untold story of Bonga spills

Residents
of the
riverine
community
of
Odioma,
in Brass
Local
Government
Area of
Bayelsa
State are
still
counting
their
losses as
the devastating effects of last
December oil spillage, which wrecked
overwhelming havoc on their aquatic
lives and farmlands continue to raise
serious concern, regarding their means
of livelihood.
The growing cases of oil spill in the
Niger-Delta region have become
recurring phenomena. For decades, oil
producing communities in the South-
South have been battling with
multinational oil companies and the
Federal Government on the need to
pre-empt and contain oil spills that had
culminated in gross environmental
pollution, destruction of sea lives and
diminishing quality of soil texture.
Predominantly, inhabitants of Odioma
and other coastal communities in
Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor Local
Government councils, including
Bisangbene, Letugbene, Agge and
Ogulagha, Odimodi, in Delta State
terribly affected by the Bonga Oil Spill,
from the platform of Shell Petroleum
Development Company (SPDC) are
fishermen. So, the spill, which occurred
a day before the celebration of
Christmas, was a big blow to their
means of livelihood.
In all, no fewer than 64 communities
both in Bayelsa and Delta States are
faced with negative impacts of the spill
from SPDC facilities.
The latest spillage, which is adjudged
to be one of the worst in 10 years,
occurred four months after a major
United Nations (UN) study said it may
take Shell, Chevron and other oil
multinationals 30 years and a
whooping sum $1billion to effectively
carry out a comprehensive cleaning of
spills in the Niger Delta region.
Just last year August, SPDC admitted
responsibility for two major spills in the
Bodo region of Delta, which took place
in 2008. But, up till now compensation
had not been paid to the victims.
Crude oil production capacity from
Bonga Field which hovers around
200,000 barrels per day had already
been halted as a result of the
December 24, 2011 spill. Investigations
revealed that the spill area covered
more than 923 square kilometres.
Findings indicated that no lesser than
40,000 barrels of crude had spilled into
the Atlantic Ocean.
When Sunday Tribune visited Odioma
community on Thursday, the griming
effects of the spillage were too visible
on the outlook of the villagers, like a
group of people mourning the sudden
death of their heirs apparent. Majority
of their men wore a long face as they
clustered in groups, discussing the
consequences of the spill and how they
could wriggle out of their debilitating
predicaments.
They could not fish again. Oblivious of
the impacts of the spill, children under
the age of four were spotted playing
around the thatched huts and mud
houses while their parents were
sobered by the glaring economic
hardship staring them in the face.
Many wooden and speed boats had
been moved to the shore and river
banks, signalling the temporary end of
any adventure into the sea and other
adjourning rivers, just as fishing lines
and nets had been hung on the walls of
the mud houses.
A visitor to Odioma, would be moved
by the sight of dead fish of different
species, particularly the popular Bonga
fish, which is common in the coastal
settlements and other neighbouring
communities. The fish littered the sea
shores and river banks, while many of
them were seen floating on the water
surface. The dead fish had been
blackened by crude oil, which spilled in
thousands of barrels not only into the
sea, but also into the Atlantic Ocean.
The outburst of stakeholders and
residents in the coastal community
really showcased the bottled up anger
in them as they minced no word to
express their feelings over the
economic implication of the spill to their
struggle to earn a living.
According to the chairman of Odioma
Oil and Gas Committee, Chief Samuel
Tubolanyo and his secretary, Mr Evans
Baribote, “we are still contemplating on
how we can get out of myriad of
problems occasioned by this spillage.
The solution to this problem is still
shrouded in mystery as the SPDC
keeps denying the incontrovertible
facts that we are affected by this oil
spill.”
Continuing, Chief Tubolanyo stated
that, “the community expressed regret
that the SPDC has deliberately
concealed facts about the Bonga oil
spill as it affected the Odioma kingdom.
We have evidences of damages done to
us as a people and we would prove
same when asked or required to do so.
“Our water has been completely
polluted and our means of livelihood
severely damaged, thereby destroying
the eco-system and economic well-
being of Odioma people, most of who
are fishermen,” he asserted.
While calling on the SPDC to fully
accept responsibility for the damages
precipitated by the spill, Chief
Tubolanyo, urged the oil multinational
giant to speed up cleanup activities
and also provide relief materials for the
fishermen.
In a chat with our correspondent, Lucky
Tema, a fisherman in Odioma
expressed worry over the low catch of
fish since the December 2011 spill
disaster.
He said: “I have been in this fishing
camp here in Odioma for about 12
years now. I am from Ilaje and fishing is
my main occupation. That is what I do
here. As you can see, I’m just returning
from the ocean. If you go into the
ocean, you will find the thick slick of
crude oil floating, tossed here and
there by the waves. It is spreading due
to the dictates of the water current.
That is what we are seeing even right
here at the waterside on St. Nicholas.”
“As a fisherman, one of the things I
know about this crude oil is that, apart
from killing aquatic life, it chases away
the fishes that used to be around. If our
nets get in contact with the crude oil, it
would be stained and because of the
smell and its colour, fish will avoid such
nets in the water. Look at the little
catch that I just returned with. This is
not how it used to be. Our efforts are
yielding far below expectations these
days. It is quite sad,” Tema lamented.
Apparently corroborating the
submission of Tema, Ayeomane Ayela,
another fisherman said: “Before now,
we were managing to keep our body
and soul together with the proceeds
from fish sales to the people. But, our
condition now is pathetic, considering
the latest spill from Bonga Oil Field. It is
a terrible development, which is
already threatening our survival
instinct.”
His words: “Actually, we started
noticing this crude oil on the Atlantic
some weeks ago. But it came ashore
about three days ago. Oil spillage
vividly affects our fishing business and
this one is not an exception. We used
to catch enough fish before, but it is
now extremely difficult. I go into the
ocean almost every day and, since we
began experiencing this spill, we have
been unhappy.
He further said: “if you had come when
we had full tide, you would have
noticed the crude oil slick all around
the shorelines. Now the water has
ebbed, though you can still see signs of
crude oil at the waterfront.
“But I think a responsible government
should be able to appreciate our plight
and assist us. Because of this kind of
situation, we are becoming debtors as
we hardly even meet up the payment
of fuel we use to run our ocean-bound
speed boats. Our business has been
negatively affected as a result of this
terrible development. Bonga fish that
used to come to the surface are no
more. As you can see, we are
powerless, we cannot order the
government on what to do” he
submitted.