Members of Egita Community in Egi Kingdom of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State are in panic over a gas eruption, which has practically taken over their farmlands, air space and domestic water. They have cried out and expressed lack of faith in the systems that have come out to help. In this report, Bolaji Ogundele compares their fears with the facts provided by the company and concludes that only time will tell whether the people have a reason to be fearful or not.NATURAL disasters are, contrary to what many may erroneously hold, also very rampant in this part of the world. They may not be earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or hurricanes, but rain storms wreak almost same magnitude of havoc as any of those devastations as someone in Europe, Americas or even the Far East dreads. Considering the fact that when heavy rainstorm blows off the roof of a house, or tears off a tree branch which pulls down electricity poles, the victims are most likely not going to have a government or corporate world assist them. They will have to find a way to re-roof the house and pay for the damaged equipment to re-electrify their neighbourhood.The experience of the people of Egita community, of the Egi clan in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State is of natural cause, though not of their own making. The Ogba area of Rivers State, part of which the Egi clan is, happens to hold the highest reserve of onshore oil and gas deposit and as such, hosting the biggest production activities in the country.Oil and gas exploration, exploitation and production activities have gone on there for a very long time and the people of the area have over time learned to form a bond with the oil companies operating on their land, mainly Total E&P Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) and the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC). The companies, though paying the agreed royalties to the government, maintain friendship with the various communities by means of some development Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and employment. But then there are snag-touches once in a while, moments that come to test the chord of the community-company relationship. This is currently threatening the faith of Egita community in either the company it had hitherto held no ill-feeling for and the government that does not seem to exist much in its life.About two weeks ago, a system malfunction occurred on some of the facilities of TEPNG in the farm lands of some Egi communities, especially Egita, which they now live with like a monster threatening to devour. The situation is like a wild lion, unfettered, threatening to ravage any man that comes near. But to the keeper of the beast, meaning the oil company, the situation is better described as an Alsatian dog, fierce looking, but is fettered and also well trained; it does not bite without order.In actual fact the situation is scary, at least to anyone who visits any of the surrounding sites of the eruption will think so. It feels like a leakage of an underground rushing of an element. The ground you are standing on is vibrating, like there is about to be an earth tremor or something slightly milder than an earthquake. The gas spewing out from the earth isn't in any way suggesting mildness; something menthol in feeling to both the nose and the eyes. This is why the people of the community express deep fear; some of them living close to the sites are already evacuating the place.Two Egita community stakeholders who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune explained their fears and grouse with the situation. The community youths president, Nernard Jokel, and the Community Development Committee (CDC) chairman, Benson Ogochukwu, both called on the company and government to quickly come in to save the situation before some persons start taking advantage of the situation.Bernard Jokel, Egita youth president, said, 'What is happening in Egita community is as a result of the diversional draining that has been going on by Total E&P Nigeria Limited. It started on the 2nd, but our people discovered it on the 3rd. For some years now, we have been denied our rights; infrastructure, road construction, scholarship and so many others. In essence, what we are saying is that Egita is a peaceful community, we wouldn't want them to take our peaceful attitude for granted before we swing into action. We also want government to come to our aid on time in order not to allow some dubious persons to manoeuvre the situation for their selfish gains.According to Benson Ogochukwu, CDC chairman of Egita community, 'On April 2nd we were informed by our community men who went to their farms, because we are mostly farmers, that there was a gas eruption in our farmlands. So we intervened immediately and went into the bush, we saw it was true and we went back to Total to report that there was a gas eruption on our farmland. They came, but since then we have not seen Total; they have not come to report to the community the cause of that gas eruption. As we are talking now, the explosion has escalated to over 16 wells in Igbirite close to Oguru in Egita community. So we are expecting Total to intervene and at least to bring relief materials to the community because the gas explosion has caused a lot of damage to the community. Apart from the crops, our lives are in danger. If possible, we demand that we be relocated from this vicinity because our lives are now in danger, we are not safe.'We are also calling on the government to intervene; some people have already been rushed to the hospital because of the gas they inhaled. So up till now Total has not done so much to come to the aid of Egita community. This thing is purely Egitaland and no other community is involved, the particular place where this thing happened is Egita community. Not Obite, not Obiyebe, not Ogbogu as some persons are claiming that they are affected, they might be affected in other areas, but as it concerns this gas problem, it is Egita community alone. We are pleading with the government and Total that they should address this issue properly so that there will be no further crisis as regards this problem.' However, to allay the fears of the community, TEPNG, in a statement it released on the matter to journalists in Port Harcourt, said the situation, as it concerns health of inhabitants of the residences nearby, was still normal as assessment of both the air being inhaled and the domestic water had shown no dangerous contamination so far. It also said it had liaised with government and local authorities in respect of the issue, assuring that it was working to ensure the situation was fully restored to normal. Already the operation on the facility has been suspended as the taps supplying the gas have been shut.Total, in the statement, clarified its position thus, 'On April 3rd, Total E&P Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) was alerted about some water and gas resurgence points, observed in an uninhabited area close to its onshore Obite gas production facilities, on the OML 58 license. OML 58 is a concession operated by TEPNG on behalf of the NNPC/Total Joint Venture in Ogba/Ndoni/Egbema Local Government Area (ONELGA), Rivers State. This event is the likely consequence of a technical incident that occurred during drilling operations on the same site, on March 20th. There have been no injuries. Production from the Obite Gas Plant has been stopped and wells shut down. Since the beginning, a special task force has been in place with the support of well-control experts in order to implement technical solutions to resolve the situation.'TEPNG is working in close collaboration with representatives of the Egi community who reside in the vicinity of the facilities and also with the Nigerian authorities. All necessary means to ensure the protection of nearby communities and personnel and to limit the impact on the environment have been immediately mobilised. Strict monitoring of the environment is ongoing and a safety perimeter has been established. Domestic water analysis and air quality controls are being processed on a daily basis and have not revealed any presence of hydrocarbons or toxic elements. 'Since March 20th, federal and local authorities have been informed of the evolution of the situation. TEPNG reiterates its regrets regarding the trouble the situation has caused and will continue to communicate with stakeholders, including meetings and forums with the communities and regular briefing to the authorities.'The larger Egi kingdom has not kept quiet either. At a press briefing held in Port Harcourt to address the issue, Egi leaders mentioned more than one community affected by the eruption, basically farmlands, appealing to all to stay calm as everything was being done to contain the situation.However, whether the people of Egi community are mere alarmists and just lily-livered or TEPNG and its assumed collaborators among the elite of Egi kingdom are twisting the facts will be proven with time. At that time, it will either be that there was no cause for alarm from the onset indeed, or it will become clear that the company had twisted the facts all along and the cost of that action will by then be great because human lives and environment would have been irreparably damaged.
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