Amnesty International urges FG to fast track Ogoni clean up
Human Rights Activist and one of the founding members of Amnesty lnternational, Barbara Taft, has appealed to the Federal government to fast-track the cleanup of the oil impacted sites in Ogoniland.
Speaking on the sideline of her visit to the family of the late environmentalist and playwright, Ken Saro-Wiwa, in Banee, Khana local government council in Ogoniland, Rivers State, she said that the appeal was necessary considering the suffering of the people in the oil impacted areas.
She stated that quickening the clean up would reduce the health and other issues being suffered by the people to the benefit of the government and Nigeria at large.
She said: “We also need to tell the government of Nigeria that it is in their benefit to clean things up faster here because people are suffering, people are dying, people are having health issues.
The Human Rights activist also called for local content in the cleanup process of oil impacted areas of Ogoniland as a way of creating jobs for the youths in the area.
“I think that if we were able to convince the Federal government that cleaning up of the area would provide jobs and a number of good things for the people, it would benefit the government and Nigeria at large.
There are other countries that have successfully cleaned up their oil impacted areas. I believe it will work here. But everyone has to be in the same boat rowing in the same direction.”
She frowned at the failure of the Federal Government to provide potable water for the people of Ogoniland after years of UNEP report on the contaminated water consumed by the people of the area.
According to her, “Water is one of the many issues that need to be addressed. Anyone who can do so should write and tell the Federal Government and ask why the government is not providing water for the impacted communities in spite of all the promises.
During her visit to Ogoni, the head of the Ken Saro-Wiwa family, Mr. Harry Wiwa, told the rights activist that the people of Ogoni were still dying from drinking polluted water and breathing polluted air.
Wiwa said: “The pollution is so much that even the UNEP report showed that people were dying steadily from the pollution of the environment, water, and air and nobody cares about it.”
Meanwhile the pro-Ken Saro-Wiwa group, going under the aegis of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, led by Mr. Gani Topba, has submitted series of petitions to Barbara Taft for onward submission to the international community.
