Gas Flare Compromises Men’s Generative Capacity, Exacerbates Poverty In Niger Delta
virility, loses fertility and productivity because the sperm are destroyed or tainted. So, a time is coming when men will not be able to have sex the way they will normally be able to have sex with their wives. And even when they succeed in having sex, they may not be able to fertilise the ovaries of their wives. In other words, gas flaring and the product of gas flaring attack the human person in a very core place, that is, affecting the generative capacity of men (not so much female). To an extent, however, the female is also affected because the female person is going to find out that the ova are only partially developed, so they cannot really be fertilised because they are not fully developed. By that token, the generative capacity of the female at the level of the ovaries is also affected, and there will be more cases of the cancer of the uterus, as well as other different kinds of cancers. Already, Médecins Sans Frontières/doctors Without Borders (MSF) are warning that many of these cancers that they are seeing now are strange cancers, which their manifestations around this region cannot be explained.
It appears communities are really unaware of the consequences of the adverse effect of gas flare?
They are not aware of the consequences because nobody has told them, and by the way, if you tell them, what are they going to do? Will they evacuate their villages and go elsewhere? So, what I do and what my organisation does is to raise the awareness of people who are living in the midst of the gas industry that this industry is not as innocent is as it looks, so, you must be careful. First of all, do not try to burst gas pipelines because you can cause a fire that will decimate the entire community. Do not try to farm around gas pressure pipelines because of danger of accident, and if you are living near a gas plant be careful. We have also told them that if they drink rainwater, or dig boreholes or wells, the water may well be contaminated. So, I try to sensitise people. I think a lot should be done as public service to enlighten people on the dangers, which the gas industry poses. Already, there are sicknesses of all kinds. There are also other social effects in rural communities, where the gas industry is operating. They need to improve their livelihoods.
Do you think that past governments have done enough to assuage the plight of gas producing communities?
I don’t think so. You ask yourself, are there significant health facilities in these areas where oil and gas are being produced? I will give you an example, in the whole of Ogba/egbema/ndoni area, the only significant health facility they have is in far away Ahoada. What is there in Omoku is just a clinic and there is no regular doctor there. I have checked this out myself. So, if they really fall sick, they have to go to Ahoada. So, what is wrong with the one in Omoku being raised to a fully functional hospital knowing that your gas is being flared there day and night, and there is the likelihood of people coming down in with diverse health issues? There is a powerful king in Omoku who is well connected, why has he not used his influence to ensure that there is a truly functional hospital in Omoku?
Gas has enriched countries that have it in abundance, as well as, their communities. Why is Nigeria’s case different? Nigeria’s case is a very unique one. But the first thing I need to let you know is that wherever natural resources exist, there is a very potent danger of all kinds of maladies that are associated with poverty, but you can point to Norway, Qatar and many places in the world where they have made a success of their own industry. Why is it so difficult for Nigeria to do that? It is difficult for Nigeria to do that because of entrenched interest. There are too many fingers on the pie and they would not give way to real, effective development of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. And you know that fossil fuel, oil and gas are time bound. It is a fact that they cannot renew themselves; they don’t have that capacity. They are depletable resources. So, if we continue to harvest and harvest, a time will come when they would be finished. When people know this and know that this is a depletable resource, then they have a right to seek to get something out of it now that it is still available, and that is why there are many fingers on the till wanting to get something out of it before it is completely depleted.
Now, focus your attention on communities in the Niger Delta, they are poor and they will be worse off when the resources are completely depleted because by that time, Nigerians will go back to their homes wherever they live in Sokoto, Kano, Maiduguri, and say that is their business. If their water is all tainted; if their atmosphere is full of radiation, denuded, it is none of our business let them take care of it. So, you can see how today’s activities are putting us in perpetual penury for a long time to come. When I say many fingers on the till, many fingers in the pie, I am not talking only of the northerners, our own elites in the Niger Delta are also part of it, so let us not point our fingers too far away. Many of our own elites have not been sincere; they have not cared much about the people because they are going into oil and gas business looking for something for themselves also.
How feasible is government’s latest promise to end gas flaring by 2020 through a three-point strategic agenda? I can tell you for a fact that President Muhammadu Buhari, when he went for the climate talks in France, two years ago, signed that Nigeria will end gas flaring in 2020, whereas others were all signing to end it in 2030. He came back from there and ended up in London taking care of his health. Till now, as I am speaking with you, very little has been put on the ground for that plan to come to fruition. So, I understand when the NNPC makes a statement like that because the President signed this not in private, but in full glare of many people. So, the NNPC is simply repeating what the President said. But as an insider, and as somebody who is working in that area, and who is looking very carefully, I don’t see very much that they have put in place in terms of infrastructure. There are beautiful policies, but actual action on the ground is very little. There is the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation pro-