…It’ll attract international attention– Hon. Waive
…Project will be linked to UN to ensure continuity, sustainability – Prof. Darah
The first-ever environmental remediation and research institute in the Niger Delta has been unveiled in Delta State by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
The Institute which is a strategic partnership project between Integrated Institute of Environmental and Development and the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, IIED-FUPRE, has been described as a Centre of Excellence that will be involved in an integrated hydrocarbon remediation, training and research Institute for environmental personnel, scientists and scholars.
To properly carry out its vision and mission, the special research centre has been situated in Obi Ayagha, a riverine community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. The New Diplomat learnt that the community which over the years has been ravaged by crude oil waste pollution and environmental degradation occasioned by activities of illegal refineries, is a 10 kilometers away from the popular Otorogn Gas Plant.
In an address presented by the Deputy President of the Senate who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, at Obi Ayagha Community Town hall shortly before the unveiling of the project site, he emphasized the integration of environmental and development concerns, adding that greater attention to them will ultimately lead to the fulfillment of the basic needs of the people in terms of improved living standards, better protected and well-managed ecosystems with an assurance for a safer and more prosperous future.
He said: “I can only express my joy and satisfaction in inaugurating and unveiling the Integrated Institute of Environment and Development – IIED-FUPRE, an Integrated Hydrocarbon Remediation Research and Training (Demonstration) Centre, here at Obi-Ayagha. This is a momentous occasion and a key milestone aimed at encouraging interest in research and capacity building.
“The event of today is remarkable in many respects, especially as it is taking place in a rural setting where our people are at the centre of it and feel a deep sense of belonging to its establishment. Environmental opportunities and challenges are closely intertwined with sustainable development, and understanding the causes, nature and consequences of environmental issues is essential for anyone working to promote positive change in the livelihoods of the poor.
“It is equally relevant, because humanity stands at a defining moment in history. We are confronted by the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well-being. The integration of environmental and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfillment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future.”
Omo-Agege stressed that the mission and vision of the Research Centre is to foster an understanding of the environment through research and the translation of such knowledge to the production of personnel who will specialize in addressing environmental challenges that will drive the process of policy making and development, adding that understanding the environment is a prelude to finding solutions to environmental impacts.
“The mission of this Centre should be to foster an understanding of the environment through research and to translate such research efforts through teaching and community service to the production of personnel who will address and change environmental practices in an ecologically sustainable and socially just manner.
“More specifically you should conduct community-based research on environmental challenges that will drive policy and development. The vision should be to support the holistic approach to the protection of the environment and the improvement of people’s quality of life by developing and strengthening initiatives which are responsive, locally relevant, and aimed at transforming people’s visions and aspirations into reality for the present and future generations,” he noted.
Still on the relationship between man and the environment, Omo-Agege said that the desire to study and know more about the environment is an age-long concern and quoting from the late Indian Prime Minister, Mahatma Ghandhi, he stated that “The earth provides enough to satisfy every person’s needs but not every person’s greed”.
According to him, it is important to focus on the “wise use of natural resources such as the water we drink, the air we breathe,” noting that “beyond these basic needs, the western philosophy tells about perhaps, there are two more — one is the sound we hear and the ecology the environment, we feel.” “The environment is something which is so close to us, which we are a part of and yet something, which we understand little about”, he added.
While acknowledging and commending the role of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources as a citadel of science and technology, Omo-Agege noted that the IIED-FUPRE should be a world-class centre of excellence for different graduate disciplines, applied research and capacity-building in natural resource and sustainable environmental protection and development.
He therefore advised FUPRE authorities to ensure the centre is utilized as a strategic institution for the study of the impact of climate change on the environment and to proffer effective solutions to current issues of global warming and environmental management.
“There is no doubt about the fact that the University of Petroleum Resources is a science and technology- based University which has a clear mandate to advance knowledge in science and technology for sustainable development. It is therefore heart-warming that the Integrated Institute of Environment and Development sets out to be a world-class centre of excellence for multidisciplinary graduate education, applied research and capacity building in natural resource management, environmental protection and sustainable development.
“I urge the authorities of FUPRE to see this place as a strategic centre and an important step towards the study of the impact of climate change on our environment. This Centre should lead the way towards finding effective solutions to one of the pressing challenges of our time, especially, issues relating to global warming and environmental management in general,” Omo-Agege concluded.
Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the unveiling of the centre, the member representing Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, expressed joy that the project will finally address the problem of environmental degradation that has been bedeviling the community for years, adding that it has also exposed the area to the international community.
Waive gave assurance that as a lawmaker, he will use his position to attract relevant federal agencies such as NOSDRA, NEMA and others to the centre, noting that he would also draw the attention of those involved in the environmental remediation of Ogoni land in Rivers State to the facilities that will be made available at the Research Institute.
“Today’s event is epoch-making. This will bring international attention to my community. But much more than that, the environmental degradation that we suffer will be remedied. This is a prototype for remediation across the Niger Delta.
“It is a research business and as you know, FUPRE is a government institution. As for me as a lawmaker, it is my business to attract federal agencies such as NOSDRA that are involved in this, and those involved in Ogoni remediation. You can be sure that before Christmas there will be a motion on the floor of the House to invite them to the site.
Explaining the content of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed by the representatives of the Obi Ayagha Community and the EEID-FUPRE partnership, Waive stated that it clearly evidenced that the land was voluntarily donated by the community for research purposes and for remediation, adding that there are no fees or compensation attached.
He further stated that the community was ready to cooperate with the operators of the project, adding that where there are openings which can be filled by the locals, in the spirit of local content policy, the community should be considered.
“The content of the MoU is that the site is voluntarily surrendered by the community for research purposes and for remediation. No fees attached and no compensations are attached. And when they come around there will be cooperation and in the process, if there is anything local people can do, they will be given the right of first refusal”, he explained.
Also commenting on the development, Professor. Godini Gabriel Darah, a professor of oral literature and folklore who is also an environmentalist, described the project as a welcome development, pointing out that the community was delighted to host the event which is an effort towards attracting the preservation of natural endowment to the area.
According to him, the project will attract development to the community, adding that he was sure the centre will soon attract the attention of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, which he said will ensure the continuity and sustenance of the project.
“The project is a welcome development and one which is creating an international awareness of natural endowment which is being brought to domestic level. We in Obi Ayagha and Ughievwen kingdom are delighted to host the event through the instrumentality of Hon. Francis Waive and the Deputy Senate President, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege.
“Remediation is an endless process, it depends on when funds are available and when attention is given but many of these things are linked to the United Nations which is a very important coordinating centre. So, once it has entered their map and programme, we are sure there will be continuity,” he said.
On the content of the MoU signed by the partners and the community, Darah said it was a comprehensive package that also include the process of conservation and training of personnel, adding that they will strive to put the programme in the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, so that whenever the international body is embarking on a worldwide activities, the IIED-FUPRE project will be included.
He also gave assurance that the community will keep to the terms of the MoU to provide the needed cooperation and space for people to work.
Earlier, the governing board of IEED-FUPRE Integrated Hydrocarbon Pollution, Remediation and Training (Demonstration) Centre, was inaugurated at the main campus of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun by Omo-Agege.
The Board has Prof. Oladipo A. Afolabi, OON, CFR former Head of Service of the Federation as chairman. Other members are Irekefe Dafe, Dr. Edwin Nsirin and Dr. (Mrs.) Laurelta Tudararo-Aherobo.
Giving a brief background to the project, Irikefe explained that the site chosen in the community has been massively polluted by the activities of illegal refiners for over a decade, adding that the community has become an epicenter of illegal refinery in the Niger Delta, adding that it has left a sad legacy of massive ecological degradation and socio-cultural dislocation that will take several years to remediate.
According to him, although the activities of the illegal refiners have been stopped, “the community is now confronted with environmental issues as hydrocarbon pollution which has impacted on soil and water and loss of biodiversity,” with its attendant climate change impacts on health and food security of the community.
“This is why IIED-FUPRE is intervening under the platform of UN Decade on Ecosystems Restoration (2021-2030) by adopting Obi-Ayagha Community River Watershed Hydrocarbon impacted site as a demonstration centre of ecosystem research, training and restoration in the Niger Delta.”
Present at the occasion was the Royal Father of Ughievwen kingdom, HRM Matthew Ediri Egbi JP, Owawha II, Okobaro of Ughievwen kingdom, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, Prof. G. G. Darah, Representative of the Deputy President of Senate, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, chairman and members of the Governing Council of EEID-FUPRE Research Centre, among other dignitaries.
