and father of all court cases.

erico2k2:
@ekt_bear
stop taking us back,this issue got nothing to do with LAND, we have defined that in earlier post, read backwards lol,I just talked to Men on ground just now,in the original LEASE teh comunity had a say in it,there where things said and signed and one of them was to give the first right of refusal to a LOCAL BIDDER ie if a LOCAL bidder can match an outsider he should first be offered.This is standard and well documented unless an agreement could not be reached then next bidder takes over evryone signs seal and deliver,Now in this case it was done behind closed doors now politics was at play from the top in this one, the OML 30 has the highest GAS Reserve in teh country,I say again you guys should guess who it was sold to,Im still waiting cos i got the answer, this is getting very intresting lol

Adenuga.

debosky:
I agree with the bold text. However, attacking Shell will only reinforce their resolve to sell off and rid themselves of this constant bad publicity.

The communities would be acting in their best interests to demand audience with any new buyers before the sale is concluded instead of attacking Shell staff. This goes right back to my previous point - losing Shell's presence may do more harm than good if the new operators are less listening to community concerns and needs.

In other news, Shell has accepted liability for another spill in Ogoni - a spill close to 10 million barrels, much larger than the 40,000 barrels that Shell initially claimed.

Let's hope weakling GEJ will act on the latest environmental report indicting Shell to be presented tomorrow.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/03/shell-liability-oil-spills-nigeria

Weakling? Words are so cheap to you guys, the current govt is the first and only govt to face down the oil conglomerates. Deziani is back in place, regardless of whose feathers she is ruffling, so lets wait and see.

stillwater:
Maybe there's a link to this to Bola Ige's assassination.

I guess to uncover that one would take another 12yrs, Al-mustapha style.

You're not alone with that. What a country! We must all patiently wait and apply unrelenting pressure until the powers fall, no matter how long it takes.
Nigeria belongs to each and every one of us. If anyone disagrees, then we must burn down the place.

That tape must be played.

debosky:
I am addressing the SPECIFIC issue in this particular episode, not the historical grouses of the Isoko people or the wider Niger Delta. The current issues are non-involvement in the transfer of leases, not an attempt to remove all petroleum exploitation from their lands.

As for the education piece, your fellow brother ono will tell you that I am very well informed on the subject.

If you knew as much as you claimed, you'd realise that Shell only 'owned' (the actual term is leased as all land belongs to the FG) 30% of the land.

Ok, got you. My bad.

Shell might only own 30% of the lease, but they are the ones putting the land to use, not the FG. Secondly, because of the wretched state of human rights in Nigeria, it is more useful to attack a body with international presence and gain the Worlds attention.
Attacking the FG for human rights and legal issues has always proven to be a weak trick in ND and Nigerian affairs; afterall they killed Saro Wiwa and gave out Bakassi (weeping inhabitants and all) to a foreign country; all with impunity.

seanet02:
So you trust Almustapha?
Why can't the Ediota speak when this people were alive?

Dude, I trust nobody, but the truth must not be supressed.
We, as teenagers youngmen freely put our lives on the line in riots and demonstrations for MKO. Some of us died. . . Only to learn now that Nadeco's leadership might have been bought for blood?

[size=21pt]That tape must play in court![/size]