The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has criticized International Oil Companies (IOCs) for their continued degradation of the Niger Delta region..
The Director, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, expressed his concerns at a two-day program held at the Niger Delta University in Amassoma, Bayelsa.
Describing the poor state of the region as a “privatized and sacrificed zone,” Bassey appealed to the Federal Government to take action against the pollution, which he said had reached unimaginable levels. He emphasized the need to recover the region from the destructive activities of the IOCs.
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Bassey, who holds the national honor of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), highlighted the plight of the Niger Delta and other sacrifice zones worldwide.
He stated, “My take or initial conclusion of what we are going to do today and tomorrow is that the Niger Delta is a privatized and sacrifice zone. The gold mines of South Africa, the gas fields, the phosphate fields of Togo and Western Sahara—these are all sacrifices. The lands are sacrificed, the people are sacrificed, and all the revenue goes to the corrupt leaders.”
He further elaborated on the extensive pollution caused by oil extraction, stating that over 66 years of commercial oil extraction in the Niger Delta had led to the complete pollution of water bodies by oil spills.
Bassey noted the high concentration of benzene in drinking water and the deep contamination of soil, which has gone more than five meters deep due to reckless extractive activities.
Dr. Charles Oyibo, the Head of the Department of Environmental Management at the university, expressed hope that the students had gained valuable insights from the lecture. He acknowledged the collaboration with HOMEF as an eye-opener in addressing environmental issues.
