Bayelsa community grumbles over gas flaring, oil pollution

Imiringi community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State is one of the first few communities in Nigeria where oil and gas exploration started, but decades after, the residents are complaining of attacks by diseases associated with constant gas flaring and oil pollution. Daily Trust gathered that the community is where Shell Petroleum Development […]

Imiringi community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State is one of the first few communities in Nigeria where oil and gas exploration started, but decades after, the residents are complaining of attacks by diseases associated with constant gas flaring and oil pollution.

Daily Trust gathered that the community is where Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) explores the highest percentage of gas in the whole of West Africa, though the people say they have not felt any positive impact from years of crude oil exploration in their community, instead,  their sources of drinking water are being damaged, while they are forced to contend with the other negative effects of gas exploration.

Imiringi has several SPDC petroleum related facilities, including 46 oil wells, five flaring sites, one manifold and one camp site, but the worrisome situation among the locals is the negative effects these operations have on their community, ranging from health hazards, water and air pollutions and several others.

In Imiringi, materials used for roofing easily gets rust, and according to a recent research by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), malaria is responsible for 19% while the flaring activities of the seventeen onshore flow stations in Bayelsa is estimated to be the cause of 4,960 respiratory illness among children, and over 120,000 are afflicted with asthma yearly.

Several life-threatening diseases are associated with gas flaring such as cholera, malaria, cataract, conjuncture and respiratory tract infections.

Worried by the level of danger associated with gas flaring and oil pollution, Governor Seriake Dickson inaugurated an international commission of inquiry, headed by the Archbishop of York in the United Kingdom, Dr John Sentamu, to assess the level of environmental damage by multinationals.

A former Ghanaian president, John Kufour and other international experts were also named in the Bayelsa State government’s international commission of inquiry to assess the level of  environmental hazards and problems caused by incessant crude oil spills and gas flaring.

Governor Dickson while inaugurating the “Bayelsa State Environmental Degradation Commission of Inquiry” urged them to work assiduously to ensure that they assuage the suffering of the people. He said the panel would get information about environmental health and socio-economic, cultural and human damages causes by the oil spills and other environmental damages.

“We want the panel to determine appropriate measures to hold defaulting parties responsible and accountable for the activities of environmental degradation and invite evidences from the international oil companies within Bayelsa through evidence session,” he said.

The Acting Paramount Ruler of Imiringi community, Chief Lucky Chukuigwa, told Daily Trust that the people of the community don’t even have a source of drinking water again because of the incessant flaring and oil spill.

He said the people suffer from several health challenges as a result of the exploration without appropriate authorities doing anything to address their plight.

“If you look at the river there, you cannot have drinking water again because of the gas and crude oil exploration, the only water we have here is river and that river, even the health effect is enormous, our people are dying early. Last week, we had about four deaths because of gas flaring in our community.

“Before now, we used to have coco-yams and other agricultural products, but now, because of gas flares, those things are no more here, many of our people have contacted eye problems, our roofs get rust on yearly basis, except you have money to buy long span.

“We have done everything to ensure that SPDC stops this gas flaring, but to no avail, that is why we are pleading with the federal government and oil companies to come to our aide and help ameliorate these problems.” He said.

Mr. Joseph Ramoni, an indigene of Imiringi community, was born two years after the SPDC started operation in the area. He told Daily Trust that over the years of oil multinational operations in the community, there is no good thing the people have enjoyed from them, instead, they are having eye problems and dying from air pollution, cholera and several other diseases.

He said: “The first oil well SPDC drilled here is why we have flares mostly, it was a dry well, after the Nigerian civil war, they came back and started with another well, since then, sincerely speaking, there is no good thing coming out.

“I believe one thing that is standing against us is the situation where our people go for  meetings with Shell and come back without any concrete arrangement or agreement for over 40 to 50 years, Shell has been operating here without anything to write home about.

“Our people are dying due to this gas and oil pollution, instead of helping, they would be bringing police and soldiers to us the more, no good compensation, they cannot even give us water, even when they have polluted all our sources of drinking water. There was a period the place was so dry, then they used to bring tankers to supply water to the people just for drinking, but now, nothing like that.”

A youth leader in the community, Mr. Isene Okpu Sunday, said: “If you look at this environment, you will agree with me that its harsher than it used to be, in times past when we were very young, it used to be bearable a little to live in, but today, you can take a critical look at it, everywhere is polluted.

“That is why we call for help from the authorities concerned, at least, let them establish a health facility here so that if somebody falls sick, he or she can easily go to hospital.”

The Media Relations Manager of SPDC, Mr. Bamidele Odugbesan, could not be reached for comment as he did not pick calls or reply to a text message sent to him.