UNEP report and the Agony of an oil producing community - The people of Goi-Salami community in Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State , are still suffering the effect of two major oil spills that devastated the area in 2004 and 2008 respectively. The indigenes describe it as the worst spill recorded in the entire Gokana area, due to equipment failure from the pipelines of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), during which fire erupted and destroyed boats, canoes, nets and other tools used for fishing.

Apart from those two major spills, the community has also recorded pockets of spills that have together resulted in various ailments, destruction of the mangrove, land and the aquatic life of the people. Thus the major occupation of the people: fishing and farming is now literary non-existent.

The Bodo General Hospital where many of the victims of the environmental degradation stream to is in a poor state, without facilities, while infrastructure is in an advance stage of dilapidation.

In the main, many indigenes have deserted their houses and fled to neighbouring towns, with some of the buildings taken over by rodents and almost dwarfed by overgrown weeds.

The recent report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) irked the indigenes of Goi-Salami, due to the exclusion of the community in the said report which was submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan after months of assessment of polluted sites in the four local government areas that make up Ogoniland: Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

To them the UNEP report on the impact of oil spills is a "sham, a watery sheet of paper not worth mentioning" even as they said they have been praying to God for deliverance since the submission of the report, even when it is known in Ogoni that Goi is the only community that suffered such first degree spill.

Traditional ruler of Goi-Salami, His Royal Highness Mene Tomii S. Tomii, who recently conduction newsmen round polluted sites in the area said the rivers and farmlands there have been destroyed due to oil, spills over the years.

King Tomii then wondered why Goi community was not mentioned in any part of the UNEP report, saying Goi has suffered one of the worst forms of devastation from years of oil exploration in Ogoniland by Shell.

The Monarch noted that almost half of the community's population had taken refuge in other communities as they can not stand the nauseating smell of the spill. We are living here by the mercy of God. Most of our people are scattered in other communities.

He pointed out that the offensive smell is worst at night when the tide comes in full stretch "and nobody goes near there.

"If the Shell could accept to pay US$410million compensation to other communities affected by spill, then we deserve double of that and our mangrove forest brought back", King Tomii said.

According to the royal father, "As I am speaking to you, most of our people who survive through farming and fishing fled to nearby communities because their water, farms, their boats and canoes were destroyed by the oil spill from Shell pipelines, which even caused a huge fire.

"We have also recorded many deaths as a result of the smell from the spills. There are weeks we bury nothing less than 13 to 15 people from this community who were seriously sick because of the harsh effect on our the environmental," he said.

High Chief Tomii also lamented that there was nothing like the presence of Shell or government presence in the community, such as hospitals, schools, roads or portable drinking water despite several years of oil exploration there by the multinational oil company, Shell.

Similarly, Spokesman of the community, Alhaji Muhamad Kobani said the two major sources of pollution are the Bomu manifold and the Bodo West oil field owned by shell, even as he said the spills have decimate the people, with many fleeing to nearby communities.

Alhaji Kobani said Goi-Salami has an original population of about 50, 000, but that presently they cannot give accurate account the figures, since many were forced to desert their homes, farmlands to avoid the impact of the devastation on the environment.

"If there is a spill at Bomu manifold, everything ends up here, the crude oil remains here, while the river water flows back. They said it is equipment failure and the worst spills were in 2004 and 2008.

"With this kind of massive spills that destroyed farmlands, rivers, boats, canoes and the livelihood of the people, why would UNEP's fail to include Goi-Salima as one of the communities devastated by oil spills. Would you rely on such a report," Kobani queried.

The spokesman stated that Goi Salima was the first community to be established in Gokana local government, pointing out that most of the cases of illness in the area have been traced to the effect of the oil spill, while calling on Shell and the federal government to carry out a thorough clean up of the area.

"We want Shell to adequate compensate us, Shell and the government should clean up this place in such a way that the mangrove and fishing life which has been destroyed by the spill would come back so that our people can fish again," he added.

On the exclusion of the community from the UNEP report, former Commissioner for Finance in Rivers State and an indigene of the area, Mr. Kenneth Kobani, said it was surprising that Goi Salami was not even mentioned in the UNEP report.

Kobani said, "Goi community has been under reported and misrepresented as far as oil spills in Ogniland were concerned.

"The years of oil exploration by Shell had devastated the community and the real issue is that the UNEP report on Ogoni oil spills did not even made mention of this community as one of the areas affected, the report is a sham.

"As you can see, (pointing to the polluted sites) the devastation here caused by the oil spill is criminal because we cannot plant or grow anything anymore. There is no government or Shell presence here. Our people can no longer fish. There is no fish in Gokana, we are now at the mercy of goat meat sellers. It is a very unfortunate situation," he added.

A visit to the Bodo General Hospital , readily gives a hint as to why the casualty figures might even worsen, due to the absence of emergency response facilities, including personnel.

On the very serious cases, it was leant no fewer than fifteen people died almost monthly in the mangrove settlement of Goi-Salami community in Gokana local government area of Rivers state as a result of air and water pollution.

Goi is one of the oldest communities in the local government which has been massively devastated by two major oil spills that occurred in 2004 and 2008 due to equipment failure from the Shell's pipelines.

The spill has sacked the only river in the area and swept off the mangrove forest extending to over two kilometres.

"There are weeks we bury about fifteen people at a stretch. Our women suffer miscarriages every time while the children have been subjected to all manner of skin diseases and untimely death", Alhaji Kobani said.

Kobani said due to the contamination of the streams by the oil spill, "our people suffer all manner of health problems because of the consumption of benzene chemical.

When Daily Champion visited the Bodo general hospital, over 100 patients were seen waiting patiently to be attended to by the resident doctor, even as some of them who spoke to our reporter said they have been suffering from skin disorders over the years.

71-year-old Chief Phillip Bernard said," I can not sleep. I can not breathe very well. I have constant headache every day" just as he said his case was worsen because of the absence of proper medical attention.

"All my life my occupation has been fishing. But since the water has been poisoned by contamination and our aquatic lives killed, there is no other source of livelihood. The farmland is destroyed by spill, by Shell.

The only Doctor at the hospital when our correspondent visited neither gave his name nor give any information to this reporter citing government bureaucracy to justify his studied silence at the condition of the patients and poor state of facilities there.

Speaking further, the former Finance Commissioner and National Treasurer of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Kenneth Kobani stated Shell was merely paying attention to "criminals" who mask under the guise of the spillage to defraud the authority to the detriment of the actual people who suffer the direct impact of the spill.

To him, the federal government should set up an independent body to carry out a thorough and unbiased examination of the community to ascertain the extent of damage already done by Shell's spill in the community.

"The UNEP report is a big sham. A watery piece of paper", 'Kobani said tearfully.

On what it used to be in the mangrove, Alhaji Kobani said, before the era of spills, one could fetch enough fish for a family in just thirty minutes in the mangrove, saying "in those days when you are entering Gokana, we use fish to welcome you, but it is no longer the case, because of the pollution here."

Daily Champion/20/09/2011