BY MICHAEL IKEOGWU/WARRI
THE Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE), Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State, Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, has warned of the danger that awaits Nigeria over what he described as “environmentally induced conflict”.
Rim-Rukeh gave the warning at a one-day media capacity building programme organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL and Chevron Nigeria Limited JV in partnership with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondents’ Chapel, Delta State.
Rim-Rukeh in his paper titled “Environmental Degradation in the Niger Delta: Responsibilities of the Mass Media in the 21st Century”, stressed that coastal communities in Akasa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State will be overtaken by flood in the next years if nothing was done to provide shoreline protection for the area.
While noting that people’s farmland will be overtaken by flood, if nothing urgent was done to salvage the precarious state of our coastal communities and our environment in general, said, “Akasa Local Government in Bayelsa will be no more in the next 10 years. I predict there will be conflict. Bayelsa State Government and the public are aware of the issue.”
Rim-Rukeh stated that the environment have been degraded, pointing out that there are environmental issues such as lost in biodiversity, deforestation, pollution, transportation problems, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, oil spillages, water pollution, and others to report on by the Journalists.
According to him, “There are a lot of environmental issues. You have a lot of work to do. The journalists should let the people know how to behave environmentally through their reportage.”
He pointed out that there are environmental laws that supposed to guide people on how to handle environmental issues, but the implementation remains a problem, just as he opined that the tradition means should be adopted in the protection of the environment amongst others.
He reminded Journalists of their roles in helping to safeguard the environment by creating awareness through their reportage to ensure that “environmental behavioral changes” were adhered to.
The Head of Department, Mass-Communicatiin, Delta State University, Abraka, Associate Prof. Majority Oji, speaking on the topic,, “Repositioning the media for effective and efficient reportage of the IOC’s and Host Communities”,
said the international Oil Companies were playing roles that were not favourable to Nigeria and its people.
He charged journalists to do in depth reporting to expose the activities of the IOC’s. He urged media establishments to post reporters/correspondents to specific beats of bias to report issues with expertise.
Dr (Mrs) F.O. Atubi of the Department of Social Science Education, Delta State University, Abraka also delivered a lecture on the topic,”Host Communities: Social Responsibilities of the Mass Media in the post GMoU era.
