Ogoniland Oil Clean-Up: When men are economical with the truth.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mosop.org.

Ogoniland Oil Clean-Up: When men are economical with the truth.


Government is said to be continuum, hence anybody saddled with the responsibility of governance of a state or
a nation, hands over the mantle of leadership to his/her successor, at the end of his statutory tenure. This is what Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, having lost the 2015 presidential election, did by handing over the mantle of Nigeria’s leadership to the winner, President Mohamadu Buhari, who in turn decides if to carry on with any people’s oriented policies initiated by his predecessor.


Taking exception on the statement credited to the Minister of Transport and immediate past governor of River State, Rotimi Amaechi,( I did everything to make Jonathan clean Ogoniland but he refused – Amaechi- dailypost ) on the Ogoni oil clean-up, commissioned on the 2 June 2016, by the Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, that the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, clearly turned his deaf ears to the plight of the Ogoni people and the Niger Delta, in general can be said to being ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH, and can only emanate from a bias mind.


It is on record that the government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, facilitated the processes that lead to the cleaning of Ogoni land, and so deserves commendation for such giant stride. Credit should be given to whom its due, and not the other way round.


Below are some of the publications by UNEP, on the series of meetings held by the UNEP officials, and Goodluck LJnathan’s administration, to fully implement the United Nations Environment Programme's Assessment Report on Ogoniland.

photo credit: mosop.org

"UNEP Welcomes Nigerian Governments Green Light for Ogoniland Oil Clean-Up Wed, Aug 1, 2012 "

"Nairobi, 1 August 2012 - The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has welcomed the Government of Nigeria's decision to proceed with a major oil contamination clean-up of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta."

" UNEP presented its scientific assessment of oil pollution in Ogoniland to Nigerian President The Hon. Goodluck Jonathan, underlining serious public health and environmental impacts.

 The report emphasized the need for swift action to prevent the pollution footprint from spreading further and exacerbating the already tragic legacy for the Ogoni people. "

 "Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, announced late last month that the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project had been established to "fully implement the United Nations Environment Programme's Assessment Report on Ogoniland".

photo credit: dailypost.

In August 2011, President Jonathan set up a government committee to review UNEP's report and make recommendations on immediate and long-term remedial actions. See = http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2692&ArticleID=9241


Large Scale Clean-Up of Oil Pollution in Ogoniland Discussed in Abuja Tue, Sep 16, 2014.

Federal Government of Nigeria Convenes Meeting on Implementation of Recommendations of 2011 UNEP Assessment.

 Nairobi, 16 September 2014 - The Federal Government of Nigeria is setting in motion new efforts to address long-term oil pollution in Ogoniland, Nigeria. The move by Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to convene a multi-stakeholder workshop on the implementation of the UN Environment Programme's 2011 assessment of Ogoniland marks an important step towards the large-scale clean-up of the region.


The workshop in Abuja today will discuss the measures needed to implement the recommendations outlined in the 2011 UNEP report entitled, "Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland". Participants from civil society, Ogoni communities, government, academia and the oil industry will attend the workshop. The day-long meeting will be held under the leadership of the Federal Government of Nigeria, with Mr. Erik Solheim, chairman of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, chairing the sessions.


Mr. Solheim has, since early 2013, served as a UNEP Special Envoy for Ogoniland, conducting and coordinating high-level political talks related to the planned environmental clean-up in Ogoniland.


The UNEP report, conducted at the request of the Federal Government of Nigeria, was a detailed scientific assessment of environmental contamination in Ogoniland from over 50 years of oil operations in the region. See = http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2796&ArticleID=10981


Nairobi, 27 November 2014 - Two-day stakeholder meetings held in Geneva on 24-25 November 2014 have carved a clear path forward for the implementation of environmental remediation measures proposed by UNEP in the Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland. Convened by Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, and facilitated by UNEP, the meetings mark a pivotal moment for the large-scale clean-up of Ogoniland.

Technical working groups tackled tough issues related to local livelihoods, fund management, procurement, community engagement as well as technical aspects of the required environmental remediation that have hindered progress to date.


First released in August 2011, UNEP's Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland was one of the most comprehensive assessments of its kind undertaken in the Niger Delta. The study found that oil contamination in Ogoniland is extensive, with pollution penetrating further and deeper than previously thought. See­= http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2812&ArticleID=11085.


Nigerian President Buhari Recognizes UNEP's Efforts on Ogoniland Clean-up Thu, Jan 28, 2016 see= http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=26862&ArticleID=35871


Port Harcourt, 2 June 2016 - Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, today set in motion a $1 billion clean-up and restoration programme of the Ogoniland region in the Niger Delta, announcing that financial and legislative frameworks had been put in place to begin implementing recommendations made by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The implementation will be based on recommendations from a 2011 UNEP report, commissioned by the Nigerian government, on the impact of oil extraction in Ogoniland. The report found severe and widespread contamination of soil and ground water across Ogoniland.

See = http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=27076&ArticleID=36199


Rotimi Amaechi had in his speech accused the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan, of  “clearly turned his deaf ears to the plight of the Ogoni people and the Niger Delta in general.”

 He said, “We did everything possible as a sitting government to make the president implement the UNEP report, everything. But the report was not implemented after all.”

 Although he did not disclose any of the things he claimed to have done to make Goodluck Jonathan, implement the report.