ISSUES IN THE OGONI OIL SPILL CLEANUP
The agency saddled with the exercise should be investigated
The recent publication by the Associated Press that quoted leaked documents of the United Nations, that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has failed in its assignment is not entirely surprising considering the lack of accountability in government affairs. But it is nonetheless disturbing that the agency established to clean up crude oil spill contamination in Ogoni, Rivers State, has gulped almost $1 billion without much to show for it. As the AP report pointed out, the HYPREP selected cleanup contractors had no relevant experience, while also sending soil samples to laboratories that didn’t have the equipment for tests they claimed to perform. In addition, auditors were physically blocked from making sure work had been completed.
Recognising the human and environmental tragedy associated with oil contamination in the Ogoni region – where oil exploration and production began in the 1950s – UN Environment had in 2006 responded to the federal government request to conduct an independent major scientific assessment of the environmental and public health impact of oil contamination, with the agreement and support of other partners. The report’s key findings are “alarming both in terms of human health protection and environmental protection.”
Thereafter, UNEP recommended the creation of three institutions in Nigeria to plan, oversee and implement the clean‐up of widespread oil contamination in Ogoniland. These new institutions would be funded through a proposed Environmental Restoration Fund for Ogoniland, with initial funding for the first five years of US$1 billion contributed by the federal government and the oil industry. The sustainable environmental restoration of Ogoniland, according to the report, would take 25 to 30 years to achieve and require coordinated efforts by all tiers of government in Nigeria. The UNEP report therefore recommended the establishment of an Ogoniland Environmental Restoration Authority to provide central coordination.
This institution would have the mandate to oversee implementation of the clean‐up and manage the Environmental Restoration Fund. The report also recommended establishing a centre in Ogoniland for treating soil contaminated with hydrocarbons and other oil‐related pollutants. If established, the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre (ICSMC) would be a modern industrial enterprise occupying many hectares of land and employing hundreds of people. It would contain an incinerator, thermal desorption unit, soil washing unit, water treatment unit, waste oil treatment facility, and containment cells. On‐site ‘mini treatment centres’ for bioremediation and excavation water would act as staging areas feeding the main soil treatment centre. The mini centres were to be based on a generic design but scaled according to the nature of the pollution at each site.
The idea was that the Integrated Contaminated Soil Management Centre would also be able to cater for future spills across the Niger Delta. Also recommended by UNEP was the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Environmental Restoration in Ogoniland that would provide training for the community in aspects of environmental restoration and contract management. It could potentially become a model for environmental restoration, attracting international attention. UN Environment said HYPREP was designed in response to a request from the federal government, following an agreement signed with Nigeria. “This project comes as an integral part of UN Environment’s continuing support to the Government of Nigeria to clean up the environmental contamination in Nigeria and achieve lasting peace in the region.”
Unfortunately, this may not happen because HYPREP has failed to do its job. On account of this, we demand that the government convenes a panel of inquiry with the sole aim of unravelling how the government’s HYPREP, saddled with the responsibility of the Ogoni oil spill cleanup, led the country to this shameful and awkward position. The panel should unearth the role played by everyone, including the supervising Federal Ministry of Environment.
