A socio-cultural organisation, the Furo of Nembe, comprising notable citizens of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has condemned attempts by some groups to play down the over 30 days Aiteo oil spill disaster in their domain.
The group noted with dismay what it described as irresponsible and provocative utterances by the President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, Malam Kabiru Yusuf on the oil spill.
They said Yusuf’s attempt to contradict the comparison of the spill to the Hiroshima nuclear effect and the Mexico oil spill as aptly stated by the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, was borne out of crass ignorance and unsolicited intervention.
The Furo, in a statement signed by its head, Chief D. J. Erewari-Oruwari and Administrative Secretary, Chief B. C. Ben-Yousuo said the Arewa Youths are nothing but interlopers.
“Arewa dwells in a land-locked environment that is far removed from the Opu-Nembe and Niger Delta environment although its members feed fat from the proceeds of the oil from Opu-Nembe.
“Sadly, rather than sympathise with the affected people and join forces to curtail the short-term and long-term effects of the spill, it decides to deride the disaster. From information available to the Furo, the effects of this disaster on the environment and the people would last for decades, similar to the effects of the Hiroshima nuclear disaster. The Furo demands that the Federal Government should call the Arewa Consultative Youth Forum to order”.
The group also expressed regret over the unwarranted and spurious claim credited to one Ibiosiya Sukubo, Spokesman of the Kula Kingdom in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, that the said spill occurred in Kula community.
It said: “There had been previous territorial disputes between Rivers and Bayelsa State concerning their boundary. It is most distressing that the Kula people, whom Nembe people consider to be their brothers, should choose this moment when the Opu-Nembe people are in distress to further provoke them. The Furo likens the action of the Kula people to the biblical incident in 1King 3 where the guilty mother surreptitiously tried to exchange her dead child for a living child.
“The Furo calls on the Rivers State Government and other stakeholders to call our Kula brothers to order rather than to open wounds that are still healing. From their confessional statement, it is obvious that the Kula people are hungry for relief materials. It is unfortunate that rather than honestly seek such relief from relevant humanitarian agencies, they have chosen to reap where they never sowed”.
The group thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for dispatching his Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to visit the site of the spill for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and for mobilising the required efforts to bring the blowout under control.
It also thanked the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, for his fraternal disposition in the matter and for putting the matter in the right perspective before the international community.
“We also thank Distinguished Senator Biobarakunma Degi-Eremienyo, the Ijaw National Congress, the Nembe-Se Congress as well as other individuals and groups that have solidarised with the Opu-Nembe Kingdom at this trying time.
Above all, the Furo heartily thank His Royal Majesty King (Dr) Biobelemoye Josiah, Ogbodo VIII, Amanyanabo of Opu-Nembe, for his patience and refusal to be provoked to allow his subjects to engage in unlawful acts even amidst extreme provocation.
“The Furo pledges to join forces with individuals, groups and agencies that are interested in peaceful and salutary efforts aimed at alleviating the pains occasioned by this national disaster and other developmental aspirations”, it stated.
They added that it is a big relief the containment of the oil-gas blowout after more than thirty days of unprecedented despoilation of the Opu-Nembe flora and fauna and stressed that the containment of the blowout is only a first step in the efforts to remediate the environment, compensate the affected people and communities, and ensure better protection of the Niger Delta against a future recurrence.
