NGO calls for comprehensive environmental blueprint

ERA also wants a plan for oil spillage in the Niger Delta.

NGO calls for comprehensive environmental blueprint

A nongovernmental organization, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the Nigerian government to fashion a comprehensive blueprint on the environment which must necessarily include an instantaneous return of the rights of communities to possess and determine how their natural resources are used.

The call came at the end of the organization’s Annual General Meeting/Retreat held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Southern Nigeria from 18-22 January 2012 to examine current events in Nigeria and the world, among other matters.

The meeting was attended by the ERA/FoEN Board, management, staff, Host Communities Network (HoCoN), community representatives, students and volunteers who brainstormed on the current state of the Nigerian nation, the state of the Nigerian environment and the operations of the extractive industry and expressed dissatisfaction at the state of affairs.

Participants also urged government to leave all oil in the soil and to halt exploration and bidding for allocation of oil and gas or bitumen blocs.

ERA/FoEN also suggested an all-embracive plan of action on how revenue deficit will be plugged and Nigeria’s environment defended.

Other Suggestions

They called for the involvement of critical stakeholders including community representatives and civil society in the processes and consultations towards a speedy passage of a people/environmentally sensitive Petroleum Industry Bill.

The participants stressed the need for the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to embark on genuine efforts at cutting down on executive wastage and genuinely tackling endemic corruption in government through policies and mechanisms that will ensure that individuals and corporations found to have mismanaged public funds are held accountable.

According to them, there was need for initiation of an all-inclusive review of the nation’s electoral laws to guarantee transparent, violence–free and fair elections. “This must be backed by the convening of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) of all ethnic nationalities to fashion a truly Nigerian constitution that will provide for true fiscal federalism and environmental justice among others” they said.

Participants called on the National Assembly to conduct their oversight functions on the executive to guarantee respect for rules and laws of the land as their seeming passivity gives room for the unbridled violation of laid down constitutional provisions .

“Civil Society groups identify credible members of the National Assembly and work with them in the fight against corruption and the building of strong democratic institutions in Nigeria. Synergy must be created between civil society actors, organized labor, community-based organizations, the youth and leadership towards building a Nigerian social movement as the so-called fuel subsidy revolution is testament that Nigerians can organize to rescue the Nigerian nation.” The group suggested.

They also emphasized the need for Civil society groups to engage the media on balanced and factual reporting while exploring the increased use of social media to reach and educate the Nigerian masses.
These suggestions followed some observations made by the participants at the retreat.

Observations

According to the participants there is a continued culture of indifference to the parlous state of the Nigerian environment as evidenced in the absence of a concrete agenda to tackle environmental issues like climate change, deforestation and gulley erosion in the Southeast, desertification in the north, and gas flaring and oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

They said there was a palpable lack of transparency and corruption in the petroleum sector as evidenced by chaotic official responses to the subsidy discontent and in moves to steamroll a version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) without communities and civil societies’ inputs, into the National Assembly for passage into law. 

Participants said that “The dishonesty around the so-called fuel subsidy removal deepens the distrust of government among the people” .

The group said that Nigeria’s democracy was in grave danger owing to unchecked and growing incidence of violence, electoral fraud, and sundry unconstitutional acts by anarchic groups as well as the supposed elected representatives of the people. 

“There is a dearth of political education and awareness among the Nigerian populace, particularly the youth that have become disenchanted with the status quo” they observed.

Cokey/Ugo