This report which ran penultimate Friday and Saturday continues today with more highlights of the hazardous effects of gas flaring on Niger Delta inhabitants. NOBODY lives up to 80 years in Mkpanak – Edak Bassey, community leader In Mkpanak, mud and thatch houses are everywhere despite sitting on a huge deposit of hydrocarbon which translates to wealth. Because of the peculiar terrains of Mkpanak, several attempts to sink public water system have failed to yield positive result, hence the people resort to otherwise polluted streams and rain waters for drinking, cooking and other domestic chores. The result is the adverse health-related ailments they frequently suffer. *Gas flare A middle aged man who lives in a thatched house in Mkpanak, a few yard away from the flare point, was battling with swollen legs called elephantiasis and he spoke with strain. Outside, half-clad children were running around in the dirt totally oblivious of the danger of gas flare in their midst. A community leader, Elder Bassey EdakBassey, said the American oil firm has turned deaf ears to their cry for help, describing the firm’s attitude as the height of corporate social irresponsibility to host communities and government’s insensitivity to the suffering of its citizens. He talked about impact of the pollution which includes quite a number of health-related ailments which impoverish the people and shorten their life span. He listed the sicknesses affecting them in the community to include tuberculosis, typhoid, skin diseases, stroke, elephantiasis, among others, stating that nobody lives up to the age of 80 years in the community. Villagers go to hospital daily – Eyoh Essien Corroborating him, Vice President, Mkpanak Kingdom, Elijah Eyoh Essien, recounted how they hardly sleep in the night due to tremors which he noted have cracked the walls of so many houses and affected the foundations. He said: “Apart from the health issues arising from the polluted environment, we are supposed to enjoy amenities here, but the gas flare has destroyed our roofs and the water we depend on for livelihood is badly affected. And that is why we go to the hospital on daily basis and the company does not do anything to assist us.” Ibeno LG boss weeps Chairman of Ibeno local government area, Pastor Ifum Henry Udoh, however, expressed dismay over the persistent gas flaring and the inability of the government to stop the menace despite several promises to bring it to an end. “I do not know why Exxon Mobil has refused to stop gas flare. The company is working against the interest of our people and the government needs to do something to address the dire situation because our young people die prematurely. The chemicals dropping from the gas flare are dangerous to the body. They affect the water.” Fishermen also cry In Utan Iyak, a fishing settlement on the estuary of the Atlantic Ocean in Mbo Local Government Area, fishermen bemoaned about depletion in their daily catch and loss of fishing gears to oil spills and the prevalence of water- borne diseases in the riverside communities due to acid rain water. They claimed that several oil platforms belonging to the Exxon Mobil and other marginal oil companies are located in the area and have caused major health and environmental hazards to them, thus depriving them of the means of livelihoods. “We are really suffering here in Mbo. We are facing serious health challenges. We have itching on our bodies and our children are always having diarrhea as a result of impure water. When it rains, the water we drink here is always black and dirty with particles,” Etim Eyoh, a local fisherman said. In Esit Eket, women complained of stunted crops growth which has affected their harvest and consequently reduced their profits and which could lead to food shortage. I can’t remember how many times I changed my roof – Orojan Chief Okon Orojan from Iko Town in Eastern Obolo local government area said since he returned home after retirement, some years ago, he could not remember the number of times he had changed roofing sheets of his house. “This is my house and I have changed the zinc so many times. When Shell BP first came here to start their operation in 1976, they promised that they would build a modern village for Iko town. Even other things they promised to do to improve the life of our people, have not been done. And the issue of gas flaring disturbs us a lot because if you build a house and you roof it with zinc, within a short time, say about 10 months, the zinc will be destroyed,”he disclosed.
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