By SUMAYYAH ADEFAKA
Residents of Nembe coastal area of Bayelsa state have lamented the deplorable environmental condition of their communities, saying they are not conducive for a living, media reports say.
They made this lamentation following a major oil spill at the Aiteo’s OML29 Well 1 that spewed enormous crude into 15 communities in the area.
According to the oil firm, the oil blowout was said to have occurred on November 5, which the local claimed was noticed on November 1 has affected about forty fishing settlements in Nembe creek and gradually spreading to other communities in Bayelsa and the Kalabari axis of Rivers State, killing fishes and other aquatic lives.
Residents of the community within the vicinity have been forced to flee from their home. The disturbed natives lamented that their fishing trade which is their main source of livelihood has been truncated due to the pollution of the rivers, creeks and rivulets adding that their socio-economic condition had worsened and access to drinking water polluted since the spill occurred.
Lamenting the adverse effects of the spillage, landlord to OML 29 Well 1 immediate environment, Workuma Pegi (elect) an indigene of the area, said
“The incident happened on November 1. It have so affected me that, in fact I cannot evaluate the total damage there. In fact, none of the inhabitants stays there anymore. We have been totally displaced due to the hazardous nature of the crude oil spewing in gaseous form. We cannot breathe. And, being so affected and denied of our source of income, we are now going through hunger; even as all our fishing gears have been destroyed. I don’t think I will be able to evaluate what has been damaged there now”.
“For instance, the Agric Palms and coconut trees, those are everlasting things. The matured coconut tree produces for about 150 years and my harvest there, when I used to harvest; I know what I get. So that kind of thing you know what it means; it really affected me, including other crops that I cannot mention. The spill affected almost above 50 fishing settlements. Now, we are demanding, if the oil giant does not come, the government should come to our aid and do something meaningful.’’
Another resident who spoke anonymously said
“This creek is our major source of drinking, but since this incident occurred we cannot use this water again. The oil well blowout has affected most of our activities here. Fishing which is our major occupation has been halted. Our children now have cough, some have eye problems and different kinds of illness. When it first happened, we cannot breathe well because of the gas as it saturated the air. The government should give us relief materials and send medical team,” he said.
A pained President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) Prof Benjamin Okaba who berated the oil firm’s handling of the spill reiterated the need to hold oil companies accountable for human rights violation and environment justice lamenting the level of destruction on the environment and aquatic lives which the very existence of the people revolves around.
Though the cause of the ruptured well head is yet to be ascertained as the JIV is yet to be conducted, experts however hinted that several thousand barrels of crude had been discharged into the environment, adversely impacting the creek, swamps, and farmlands destroying the livelihood of the locals.
The Aiteo activated an extensive spillage containment response as witnessed in the area, as well as distributing relief materials to the affected communities.However the traumatized people said they are dying of hunger following the destruction of their means of livelihood.
The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission led by the immediate past Archbishop of York, Archbishop (Dr) John Sentamu, according to a concerned native, has a moral and public obligation to the people of Bayelsa State, not a choice any more, to not only speak up but to act now on both this totally avoidable catastrophe and the present status of the assignment it started in earnest almost three years ago. VANGUARD
