Katherine Abayomi.
Crude oil spills have been frequent in Nigeria in the past 50 years. It is estimated that 10 – 13 million tons of oil have been spilled into the environment.
This has resulted to the pollution of land in these regions especially in the Niger Delta Ogoni inclusive.
The Executive Director of Lekeh Development Foundation, Friday Nbani, called on farmers in Ogoni land to adopt bioremediation as a way to locally drive and restore polluted and degraded soil.
This was during an agroecology training session for 20 farmers in Khana Local Government Area. The training was organised to educate rural farmers on achieving healthy soil and mitigating the devastating impact of oil spills, climate change, and environmental degradation on agriculture in Ogoni.
“As an environmental organization, we engaged with farmers across Ogoni and discovered that many of their crops are no longer yielding due to pollution. This led us to introduce agroecology training to support the revival of their livelihoods,” he said.
He stated that the initiative aims to promote agroecology knowledge for climate justice and sustainable farming practices.
“A healthy soil sustains life. When we consume polluted food, we indirectly harm ourselves, that’s why we introduced bioremediation—treating the soil using natural methods to bring it back to life.”
Nbani revealed that the foundation plans to establish an Ogoni Farmers Network, which will connect local farmers with their counterparts in other states and countries.
“This training marks the beginning of a long-term project. We are also seeking partnerships and collaborations to scale up the initiative,” he stated.
A lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt’s Department of Microbiology Technology, Dr Chika Nwankwo, in her paper presentation titled “A Practical Application, How to Remediate Polluted Soil in Ogoni Oil Polluted Environment,” recommended biostimulation—using organic waste such as Cow dung, peels, and poultry dung to enhance microbial activity in contaminated soils.
“When oil spills occur, farmers can scoop out the surface oil and mix the soil with organic materials. This process encourages microorganisms to break down the pollutants. However, professional soil testing is still necessary.
“What we are trying to advocate, is for farmers not abandoning there farmlands when ever a spill occurs. They should till the soil get waste, fertilizers put into the farm, it will help the microorganisms to degrade.”
