The Nigerian government plans to resume oil production in Ogoniland despite protests from residents about the abject failure of the attempts from 2018 to clean up oil spillage in the area.
An Al Jazeera report tonight from Ali Hashem shows how the clean up project failed to deliver results despite a billion dollar budget, most likely embezzled by those in charge.
The area is one of the most polluted in the world, with residents complaining about mismanagement of the clean up project. They also fear that renewed oil production will repeat spillages of the past that has damaged the land, the waters and livelihood of the community.
The relatives of the “Ogoni 9” – activists led by Ken Saro-Wiwa in the 1990s who opposed the environmental degradation caused by the oil major Shell in the region – said that it seems like the battle has been lost with the resumption of business as usual. Samuel Dekai, a brother of one of the activists who were executed alongside Saro-Wiwa, said their leaders have abandoned the struggle because they are given “peanuts” by the oil companies.
