Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) extracted crude oil from Ogoniland from 1958 to 1993, raking in billions of petrodollars at the expense of indigenous oil-producing communities.
When SPDC finally pulled out of Ogoniland in 1993- at the height of the Ogoni non-violent struggle in 1993- thousands of spill incidents had occurred in various locations.
According to a recent ALJAZEERA report, more than two million barrels of spilled crude contaminated arable lands and fresh water from approximately 3,000 oil spill incidents between 1976 and 1991.
The outcome of what has been generally deplored as ecological genocide sent many to their early graves, following incidents of terminal illnesses and livelihood losses in the dark days of SPDC’s operation in Ogoniland.
Many developments during the course of oil-induced conflict in Ogoniland point to the fact that SPDC had its way because it was dealing with a rentier state that was interested more in collecting royalties than the health of the environment and its citizens.
This is evident in the trumped up charges brought against the Ogoni nine (led by Ken Saro-Wiwa) and their subsequent extrajudicial execution under the military junta of the late General Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995.
Despite having devastated Ogoniland as a result of its irresponsible approach to crude oil mining, SPDC had the audacity to apply for renewal of its mining license, a request which the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) vehemently opposed on July 3, 2018.
Over the years, Ogoni oil fields have held an allure for treasure hunters like SPDC for obvious reasons. Ogoniland accounts for most of the oil fields in OML 11 which ranks among the most lucrative oil blocks in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
The Ogoni oil fields also extend to OML 2 which is another economically vibrant oil block to be reckoned with in Nigeria’s oil belt. In a 2019 report, the Guardian observed that the Ogoni oil fields were producing 130,000 barrels of crude oil daily as far back as May, 1993. The implication is that Ogoniland remains a crucial factor in Nigeria’s economic survival.
One thinks, if truth be told, the Ogoni people’s resolution to shut in oil fields domiciled in their communities was the right course of action taken to save lives at the time. However, it is now out of place to continue to resist resumption of oil and gas production in the wake of SPDC’s ouster in 1993. As a matter of fact, the outright rejection of every other operator suggests that there are no responsible corporate citizens in the petroleum industry, whether local or international. Moreover, the obstinate resistance to the reopening of the Ogoni oil fields is akin to biting one’s nose to spite one’s face. For all its vast endowments in human and natural resources, Ogoniland remains largely backward in virtually all indices of development.
Without a shadow of doubt, recommencement of oil and gas production will do Ogoni people more good than harm in the current political dispensation. Firstly, resumption of oil production will generate more revenues both for the central government and subnational governments that directly interface with the people.
The immediate benefit of increased revenues will be improved infrastructure to drive sustainable development. For instance, additional revenues could be used to fund projects like roads, bridges, schools and hospitals that are in acute short supply in Ogoniland. Secondly, resumption of oil production will generate employment for the growing army of jobless youths, most of whom are currently operating in illegal economic spaces to eke out a living.
Naturally, employment generation would reduce poverty, as the income earning population is expected to increase and fend not only for themselves, but also their dependents.
Perhaps one should add that the fixation of a tiny band of Ogonis with a perpetual closure of the Ogoni oil fields offends the sensibilities of other oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, who despite been visited with same ill fate of environmental pollution, have kept their oil fields open for production, providing economic resources from which the Ogoni people have benefited over the years.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the Ogoni Question has received, by far, more attention than the collective misery of their neighbours in the Niger Delta, both locally and internationally.
Fortunately, this attention has resulted in the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) which has the mandate to oversee the Ogoni cleanup project and restore lost livelihoods in communities. Whether or not HYPREP is living up to expectation is another kettle of fish; its presence alone gives the Ogoni people a sense of restorative justice that the rest of the Niger Delta anticipates.
One would have expected the naysayers to demonstrate a spirit of solidarity with their kith and kin in Ogoniland and their neighbours in the Niger Delta to critically examine the pros and cons of resumed oil and gas production and make an informed decision that benefits all stakeholders.
From all indications, the few minority opposed to resumed oil and gas production in Ogoniland are living in the past, thinking that it is still business as usual in the petroleum industry whose operations have undergone significant reforms with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Unlike in the past when there was paucity of legislations to drive good corporate governance in the petroleum industry, the PIA has unbundled the behemoth previously known as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), creating a new regulatory framework for the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors to function efficiently with a view to making the industry more attractive to investors.
In the upstream sector, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in its 2024 oil licensing round, insists that successful bidders must demonstrate capacity for compliance with environmental sustainability and development of host communities as a prerequisite to qualify for award of an oil block.
Ordinarily, this development should give opponents of crude oil and gas production in Ogoniland cause to shift from their rather obstinate position that is completely at variance with the wish of the generality of Ogoni people.
Since Nigeria’s transition to democratic governance in 1999, successive governments have made unsuccessful attempts to convince Ogoni people to accept proposals for recommencement of oil and gas production in their land. Fortunately, a positive outcome of negotiations with the people has been implementation of the Ogoni cleanup project which President Bola Tinubu inherited when he came to power in May 2023.
But unlike previous governments that proposed the building of military barracks, correctional centre and cemetery, in Ogoniland, the government of President Tinubu has approved the establishment of a University of Environment and Technology to be sited in one of the world’s most ecologically devastated communities.
Hopefully, the proposed university will provide the much-needed support for the cleanup project when it finally comes on stream. Moreover, it will complement the socioeconomic benefits of resumed oil production highlighted above, and open up the entire Ogoniland for rapid development.
Feeling the pulse of the Ogoni people, most of them are in support of resumed crude oil and gas production under the administration of President Tinubu, a disposition that is attributable to Mr. President’s demonstration of openness and honesty in his engagements with the people.
It goes without saying that prospects for an enduring reconciliation and resumption of crude oil and gas production in Ogoniland are quite bright. As a precondition for lasting peace, however, the teeming supporters of President Tinubu and his laudable plan for the transformation of Ogoniland demand exoneration for the Ogoni nine who were brutally murdered for demanding their rights.
The people also demand that a panel of enquiry be set up to investigate the killing of the Ogoni four and others who lost their lives at the height of military repression in Ogoniland.
For a president who stood up against military dictatorship in the 1990s, the same time the Ogoni martyrs rose in defence of their motherland, it would beat one’s imagination to see a different Asiwaju Tinubu treating the Ogoni Question with levity. To cut a long story short, the Ogoni people, Rivers State and the Federal Government are in dire need of resumed oil and gas production in Ogoniland. But the beneficiary of the anticipated recommencement of production must be a more responsible corporate citizen with a proven capacity to heal old wounds.
Amieyeofori, Journalist and Conflict Scholar, can be reached via tekena4real@gmail.com
