FG Rushed Oil Exploration in Ogoni Land, Says Dakuku Peterside

According to former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) director-general Dakuku Peterside, it is “premature” to start oil drilling again on Ogoni land, Rivers state.

Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike, and a group of Ogoni chiefs met with President Bola Tinubu on January 21.

The conference was held in response to a coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) calling for $1 trillion to be set aside for Niger Delta cleanup and compensation before oil activities begin.

The federal government’s ambitions to reopen oil prospecting in Ogoni land were a factor in the discussions. Tinubu recognized the Ogoni people’s historical struggles and the need for advancement and healing.

But in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Peterside stated that it is not a good idea to start oil prospecting in Ogoni again until controversial problems have been settled.

According to the former DG of NIMASA, it is quite concerning that the Niger Delta population is not given equal advantages from oil development.

Resuming oil drilling in Ogoni area would be premature, if I may be honest with you. “I believe that the government has also decided to do more consultations, establish trust, and demonstrate a sincere commitment to environmental governance,” he stated.

The opaqueness of oil exploration, not only in Ogoni land but throughout the Niger Delta, has always been a problem.

Furthermore, it is highly doubtful that the Niger Delta’s residents are not included in the distribution of the profits that come from oil drilling.

“And we won’t get very far until we deal with that in an open way.”

An ethnic group known as the Ogoni lives mostly in Rivers state in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

Oil exploration has caused significant environmental damage in the Niger Delta region over the years, especially in the Ogoni.

Longtime activists against environmental damage brought on by oil extraction, especially by multinational businesses, are well-known among the Ogoni.

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), founded by the late activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, brought Ogoni land’s environmental degradation to the attention of the world in the early 1990s.

Large-scale demonstrations and disputes with the Nigerian government resulted from this.

“It is not the same as addressing environmental injustice to establish a university in Ogoni land.”

Regarding the construction of a university in Ogoni Land, Peterside stated that establishing such an establishment in Ogoni Land is not equivalent to resolving the environmental injustice that the locals have experienced.

He continued by saying that in order to redress the injustices experienced by the local population, it is imperative that the Ogoni bill of rights be reviewed.

Tinubu signed a bill creating the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni into law on February 3.

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According to the president, the act is a step in the right direction toward addressing environmental justice and increasing access to education in the Niger Delta.

A “significant milestone” in Nigeria’s endeavors toward environmental sustainability and national growth, he said, is the Federal University of Environmental Technology.

Recognizing the Ogoni people’s historical challenges, he said the university reinforces his administration’s dedication to the area.

Dakuku Peterside, the Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration