Over 55 years since the discovery of crude oil (black gold) in Nigeria, the nation suddenly awoke to a huge source of income generation. This was followed by the gradual slinking away of the many other sources of income that had supported the country through its pre-oil period, one of which is agriculture and aquaculture.
The oil boom brought about a great revenue turnaround for Nigeria and further brought it to international limelight as a major oil producing country in Africa but it also brought about a complete and senseless desecration of the environment especially in the oil sector, loss of indigenous occupation among local communities, corrupt practices and rural to urban migration in search of perceived oil related white cola jobs among others.
The impact of the discovery and exploration of crude oil on the environment in Nigeria has been described by some environmentalist as a curse rather than a blessing because of the destruction it has left in its wake over the years on the environment and its consequent negative impact on human lives and the ecosystem.
Issues of environmental degradation as a result of the exploration of oil in Nigeria have continued to leave sour spots across many oil communities because of the negative impact the activity has on human existence bordering on threats of extinction or wiping out whole communities and their livelihood.
Amnesty International had once stated that oil communities such as Bodo in Ogoniland are among regions that have suffered serious impacts of oil exploration activities by oil companies which have failed to clean up and remediate such areas.
Mr. Sulaimon Arigbabu, the Head of Environment and Sustainable development of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) described the discovery and exploration of crude oil in Nigeria as a destructive force on the environment.
“I see the discovery of oil in a negative way because its impact on the environment has been enormous and it has a long term effect.
Nigeria has suffered from this discovery due to corruption in the use of what we gain from the oil, it has destroyed our fisheries and agriculture and it has brought about societal conflict and even at the national level such as the issue of armed militants.
It my opinion, this discovery has dissuaded us from hard work and thorough national planning to enable us reform our economy and get back on track in developing our nation just like other nation that started the journey of national development at the same time with us but are now far ahead of us,” he explained.
He lamented that Nigeria’s agriculture has fizzled out to the level that the nation is now a net importer of food where it once was known for its export of agriculture produce at the international market.
“We have lost our crude oil gains due to corrupt public officials and we now import food when we once export.
My advice to Nigeria is that we must be prepared move ahead by looking into renewable sources of energy that would ensure a cleaner environment and assist us move in line with global trend since the world is now focusing on renewable energy.
Our crude oil will definitely finish one day since it is not a renewable source of energy, Nigeria only has a window of between 10-20 years to make good planning for renewable energy sources in the future by encouraging research which will in turn promote our industries and manufacturing sectors, our future and that of the world now rest of proper knowledge and planning,” he said.
Another environmentalist, Architect Emmanuel Ating, President of the Environmental Managers Association of Nigeria (EMAN), said there are both positive and negative impact of crude oil on the environment in the sense that the discovery has brought about pressure on oil companies to employ environmental managers to ensure that the environment is protected.
He however pointed out that certain chemicals as well as oil spill accidents especially offshore have a huge negative impact on the environment because they affect water and aquatic life and as the water travels, many people along the coast line are also negatively affected.
“This affects a large area especially as the water moves, it contaminates drinking water and may destroy trees so there is need for adequate management to reduce such impact,” he said.
