We at the Voice for Nigerian Environment and Development are dismayed that after leaving the country while Kaduna was burning all Mr. President could offer to the international community was a speech of deceit, half-truths and sometimes outright hypocrisy at the just concluded Earth Summit.
After a careful review of his empty speech, we are compelled to issue this response.
(a) It was very disheartening listening to President Jonathan lying about the state of affairs of Nigerian environment and sustainable development. Mr. President claimed; “under our medium to long term National Plans, we have developed several sectoral initiatives, particularly… petroleum, solid minerals, power supply, renewable energy … which accord priority to environmental and wider development issues.” This is a far cry from the truth. We believe that with the current electricity situation in the country that encourages biomass burning and use of diesel generators as well as gas flaring; which contributes to global warming and oil spillage, the Nigerian government under President Jonathan’s watch is not reducing environmental risks but simply compounding issues. Mr. President was paying lip service when he said “we owe an obligation to our peoples and coming generations to eradicate poverty and employ green economy in our sustainable development programme.” Nigeria, according to World Bank estimates is currently losing on the average more than $2.5 billion (N332.5 billion) annually to gas flaring. At about 57 % of the daily production of over 2 billion cubic feet of gas, the volume of flared gas is said to be capable of generating up to 6 gigawatts of electric power annually. Where is the green economy and poverty eradication in a country that cannot effectively utilize its natural resources for the good of her people?
(b) For President Jonathan to be telling the international community that “Working together to develop ‘green economies’, offers us a greater chance of a sustainable future” is pure hypocrisy. How can a country that exports crude oil only to import refined petroleum products be talking about sustainability and green economy? There can be no sustainable future in Nigeria when it has woefully failed to provide clean and affordable water to its citizens by harnessing the abundant water resources at our backyards. In fact, there can be no sustainable future in Nigeria when the President apparently does not understand that our natural resources should be used for the betterment of the country and that each of us has a responsibility to be good stewards so that future generations would be able to enjoy these resources too.
(c) It was hypocritical of President Jonathan to be championing “a collective effort, to reduce the conflict between human development and environmental conservation.” How can the staff of the Ministry of Environment that wrote this speech for him pretend to care about Nigerian Environment when Section 8 (g) of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Environment Agency (NESREA) Act (like many others) prohibits them from conducting investigation of pollution and degradation of natural resources on the oil spillage? If the Ministry of Environment cannot enforce compliance and environmental regulation in the oil and gas sector, what right do they have to talk about environmental conservation and sustainable development in Nigeria?
Finally, we can only agree with Mr. President’s hope that at sometime in the future, the Rio+20 conference will be remembered as a turning point “where we met and took the right decisions and the right actions that shaped a better future.” We are, however, wondering what will be the right decisions and actions of Mr. President.
To this end, we are calling on Mr. President to:
1. Immediately sack the Minister for Environment Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia and appoint a Minister that will exhibit independent judgment in the development, implementation and evaluation of plans towards environmental protection, clean energy and sustainable development.
2. Ensure passage and enforcement of the Gas Flare Out Policy to ensure more effective domestic utilization of gas in Nigeria.
3. Develop and implement a natural gas distribution master plan that will boost domestic demand.
4. Immediately review the currently flawed National Environmental Standards and Regulations Environment Agency Act (NESREA Act) with the view to removing all clauses that obstruct environmental protection, conservation and sustainable development in the oil sector.
5. Immediately dissolve the NESREA board and reconstitute one that will be vibrant and aggressive in enforcing Nigerian environmental laws.
As we have stated in the past that the concept of sustainable development is clearly a political issue and more radical action is needed from Mr. President. Delivering a hypocritical and deceitful speech on the state of Nigerian Environment to the international audience does not change the facts on the ground. From erosion menace in the Southeast, desertification at the northern edge of Savannah, oil spillage, indiscriminate and unnecessary gas flaring in Niger Delta, solid waste disgrace across the nation all point to a Nigerian environment in dire need of action and not empty speeches or jamboree at Rio and now Brussels.
Churchill Okonkwo
Communications Director
Voice for Nigerian Environment and Development
Churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com
www.voicefornigerianenvironment.com