By Desmond Ejibas
Port Harcourt – GreenFaith International and Life Humanity Foundation, two climate change advocacy groups, on Tuesday called for broader action to reduce oil spills and gas flaring in Nigeria.
Mrs Meryne Warah, Global Director of Organising, GreenFaith International made the call at the opening of a two-day National Consultative Dialogue on Faith and Climate Justice in Port Harcourt.
The theme of the event is “Grassroot Multifaith Voices on Oil Drilling and Gas Flaring.”
Warah said that GreenFaith, a United States-based religious and environmental organisation, was deeply concerned over rising climates changes in Nigeria, particularly, in the Niger Delta.
According to her, the groups organised the dialogue to engage leaders of diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds, to take actionable steps to help tackle climate change in their domains.
“So, I am pleased to be part of this dialogue going on by the fact that climate change does not respect faith or religion. It hits everyone the same.
“This is why faith communities should work together toward the protection of communities where corporations have left desolate and hopeless, especially, where oil drilling has taken place.
“Therefore, faith leaders need to come together, speak for these communities and call out these evils by holding the government accountable,” she said.
Warah said that it was unfortunate that Nigeria, located in the largest agricultural producing region in Africa, had allowed international oil companies to pollute its lands.
“Nigerians have allowed oil companies to pollute the same land that gives them food.
“What is the need for development, when the same development infringes on the rights of farmers and fishermen.
“So, we call on all religious leaders to come together and speak for the poor and protect the environment because this is what they have been called to do,” she added.
She said the workshop would train and organise religious leaders in various communities to advocate the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and oil spillages in the Niger Delta.
On his part, Pius Oko, the Executive Secretary, Life Humanity Foundation, said that Nigeria was currently ranked among the 10 highest gas emitting countries in the world.
According to him, the Federal Government should mobilise all stakeholders to take action to tackle the root causes of climate change in the country head-on.
“We are concerned because man-made degradation and the effect of climate change are already being felt in many vulnerable communities, such as Ogoniland in Rivers; caused by oil spills.
“The restoration of the already degraded ecosystems caused by illegal oil refining and gas flaring is a very crucial challenge in achieving the Paris Agreement,” he said.
Oko called on the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), mandated to remediate the polluted Ogoni communities, to keep to the recommendations of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) Report on Ogoniland clean-up.
“We must stand and speak up to the misdeeds of the clean-up of Ogoniland, and remediation of the polluted and devastated Niger Delta region.
“Many Ogoni men, women and children have died from drinking polluted water and other illnesses arising from neglect of the emergency measures provided in the report,” he added. (NAN)
