Port Harcourt, Nigeria– A state once enriched by vast crude oil reserves, now grapples with an environmental catastrophe – ecocide. The oil industry, once an economic engine, has become a relentless polluter, scarring landscapes and poisoning communities. This devastation began in the 1990s and continues to unfold, a grim narrative of toxic waste dumps, gas flares that burn like infernal flames, and oil spills slithering across once-fertile farmlands.
Speaking to Liberal News Network, Olumide Idowu, the Executive Director for African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) said, “The widespread destruction of the natural environment, poses a significant threat to life for m sisters and brothers from Port Harcourt.”
“It’s time for action, our previous land is literally is crying out for help,” said Idowu, “The widespread destruction of the natural environment, has impacted Port Harcourt’s environment, health, and economy.”
Idowu also noted with concern that the contaminated soil and water harm plant and animal life, disrupting the food chain and making it difficult for people to grow food or catch fish. For decades, Nigeria has been plagued by ecocide, sacrificing its environment for economic gains.
Worse still, weak regulations have created a free-for-all for multinational corporations which act in impunity, leaving a path of destruction – toxic air, barren farmlands, and a dying ecosystem. The government’s history of silencing dissent, like the Ogoni massacre in 1993, has weakened its regulatory power.
This notwithstanding, stakeholders in the Niger Delta, including those in Port Harcourt, are urging the federal government to criminalize multinationals actions and legislate it as an environmental offense.
Accordingly, veteran Nigerian journalist Vivian Chime from Nigeria confirmed that that Port Harcourt land and water have been choked by life threatening pollution.
Chime also noted that farmers and fishing communities, who had for generations relied on the land and water for their sustenance, now find themselves facing a harsh realities.
Despite this, there seems to be a glimmer of hope. Nigeria’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals could ignite the long awaited change, if ecocide is recognized as an international crime against humanity.
Paradoxically, environmental damage is currently not considered a crime in Nigeria, hence big polluters have escaped punishment. Pollution has devastated farming and fishing communities, pushing some towards illegal oil bunkering, further endangering the environment.
Criminalizing ecocide could be a powerful deterrent, forcing polluters to prioritize environmental responsibility. However, true progress in Port Harcourt requires a delicate balance between economic development and environmental protection. Prioritizing one over the other is not progress, but a transgression against Nigeria’s collective future. For now, the burden of this imbalance falls on the shoulders of Port Harcourt’s residents, who face the daily struggle for a healthier and more sustainable future.
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