All you could see on their waters is crude oil, floating and taking over farm lands, forcing toxins into the nostrils of residents.
Now, they are in grave danger of different health issues.
A report says Nigeria’s Bayelsa is one of the most polluted locations in the world.
Lying in the Niger Delta region, Bayelsa is where oil was first discovered in Africa in the 1950s.
Also, it is where companies like Shell and Eni have operated for decades.
“Once home to one of the largest mangrove forests on the planet, rich in ecological diversity and value, the region is now one of the most polluted places on Earth,” the report released on Tuesday said.
“At least $12 billion” is needed to “clean up the soil and drinking water, reduce the health risk to people and restore mangrove forests essential to stopping floods.”
The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission performed the four-year investigation.
It is an international panel of experts and prominent figures.
Also, they began the investigation at the request of the local government.
Litany Of Health Problems
The report is based on over 2,500 pieces of evidence including 500 interviews.
Also, it has the analysis of 1,600 blood samples from local people.
Over the years, “as much as one and a half barrels of oil has been spilled in Bayelsa for every man, woman and child living in the state today”.
According to the report, the wider Niger Delta, has suffered the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez disaster every single year for 50 years.
The 1989 tanker disaster spewed nearly 11 million gallons (42 million litres) of crude oil off the coast of Alaska.
The report pointed to the potentially far-reaching impact on health from oil and gas pollution.
“Highly toxic contaminants that cause burns, lung problems and risk of cancer are widespread,” it said.
One sample of groundwater contained toxic chemicals present at more than a million times safe limits.
Blames And Blames
Researchers blamed the crisis on “the systemic failings of international oil company operators with the complicity of Nigeria’s political classes and a dysfunctional Nigerian regulatory state”.
Furthermore, the report said the amount paid by companies should be based on the amount of oil pumped since commercial exploitation began and “perhaps weighed to reflect the company’s pollution record”.
“The enormous suffering caused by oil pollution in my kingdom pokes me, chokes me, and stares me in the face every day,” said King Dakolo, a traditional ruler and chief in Bayelsa, in testimony to the commission.
“There is talk of paying for climate loss and damage amongst world leaders. Oil companies could start by accounting for the damage done in my state.”
The report comes days after Britain’s Supreme Court ruled it was too late for a group of Nigerians to sue Shell over a 2011 offshore oil spill.
The energy giant, which recorded its highest-ever annual profit this year, faces more legal battles in Britain.
Also, there is a case against it by over 50,000 Nigerian claimants suing over other spills.
Shell And Eni Respond
It called on Shell and Eni, whose local subsidiaries still operate in the region, to pay a share of the bill.
However, in a written statement to AFP, Shell said it had not seen the report.
Also, he said he could, therefore, not respond to its conclusions at this time.
Eni also said that it had not been consulted about the report and rejected allegations of “environmental racism” made by the commission.
In response to AFP’s request for comment, Eni said it “conducts its activities according to the sector’s international environmental best practices, without any distinction on a country basis”.
Both companies blame most oil spills on sabotage and theft.
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