The Executive Director of Environmental Right Action, Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, has called on the Federal Government to tackle the environmental challenges facing the country in order to prevent possible environmental disasters like the drought ravaging Somalia.
Bassey, who is also the Chair of Friends of the Earth International, said Nigeria was already faced with extreme environmental conditions, such as the rapid desertification in the North, gully erosion in the South-East, coastal erosion in the coastal states, and land pollution in the Niger-Delta.
Bassey said it was such neglect that resulted in the level of environmental degradation that was revealed in the United Nations Environment Programme’s report on the pollution of Ogoniland and that the report was a clue to what had happened in other parts of the Niger-Delta.
He said, “I think the UNEP report is something that everybody should welcome. At least for the first time, we have an official document that shows the extent of damage that oil companies did on Ogoniland and the impact on the people. We can now use this and extrapolate it to know what is happening in the other parts of Niger-Delta.”
Bassey urged the FG to take action on the report immediately, adding that the Ogoni people are expectant of results.http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201108141392265