Environmental activist and former president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) told Al Jazeera today that Ogoniland in the Niger Delta is “a crime scene”.
He was speaking out against plans by the Nigerian government to resume oil production in the area after it was halted over 30 years ago due to devastating oil pollution that is yet to be cleaned up. President Bola Tinubu plans to increase revenue by reviving production in the area. Those plans include national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu engaging with local leaders to garner support for the return of oil drilling.
Ledum Mitee
Mitee felt any talk of resuming production was premature and misguided as the community continues to suffer the effects of environmental degradation.
A report from the scene by Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris showed that old oil wells were still blowing up, spilling crude oil and polluting the rivers, land and the air. Locals could neither fish nor farm on the land.
A UN report stated that Ogoniland was one of the most polluted places on earth. Sadly, none of this is in the past, as new spills continue to worsen the situation and pipelines continue to leak and oil has filtered deep into ground water. The risk of respiratory illnesses for locals is very high.
