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From Joseph Obukata, Warri
The biblical book of Lamentations was literally opened recently when the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a non-governmental organisation, embarked on the “2022 World Ocean Day” celebration at the fishing community of Ogulagha, a riverine oil-producing town in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.
Amid the shrinking catch being made by the fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean, with no hope in sight, the ceremony was packaged to remind the world of the role the oceans play in everyday life, establishing and highlighting people’s connection to the sea. It also raised awareness on the essential role of the oceans in the overall health of the environment and afforded the fishermen, who hitherto felt abandoned by the government, an opportunity to express their grievances and relate their message to the outside world.
Besides facing the problem of oil spill in the ocean and waste dumps, fishermen in Ogulagha now experience ocean surge, which often washes away houses and cemeteries in the area. They equally encounter sea pirates, even as they contend with absence of basic amenities such as potable water, health centres, good schools and housing.
At the event, one of the fishmen who gave his name as Clement Gbamokumor, said that he was 10 years old when he started accompanying his father to catch fish in the sea near Ogulagha and had witnessed how his father grew to become one of the biggest fish merchants in their sleepy community because the water was still fresh and healthy as an aquatic habitat.
Clement, now 26, recounted with nostalgia that at that time the pristine sea, which was the only source of occupation for the fishermen, gave them a testimony of bumper harvests but, many years after, the story has changed for the worse. The fish haven has turned into a river filled with crude oil and waste dumps.
Gbamokumor and other fishermen told Daily Sun’s correspondent, who was at the coastal area during the Ocean Day celebration, that incessant cases of oil spillage and dumping of waste products by multinational oil companies have hindered their source of livelihood over the years. According to them, the sea that literally feeds them no longer brings array of fat fresh fishes but shrunken ones. Many of the locals who were born and bred in the community, enjoying the flora and fauna of the sea environment and what it brought to their parents could say life is not the same again as a result of pollution.
Ogulagha, an Ijaw enclave located about 33.3 miles from the main Warri metropolis, is an oil-producing area that hosts Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and other companies. With a 200 horsepower boat, a journey to Ogulagha would take between 45 minute and one hour, depending on the speed of the boat. Ogulagha, with a population of about 15,000 people, has aboriginal Ijaw inhabitants, people from Bayelsa State, Urhobo, Hausa, Yoruba, Ilaje, residents from Ondo State and also Ghanaians.
But how have the activities of the oil companies around the area affected their means of survival?
“You will see waste dumps and crude oil floating. We are dying here as a result of this; our means of survival is being threatened every day. If you enter the river, you will see different oil wells but some of them have rusty equipment that have not been maintained for years.
“For instance, if you go a distance from here, you will see a cluster, there is a point that has been leaking crude steadily for a long time now. Oil is flowing seriously in the place. Most crude in the river leaks from the equipment and pipelines in the river. If you go to that area to fish, you will see fishes everywhere but they are dead, none to eat. Before, if you put a net in the river, what you would drag home would amaze you. Now the situation has changed and it is affecting the farmers and fishermen here seriously. My mother has three large farms in that area where Shell is, but because of crude oil on her farm she is not able to farm this season. So, we are begging you people, we are dying here, help us to tell the multi-nationals to stop polluting our rivers. It is really disheartening,” Gbamokumor lamented.
Adding his voice, Nnimmo Bassey, HOMEF director, in a statement released to our correspondent, said this must not continue, as polluting the ocean is a direct threat to humanity and these companies must be made to pay for their crimes. He said there was the need for collective action but this would not be possible if Nigeria does not define what the problems are, and who is responsible for the problems.
He said: “It is crystal clear that industrial fishing, offshore exploration, and exploitation, dumping of waste offshore, and similar activities are the major drivers of pollution and aquatic ecosystems destruction. We can only thrive when our oceans thrive. Polluting the ocean is a direct threat to humanity and polluters must not be allowed to divest without first accounting for their environmental sins.”
For the former vice-chairman of the community, Don Tony Temewei, the problem of declining fishing output and the challenges of ocean surge and erosion started when they were moved from the island by the multi-nationals to the present location.
Blessing Akassawei, another fisherman, lamented the despoliation of the water bodies by the activities of oil firms, saying that before they used to have different species of fish in the ocean like bonga and lady fish, but many of the fishes have gone into extinction.
“Like many other extractive communities of the Niger Delta, Ogulagha community is incessantly impacted by oil spills and waste dumps that threaten the aquatic (system),” Bassey said.
The locals told Daily Sun that those who owned Ghanaian boats, believed to be stronger, are the only ones who can withstand the sea waves and go farther offshore to deep sea to eke their living catching fishes desperately all day and night. Fishermen with rickety boats like the locals from the area don’t venture into the deep sea because of fear of sea pirates.
Chairman of Ogulagha community, Comrade John Bebapere, corroborated this, saying that Ogulagha, which used to be the fishing hub of foreign nationals, is dying. He said foreign nationals like Ghanaians are the only ones bracing the odds to go far into the Atlantic to get bigger fishes because of the activities of sea pirates.
For fear of pirates and not to waste gasoline, which they usually get from far away Warri, the locals hardly venture into the deep ocean these days. They only navigate their boats to where they can get a little catch that they use to feed their families and sell to buyers from Warri and other places in Bayelsa State.
“The Ghanaians are the ones that go far miles to get bonga fish. Our challenges are mainly from oil exploration activities; erosion is also affecting us. Ocean surge is a big challenge. So, we need a shoreline protection project in the town.
“We hope that this programme would escalate our plight to the Federal Government to come to our aid. We need the Federal Government, state government and NDDC to help us out. Because of our peculiar terrain, we hardly see the rest of the world so we are using this opportunity to call for assistance by any means possible,” Bebapere said.
Bassey, however, expressed sadness over the deplorable nature of the town despite being one of the richest oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta region.
“The degraded condition of the community is a sad commentary on the despoliation of the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea by oil exploration and exploitation”, he added in a statement to mark this year’s World Oceans Day.
It is important to begin to ask real questions as to who is destroying the oceans, seas, rivers, and creeks? Bassey insists that polluters must halt their activities, clean up the mess and make reparation for the harm they have caused.
What impact will the programme now have on the fishermen? “It encouraged people to reflect on the state of the oceans, seas, rivers and creeks, especially for individuals and local communities who have lived in harmony with these water bodies and who need to be recognized, supported, and learned from,” Bassey said.
Corroborating this, HOMEF’s project lead, fossil politics and climate change, Mr. Cadmus Atake-Enade, said that the foundation marked the Ocean Day in Ogulagha to understudy the impact of extractive activities on the livelihood of the locals and come out with a policy document for the government.
“We decided to mark the Ocean Day here, being a coastal community, because we believe it will be significant for the people. The fisherfork have been impacted with a lot of environmental factors and degradation arising from extractive activities from natural causes, from climate change so it is paramount for us to actually be here to mark this day with them and amplify their voices and struggles as fisherfolk,” he said.
HOMEF’s media/communication lead, Kome Odhomor, added: “It is particularly important that individuals and local communities who have lived in harmony with these water bodies be recognized, supported and learnt from.”
