Posted by The people who live in Okoro-Utip, an Akwa Ibom village, are still in excruciating pain due to the area’s unending devastation caused by oil drilling.
Over the years, the residents in their local government of Ibeno have bemoaned the detrimental effects of oil drilling and spills brought on by the actions of the global oil company Exxon Mobil.
Since no significant output is seen during each harvest season, the constant oil spills and gas flares have undoubtedly had an impact on their terrestrial and aquatic crops as well as their environment.
In an interview, Okoro-Utip resident Pastor AbasiUbong John bemoaned the failure of cassava stems planted more than a year ago to produce tubers.
Rhoda Peters, a female farmer and community leader in Upenekang, expressed that even with fertilizers applied to her crops, the yields were consistently depressing “because of the texture of the soil which has been impacted by oil spills.”
She continued by saying that this had led to hunger and a shortage of food in the area, which had caused the few food items that were available to suddenly increase in price.
Peters expressed her concerns by saying, “We live in a very challenging area.”
Consider that a bag of sachet water costs N500 and a cup of garri costs N300. All we can do is return to our farms. How much garri can I buy to feed the five girls that live with me?
The problem is that, even with my use of artificial fertilizer, the harvest is not really noteworthy. Every time I harvest my crops, I cry.
In an interview with twiscoloaded, Chief Philip Atanwa, Chairman of the Okoro-Utip Village Council, blamed the actions of the oil firms in Ibeno for the low output and ongoing erosion in his community.
The octogenarian described how, because of their natural heritage, the community’s farm products and aquatic animals were the center of attention until the oil firms arrived.
He expressed optimism that after our community’s Agroecology training, things would soon change for the better.
“We are aware that the corporation that produces oil in Ibeno has deceived us greatly.
“We have lost a great deal due to oil exploration; this oil producing company’s operations have destroyed our land and devastated our ecology.
“I think that by putting what we are taught into practice, we can begin the process of rebuilding our broken and degraded environment,” he stated.
“Set aside a large portion of land for this planting season where everyone will apply what they learned,” he declared, referring to the community’s commitment.
The neighborhood has become extremely permeable, according to farmer Pastor Abasiubong John, who also added that mangroves guard against erosion and provide a place for fish to deposit their eggs.
Since this mangrove has disappeared, we have been experiencing erosion; even the periwinkle that usually grows on this mangrove is no longer present.