"Nothing remained in terms of development, in terms of employment. People became poorer as the oil business polluted our land and water, thus taking away our livelihood. The land was no longer productive. The extensive dumping of oil residue and seepage, and the toxic flaring gases coming out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in close proximity of human habitation, caused irreparable damage to the health of the people and the environment," Celestine said.
By 1993 the Ogonis were protesting against this total disregard of their health and livelihood. Those who were in the forefront of the campaign were framed up in murder charges, a military tribunal was set up that sentenced them to death and 9 of them were hanged on November 10, 1995. This execution served as a warning to those who opposed the regime's policy of oil exploration, with scant regard for the people's welfare. But Ogoni people, like Celestine, continued with their struggle.
In August 2011, a team from UN environment programme (UNEP) did an environmental audit of the land. The report which they submitted on August 4, 2011 was a mind blowing revelation of facts confirming that the water Ogoni people were drinking was contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at 900 times of recommended levels, and that the soil was dead up to a depth of 5 metres due to oil pollution. The report stated that Shell had not met minimum environmental standards for its operations in Nigeria.
But until today, the government of Nigeria and the Shell company are yet to commence the implementation of recommendations of that report--to gather USD1 billion to start the cleanup.
Political marginalization
Celestine also talks of issues of political marginalization due to which ethnic groups, such as the Ogoni, have been systematically excluded from positions of power. No Ogoni has ever become a Governor, or a deputy governor even in the local political setup. They are marginalized in their own state, let alone the rest of the country. And yet, as Celestine reaffirms, "We are a distinct ethnic entity with our own culture and language. But we are treated as slaves. We have to study other people's languages in school, but not our own. We do not want this to happen and we want to preserve our culture and our language. We want to maintain our identity and pass it on to our children."
Acknowledging that all the Global goals for development are inter dependent, Celestine fears that, "Climate change and environment has already affected my people very seriously and completely destroyed their livelihood of farming and fishing. Taking care of environment is very important to us and so is tackling the issue of inequality. Why do the majority of us have to work so hard to make money for an insignificant few?"
Land grabbing in the guise of PPP
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