By Giwa SHILE
Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on the Federal Government to quicken action on the cleaning of the Niger Delta region to ensure wellbeing of the people.
The organisations made the call in Abuja on Thursday at their 2nd Annual National Summit on the Niger Delta clean-up.
The group noted that over the years the response of the government to the crisis in the region had failed to arrest the under-development and environmental degradation of the area.
In his address, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Malam Ibrahim Musa, said that the region occupied a central place in the country’s political economy.
Musa, who was represented by Mr Adesina Oke, Board member, CISLAC, said that the development of the Niger Delta must be focused on three issues: human development, justice and equity.
‘‘For us, the entry point is environmental governance in the Niger Delta region.
‘‘It is only through environmental governance that laws, policies and procedures will be implemented to achieve a healthy and sustainable environment in the Niger Delta.
‘‘It is through the environmental governance that the key stakeholders will be able to perform their roles to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment.
‘‘It is through good environmental governance that we will be able to eliminate conflict and environment entrepreneurs, who feed on the crisis in the region,’’ he stated.
According to him, the Ogoni clean-up will provide an opportunity to establish the basis for good environmental governance in the Niger Delta.
He, however, expressed concern that the clean-up process started over 12 years ago.
Mr Kolawole Banwo, Programme Manager, Environment and Conservation of Nature, CISLAC, said that the summit aimed at appraising the effort of the society as it related to the clean-up in Ogoni land
‘‘Before the clean-up itself, there should be emergency measures which are supposed to deal with health issues that have accumulated over time which will continue, if nothing is done about them.
‘‘Two years down the line we had commitment; we had the previous summit and we got express commitment that this will be done.
‘‘We are glad that progress is being made even though it is slow and we are optimistic that we can achieve more in future.
‘‘We wish this was done faster, so we are not satisfied at the speed but we are optimistic that things are being done.
‘‘We hope as we progress in the advocacy we will begin to save lives and prevent the damage that is ongoing in the region.’’
The Acting Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CENTRELSD)Mr Monday Osasah, said environmental wellbeing would inspire one to live a lifestyle that was respectful of the surroundings.
Represented by Ms Victoria Udoh of the centre, Osasah contended that environmental happiness would critically depend on happenings in the environment.
Osasah criticised the postponement of the clean-up commencement date and said that the non-completion of the emergency was not good enough.
‘‘Cleaning the Niger Delta is social justice and having achieved relative calm so far, we believe that further tampering with citizens’ expectation by the lull and constant postponement of clean-up might be problematic,’’ he added.
The summit was organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre in collaboration with African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development and support from Cordaid.
