Editor… HOMEF, Others Wade In To Stem Gas Flare, Pollution
The little sleepy town of Gelegele is reeling in pain as gas flaring wreck major environmental damage and perpetual loss of livelihood.
Gelegele community is ravaged by unending gas flaring, belching right in
the heart of the community with flow stations close to residential buildings. Residents say the community has been living with the sad reality of air and environmental pollution amid other socio-economic stress.
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), which intervened with capacity-building workshop for the rural dwellers on Thursday, said there is so much suffering in the community as Gelegele residents grapple with gas flaring and pollution.
It said oil companies are blind to the negative impacts of their exploitative activities as a result of the attendant profits.
Local populations in most parts of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region where oil exploration takes place dependent on fishing and agriculture as
major sources of their livelihood.
HOMEF, in a capacity building workshop held at the Gelegele community in Ovia North-East Local Government area of Edo State, harped on the need for accountability over resource exploitation by both government and companies operating in Gelegele.
Resource persons, during the training, charged community members to be vigilant enough to observe and report untoward events within their environment.
Community members enumerated ecological problems and livelihood challenges they face as a result of a giant gas flare near their homes. They lamented the impact of flaring that has led to heatwaves, widespread health problems and negatively affected fishing as the predominant occupation of the people.
An environmentalist, Morris Alagoa, tasked community
members to identify and work on the problems they faced. According to
him, “After identifying your challenges with gas flaring and oil exploitation, it is time to take action. Once you agree to act as a
community, everyone must ensure to comply and work in the best interest
of the community.” He insisted that it is very important for people to
adhere to collective decision if their actions is to have desired impact. “If you see something wrong, be ready to say it out and not be silent over it. Team up with bodies and organizations that fight against injustice. If you speak up, people will come together to fight with you against such injustice.” He further stressed that
everyone has a role to play in the interest of ensuring sustainability of our environment.
HOMEF’s facilitators urged members of the community to put what they had learned into practice to achieve the expected results and secure their goals and objectives.
The training aimed to equip community with tools for building solidarity and to elevate solutions to their environmental and livelihood challenges.
Earlier in his welcome address, Prince Babs Pawuru of the Host Communities Network (HoCoN) expressed satisfaction with the timely training and urged
the community members to be ready to join in the struggle to end exploitations that do not yield positive benefits. “I am happy we have this gathering today. This meeting will help the youths and other community members to know how to demand accountability from corporations that engage in harmful activities.
Together, we can also hold government accountable. We have to stand together and demand immediate end to gas flaring in Gelegele.”
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