By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa – Otuasega is one of the communities in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa State situated along the Kolo Creek. The community has been host to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) for many years.

The company pipelines not only crisscrosses the landscape of the community environment but Otuasega also boats of several oil wells and other important facilities of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant such as the Kolo Creek Tie-In
Manifold and administrative office at Shell’s Kolo Creek Logistics Base.

Having hosted the company since 1973, the leadership of Otuasega community has reasons to suggest that SPDC have abandoned due process in initiating certain activities within their environment, a claim dismissed by a Shell staff who pleaded annonymity.

It was observed that the company was working in certain parts of the community environment, including drilling what looked like borehole for water at the Kolo Creek Tie-In Manifold but the community felt sidelined by SPDC or Saipem carrying out any major activities in the environment without their knowledge, especially against the backdrop that major projects should be preceded by Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

To this end, the leadership of the community sometime in late October felt obliged to go to site and ask questions as to what SAIPEM (a contracting form to Shell) was doing in their environment and why the company was creating environmental problems for their farmers and fishing folks.

This peaceful move by the community leadership Sweet Crude learnt attracted the reaction of the company (Saipem), sending soldiers who came to intimidate and ordered them to leave the site immediately.

Lamenting the development, the Community Development Committee (CDC) chairman of Otuasega, Okpupku Erukpe Telu, accused the company of resorting to the use of ‘soldiers as an instrument of intimation’ to cow their community from protesting against their activities.

“Actually we have had some very sad experience with Saipem recently. We have observed that some of the company’s activities in our environment are the cause of pollution and degradation, affecting our fishing and farming activities.

“They have been clearing and cutting through anywhere they like in the bush without due process and as responsible leaders and members of the community we felt things should not just go the way the company chose to do things. We are aware that certain major activities ought to be preceded by Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA).

But with all the cutting and tearing of our bush and ground, we are yet to see anything like EIA report from the company, neither were we invited to take part in any such important exercise.

“Sometime last year the women of our neighboring community (Imiringi) cried out and even went to site naked protesting the destruction of their farms by Daewoo also working for Shell.