Description

Some years ago, I think in 2008 we discovered crude oil in our environment and traced it to Ikarama in a similar manner we are seeing another spill that is currently flowing from the same source to our community. It was one our sisters who proclaimed that the spill that occurred at the Okordia manifold at Ikarama had flowed into our territory. At that information many of our community folks including our youth president visited the site to see things for themselves.In the process they used tree trucks to barricade the crude oil slicks to prevent it from spreading into the Taylor creek.

Though, because of this information people will be careful not to set fishing net in the crude oil vulnerable area, the previous one was impromptu so we were not lucky. Fishing nets owned by some old people in our community were destroyed and as usual none of them were compensated. This is also my fate as another spill from Nigerian Agip Oil Company rendered one of my farms useless as they(Agip) refused to come and remediate the crude oil polluted area;I have abandoned the land without any form of compensation. Based on what happen in 2008 (talking about the spill that flowed from Ikarama) I don’t think the company would respond if nothing strategic is done to pressure them to act.

I am happy with the temporal work our youths had done but the company should respond quickly or the crude oil slick would pollute the Taylor creek and become a great health and livelihood hazard for our people. You know that this creek is the major sources of livelihood for our people especially those who are not civil servants. So if we allow these pollutions to continue without adequate check there will be lesser and lesser source of sustenance for people living and depending on the community environment for survival.

I want Shell to immediately come and remove the crude oil deposited here before it extends to the Taylor creek and cause an unbearable damage. As par the areas already impacted we will not able to fish there for a long time. Presently those people that were engaged in fishing in those areas have retreated to pressure other areas that are already fished bellow capacity. This is the reason our people had always advocated for safe and sustainable environmental practices by the oil companies.

Since this spills started in our environment we are not harvesting fresh fish as much as we used to. Our people are increasingly depending on ice fish and so will it be for a very long time because nature takes a lot of time to recover from crude oil pollutions. That is why we are calling on the company (Shell)to carry out clean- up and remediate the spill impacted area to enhance the recovery process so that we will beenabling to start enjoying our oldest profession of fishing in a short time.
As per reporting the spill to the appropriate authorities, the paramount ruler was saying he was going to write a letter to Ikarama people and the company to inform them of the situation but I don’t know if he has done it. I also think we have the right to demand for compensation because even if it was sabotage we don’t know anything about it, this oil spill obviously spread from another community to our community.

Washington Odoyibo, Community Development Committee Public Relations Officer of Ikarama

As you can see, we are back at this area that has repeatedly been polluted by crude oil from several other spills. As usual the swamp has again been covered with crude oil slick and this time it is so thick that birds that came in contact with the slick could no fly back until some children from this community took them away.

Although it was obvious that someone sabotaged a valve in the Okordia Manifold belonging to Shell on 11th of June 2014 to cause this massive spill, I am still calling on the company to come and clean- up and remediate these sites because it is their responsibility to protect their facilities. In the event like this where they could not anda spill occurs they are obligated by law to clean-up and remediate. Crude oil has stagnated here in the community for some days nowcausing environmental and health hazard forour people residing in the community. We breathe crude oil stench all day long, I do not know about others but as I am standing here I am not feeling healthy and so are all my children,we are coughing and sneezing because of this contaminated air we breathe.

I really want Shell to clean-up this places as soon as possible and carry out proper investigation by interrogating the companies’ Community Relations Officers(CLO) in charge of this area because I am still suspecting that they are conspiring with some of our youths to sabotage these pipes. I still don’t understand why they (the CLO’s) who can easily benefit from crude oil spills, since they interface between the company and the clean-up contractors, have questionable dealing with the boys we suspect to be causing this sabotages. One thing that surprises me is the close relationship between them (CLO and some youths in the community with questionable characters). When a spill occurs before even the community gets the information those boys had already been called to hotel by the CLO’s to negotiate with them, and they (community boys) would definitely be part of the clean- up work.