By Agorehmi Bright, Reporting
WOMEN from the Eleme speaking tribe in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have decried the state and effects of polluted water due to oil exploration and exploitation in their domain.
The women, who joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Water Day (WWD) with the theme, “Leveraging Water for Peace,” expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged neglect by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other multinational oil producing companies in their land.
The women, in their numbers, marched to Mmú Okulú Aleto, armed with placards with inscriptions underscoring the benefits of water, devastating effects of polluted water and their dissatisfaction with the environment.
Some of the inscriptions read: “Water is life,” “Water is the soul of the earth,” “Save water, the world is in your hands,” “Woman is water, keep it safe,” and “we never know the worth of water till the well is dry,” among others.
According to them, water, in their domain, has lost its natural colour due to oil spillage, gas flaring and careless waste disposal allegedly by Indorama, SPDC and other multinational oil producing companies.
One of the leaders of the peaceful protesters, Dr. Patience Osarojiji, while addressing journalists, said before the arrival of the oil extracting companies, the rivers in their domain served as a source of livelihood to the entire kingdom and beyond.
She averred that the presence of the oil and gas multinationals had done more harm than good, as the people now suffer from diverse illnesses such as skin diseases, cancers and kidney problems, among others.
According to Dr Osarojiji, even “our young children suffer from infidelity and early menopause as a result of contaminated waters and air pollution all around us.”
Another protester, Mrs. Peace Mmimi Ejor, who spoke to journalists, maintained that the high level of skin infections in the land are caused by contaminated water drunk and bathed by the people.
She said Eleme land has lost the freshness of water compared to what it used to be before the advent of the oil explorers and exploiters.
“We used to fish and get fresh sea foods from this same water after a long day in the farm while neighboring communities also derived their source of livelihood from this Okulú Aleto.
“How best can we live a healthy life without any good source of portable water?
“We are pleading for the intervention of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the world to come and rescue us from oil pollution and gas flaring that have caused us more harm than good,” she pleaded.
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