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Swimming in crude - Bomu community makes a stand

Children fish in the oil poluted waters of Bomu.

>> View our slideshow of life in Bomu

Bomu community is one of 17 recognised Ogoni Communities in the Niger Delta. It is located in Gokana Local Government Area and its economy relies largely on fishing and farming. Almost all community members are Ogoni peoples, with only a few non-Ogoni residents.

Bomu is suffering serious environmental problems and economic decline as a result of an oil spillage which has covered almost all parts of Bomu Creek, destroying aquatic life and a vast area of land previously used for farming.

The permanent oil spillage in Bomu is clearly visible around the Bondimpa Fishing Port and all along the creek. Community Leaders blame Shell's Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) for the oil spillage and say that most of the pipes carrying oil to the ocean terminal are damaged and pour out crude into the creek and surrounding farmlands.

This is not the first time that Bomu has been affected by Shell; "We have been in Court for several years over the issue of [a] borrow pit (contaminated area) involving SPDC, but this has not gone any further because we are seen as helpless. This situation would not have been if there is a strong backing by NGOs, we know you people have the influence," says one of the community leaders.

The most recent oil spillage in Bomu occurred in September 2008. According to the community the spill was caused by a leakage at nearby Bodo which poured crude oil into the creek which, in turn, flowed downstream to Bomu.

This is not an isolated problem.

Bomu community youth leaders say Shell's absence from Ogoni Land is only in that there is no permanent human presence. Oil exploration still continues and crude is pumped to the Flow-Stations through vast oil pipelines that cross the landscape, many of which are decaying. As seen in Bomu and elsewhere some of these pipes have ruptured causing huge environmental problems.

SDN has been training people in Bomu in advocacy skills as part of their Local Action for Community Empowerment project (LACE) working with partner organisation the Sustainable Peace Initiative Nigeria (SPIN).

The engagement started with broad consultations of community leaders in Port Harcourt aiming to understand the issues and to prepare them for the advocacy process through extensive training. The leaders then took this new knowledge back to Bomu to encourage engagement from the wider community with the help of SDN and its partners.

The meetings ended with the formation of a Youth Advocacy Group for Bomu, which is made up of two committees. The two committees are now working hand-in-hand in planning actions and implementation. The Advisory committee is to look into community issues and make recommendations while the Advocacy committee is to implement them.

The Community leaders understand that it is not possible to provide all their needs at once and so they have prioritised them into three main issues:

The Oil spillage in Bomu Community has threatened their basic economic activities, fishing and farming. At present the Fishing Port is seriously threatened, while a large vast of farming land along Bomu creek is also affected. Many peoples income and subsistence has been lost and the community is suffering serious economic decline as a result. The community is looking to Shell for compensation for the damage caused to their land and livelihoods.

"The two bore hole[s] water in our community are no longer functional over 15 years ago, our only source of water is from the stream that has been polluted by oil spillage, our people are dying of cholera," Says Madam Justina, a local resident.

Local leadership struggles and tussles for political power were identified as the root cause of insecurity in Bomu and are the second priority. Without peace and stability it is difficult to get even basic progress on key issues.

Improving the poor educational facilities came third in the list. The schools in Bomu are presently in a terrible structural state which affects the turnout of students.

"Most of the classrooms in our community secondary school do not have chairs and desks for student use," says teacher Paul Baradun. Many of the roofs are also leaking providing little shelter from the seasonal rains.

The two day meeting held in Bomu with the help of SDN has equipped the community with the right procedures for making demands through the use of advocacy. Participants at the meeting admitted that demands have been made in the wrong ways in the past, and are hopeful that by engaging in a legitimate process, their voices will now be listened to.

Changes are already starting to happen.

Bomu community has a one year action plan to address their key aims and has already set up a local Peace Committee which has successfully brokered a resolution to the conflict between local chiefs, at least for the time being.

This is a good start, but possibly the simplest of the three priorities to obtain in that the people involved are approachable and local. Only time will tell just how effective the people of Bomu will be in getting the oil that has smothered their land and water cleaned up so they can begin to farm and fish once more.