CLEAN UP AND THE CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE IN THE NIGER DELTA
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CLEAN UP AND THE CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE IN THE NIGER DELTA
CHAPITRE ONE
Background of The Study
This paper examines the security implications of ogoni cleanup on environmental governance in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. Environmental governance is concerned with power dynamics between humans and their surroundings.
Climate change is one problem that has gained importance and garnered the attention of actors and policymakers in the international system, as well as dominated scholarly discourse.
This is because it has evolved into the most pressing modern issue confronting humanity in the world we live in (Obi, 1999; Onuoha & Ezirin 2010). Because of the threat it represents, a number of conferences and gatherings have been established at the local and worldwide levels to address the causes of climate change as well as provide solutions to the global repercussions.
Some of these initiatives have resulted in the creation of legal frameworks to limit what countries contribute to emissions. Similarly, efforts have been undertaken to highlight the involvement of stakeholders in addressing climate change.
Unfortunately, these legal frameworks and defined responsibilities have not produced the expected outcome (Chris, 2008: 16; Obi, 1997: 139).
Prior to the discovery of oil in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, indigenes relied mainly on fishing and subsistence farming for a living. However, since 1956, when Shell D’Arcy discovered commercial quantities of oil in Oloibiri,
Bayelsa State, oil multinational exploration activities in the Niger Delta have harmed the means of livelihood through the release of toxic waste and other harmful substances (Obi, 1999: 5; Chris, 2008: 16).
The oil companies, it appears, have refused to accept full responsibility for the ecosystem’s destruction. Shell’s claim that sabotage by disgruntled locals contributed significantly to Niger Delta pollution demonstrates this denial.
While this is not entirely incorrect, given the number of oil pipelines vandalised by Niger Delta militants in the early 2000s (Fidelis & Ebienfa, 2011), it is a far cry from the leaks caused by oil corporations.
A number of heads of state urged for immediate action to address climate change at the United Nations General Assembly gathering in September 2015 in the United States of America. Interestingly, religious leaders have contributed their voices to the demand for climate action.
For example, Pope Francis, addressing at the US White House in September 2015 and later that month at the UN General Assembly, urged world leaders to collaborate and make real commitments to combat climate change (Pope Francis, 2015).
As it appears, the Pope is not alone in this statement; on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, Islamic leaders from twenty countries issued a proclamation calling on world leaders to take immediate action to tackle climate change.
The implication of these demands is that they are simply directing their members’ attention to the need to exert additional pressure on their governments to act accordingly (Dennis & Tony, 2015).
It should be highlighted, however, that the global effort to combat climate change has become extremely politicised between the highly industrialised wealthy countries of the North and the developing countries of the South.
For the latter, they estimate they produce just trace amounts of greenhouse gases. President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated this point while speaking before the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 in the United States of America. He contended that:
Because of growing greenhouse gas emissions, the world is experiencing unprecedented and unique climate variability. Despite the fact that Africa contributes very little to global warming, the socioeconomic effects of climate change affect every country. The burden is as heavy for underdeveloped countries (Buhari, 2015).
However, there may be various opposing viewpoints on who pollutes the environment the most. This viewpoint is exemplified by a World Bank study conducted in 1995. According to the report, “up to 76% of all natural gas from petroleum production in Nigeria is flared, compared to 0.6 in the United States, 4.3 in the United Kingdom, and 21% in Libya.”
According to the study, CO2 emissions from petrol flaring in Nigeria emit 35 million tonnes of CO2 per year and 12 million tonnes of methane, implying that Nigeria’s oil fields contribute more to global warming than the rest of the world combined” (Abdul, 1991; Obi, 1999).
This type of blame game or rift was visible in Copenhagen, when Annex 2 countries vigorously rejected the Copenhagen Accord, claiming that the agenda was designed to shortchange developing countries in their desire for progress.
The failure to reach an agreement on climate change is caused by the difference between wealthy countries in the North and developing countries in the South.
Many people are expecting that the conclusion of the December 2015 Paris Conference will be the much-needed teamwork and understanding to combat climate change (Obi, 1997; Obi, 1999; Aaron, 2005).
There are two ways that can be used to explain climate change. One viewpoint is from the mitigation perspective, which is primarily concerned with attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Others see it through the lens of adaptation, which deals with the hydra-headed repercussions of greenhouse warming, such as flooding and rising temperature.
Both approaches have sparked heated debate in the political and scholarly realms. While adaptation is a crucial issue that requires a collaborative effort to address, the focus of this study will be on mitigation.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nigeria, the most populous black country with an economy that is heavily reliant on oil extraction, is not immune to the effects of climate change. For example, the country has seen enormous flooding in the South-South and South-East regions, submerging properties, rendering inhabitants homeless, and utterly destroying farm produce.
People have frequently complained about dramatic weather variations and intolerable heat around the country. Mrs Fatimah Mede, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment,
recently cautioned at the Joint Technical Supervision Mission on NEWMAP that Nigeria is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change.
She emphasised that if not addressed appropriately and immediately, this could lead to disaster-induced poverty across the country. To emphasise this, President Buhari stated during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly that “in Nigeria,
we have seen extreme weather variation, rising sea level, encroaching desertification, excessive rainfall, erosion and floods, land degradation – all of which threatens the ecosystem” (Peter, 2008; Okechekwu, 2015; Buhari, 2015).
Climate change has had a disastrous impact on the country, with recent flooding in the Niger Delta region and numerous prolonged droughts currently being experienced in several sections of the Northern region.
Food production in the Northern areas has decreased to approximately 178.37%, with a severe deficit recorded in the country’s North West zone (339%) (Apata, 2014). Nonetheless, this research will concentrate mostly on the Niger Delta region, with a particular emphasis on Nigeria’s ogoniland.
One would expect the Federal Government of Nigeria to rise to the occasion by preserving the Niger Delta ecosystem, and thus the lives and property of its residents, by closely supervising the actions of oil giants such as A. A. Kadafa spoke up. Unfortunately, the government has remained silent on the subject.
Nigeria remains one of the least environmentally friendly countries in the world. This government inaction is largely attributable to the fact that oil production accounts for a sizable portion of Nigeria’s revenue. Oil in the Niger Delta accounts for more than 80% of Nigerian government revenue (Olayiwola & Iwebunor, 2007; Fagbohun, 2012).
Despite the establishment of laws such as the FEPA Act and the NESREA Act, 2007, as well as institutions such as the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),
and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to address and monitor environmental degradation in Nigeria, Professor Faghoun (2012: 10) contends that the more things changed, the more they remained the same.
Following a series of agitations and unrest in the Niger Delta, characterised by kidnappings, destruction of oil facilities, hostage taking, and violent protests, the government of Late President Yar’adua introduced the Amnesty programme in 2009 to restore peace in the Niger Delta (Egwemi).
According to Cyril Obi, the agitations that culminated in the Amnesty programme involved strategies of local empowerment. Despite widespread involvement, just a handful violent adolescents benefited from the Amnesty program’s payout. Indeed, Iwilade and Ukeje (2012: 347) contend that the process that led to Amnesty itself excluded violent adolescents.
As a result, Amnesty itself is a vehicle of exclusion. Nonetheless, many people agree that the Amnesty project has helped enhance oil output in the Niger Delta.
This is exemplified by the increase in oil production from 800,000 bpd in 2008 to 2.3 million following the implementation of Amnesty, leaving the environment to deteriorate further, with the poor being the most vulnerable (Oluduro & Olubisi, 2102).
As a result of years of oil spills, gas flaring, and environmental degradation by oil multinationals in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, the Nigerian government commissioned the UNEP in 2006 to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental and public health impacts of oil contamination in Ogoniland.
Even though the oil industry is no longer functioning in Ogoniland, the residents of the region are nonetheless subjected to pollution from oil spills on a daily basis. After months of professional assessment of the extent of damage caused by oil exploration, the UNEP study was released in August 2011 (UNEP report, 2011).
According to a UNEP report, the Nigerian government initiated the $1 billion ogoni cleanup initiative in August 2017. However, nothing significant has been done in the more than five years since the introduction.
As a result of the aforementioned, this study investigates the intricacies of ogoni clean up by focusing on the endeavour to mitigate the problem of environmental degradation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
By inference, it aims to explain the complexities related with ogoni-land cleanup. It also aims to investigate stakeholders’ compliance with the cleanup effort.
It looks into the region’s role of the state, oil multinationals, non-governmental organisations, and social movements. Finally, the study aims to identify environmental governance concerns in the Niger Delta.
1.3 Objectives of Research
The study’s aims are as follows:
Highlight the effects of ogoni cleanup on the environment and the livelihoods of Niger Delta residents.
Examine the critical roles performed by many stakeholders in addressing climate change in the Niger Delta.
c) Look at why environmental governance has failed in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, despite the laws and institutions in place.
1.4 Research Questions
This study will be guided by the following questions:
What are the effects of ogoni cleanup on the environment and the livelihoods of Niger Delta residents?
What are the primary roles of various stakeholders in addressing climate change in the Niger Delta?
Why, in spite of Nigeria’s laws and institutions, has environmental governance failed in the Niger Delta region?
1.5 Research Presumption
The following assumptions underpin this study:
If allowed uncontrolled, the Niger Delta’s continuing environmental degradation would result in ultimate annihilation of the region.
Environmental rules that are properly implemented and monitored in the Niger Delta region would ensure that the environment is safe for humans to pursue their livelihood.
1.6 Significance of Research
This research is significant for a variety of reasons. First, climate change has acquired value since it has moved to the forefront of local and global debate. Members of the United Nations General Assembly focused heavily on climate change and efforts to mitigate it.
Again, despite the Amnesty project and the development of several entities such as the Ministry of Niger Delta, the environmental situation in the Niger Delta has deteriorated. As a result, it is critical to analyse government programmes and investigate why they have failed to provide the expected results.
1.7 Scope and Limitations of The Study
This research will look into the environmental governance difficulties in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The scope would be confined to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria because to the extreme environmental degradation experienced by the region’s indigenes as a result of oil production.
The investigation will also concentrate on the Niger Delta because it accounts for around 80% of total government revenue, making it a particularly sensitive issue for the government.
Because of the risks associated with oil extraction, the region has recently been a hotspot of violence and dissent. As a result, the scope of this study will be restricted to this region.
This study, like many other studies, has limitations. The work will very certainly confront two fundamental obstacles. For starters, the researcher will have trouble interviewing key stakeholders for a variety of reasons. While some may simply be too busy, many others may be unwilling to do an interview due to the nature of the subject matter.
The research will be richer if it is able to travel around the Niger Delta states of Delta, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Imo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River,
as well as Abuja, to interact with stakeholders and administer questionnaires in order to capture the views of a larger audience, despite limited resources. As a result, it will rely on documentary works and official government policy documents as primary documents.
1.8 Research Methodology
To collect and interpret data, this study use qualitative research methods. Without a doubt, the qualitative method is better suited to the objectives of my study. At the very least, this strategy has a better probability of obtaining the type of data required to answer the study’s questions.
Primary data will be acquired from official Nigerian government publications, the United Nations Environmental Agency, and HYPREP publications. Secondary data sources will include academic journals, existing literature, published papers and newspaper reports, and Civil Society Policy briefs.
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms
Ogoni sanitization
In the context of this study, ogoni clean up refers to the idea of clearing ogoniland of all forms of contamination caused by years of oil exploration by oil corporations.
Environmental Management
Environmental governance refers to the decision-making processes involved in environmental and natural resource control and management. It is about how decisions are made: are they made behind closed doors or with involvement from the general public?
Good environmental governance should reflect our greatest understanding of natural systems’ structure, function, processes, and variability. Without this awareness, improper actions with disastrous environmental effects can be made (Obi, 1999: 6).
Although governments play a significant role in how the environment is managed, exploited, and conserved, actors outside of government play an equal role. Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) such as environmental groups, civic groups, and labour unions have become advocates for better and more equitable environmental decisions.
The actions of industry, trade associations, and professional associations have an impact on how businesses operate. Promoting cleaner procedures, for example. Environmental governance is only effective if it results in fair and sustainable ecosystem management (Fakier, Stephen, & Jenny, 2005).
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