The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has berated the Federal Government for failing to sensitize oil-bearing host communities in Bauchi and Gombe states over the potential environmental and health impacts of oil exploration in both states.
RDI’s position emanated from an interactive meeting with community members in Alkeleri Council of Bauchi State on February 28, 2024, where community folks had the opportunity of learning about oil impacts in the Niger Delta and environmental issues likely to arise in the Northern region following the discovery of oil in commercial quantity.
They complained about growing friction between communities in the two states over ownership of the oil wells and also decried growing insecurity plaguing the region.
The Nigerian government in October 2019 announced that it has found one billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas within the Kolmani River area of Gombe and Bauchi states. The oilfields (OPL 809 and 810) to be developed by Sterling Global Oil, Northern Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited have attracted an investment of $3 billion marking a journey of oil exploration in northern Nigeria.
However, after former President Muhammadu Buhari’s unveiling of oil exploration in Bauchi and Gombe on November 22, 2022, the celebration that followed the Federal Government’s announcement has not been matched with the anticipated engagement of residents of the communities to forestall a recurrence of the crisis in host communities of the Niger Delta.
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RDI Project Officer, Ifeoluwa Adediran, said: “It is quite unfortunate that after the fanfare of the government announcement of crude oil exploration exercise in the north, no serious on-ground engagement has happened. Instead, the government is still deceiving the locals about the benefits that oil will bring them.
“The Niger Delta is the classic example of what oil can do to people and the environment. The discovery of oil along the boundary lines of Bauchi and Gombe State has already created friction and tension among the host communities claiming ownership of oil wells and will increase land grabs and insecurity in these formerly peaceful communities.”
Adediran explained that the interactive was an eye-opener as the locals spoke frankly about how the political elites have started creating conflict among the once peaceful communities aside from growing land grabs and the influx of strange people in their communities all interested in
what oil would bring.
She expressed RDI’s determination to work with grassroots organisations in the states to deepen their understanding and that of the host communities on their rights and the likely fallouts of oil exploration and gas flaring on their lives and livelihoods.
“We will work with them to ensure they learn from the mistakes of the Niger Delta where oil has become a curse rather than a blessing. They must not be unnecessarily enthusiastic about the promised benefits of oil. Instead, the focus should be on how to mobilize to ensure they determine what happens in their environment,” she said.
