"Nnimmo Bassey: Ogoni clean up – Standing before history", 2 June 2016

Today we stand in solidarity with our peoples who still breathe air loaded with hydrocarbon fumes, drink water laced with toxic chemicals, fish and farm in polluted lands...Today we applaud the courage of President Muhammadu Buhari as he flags off the cleaning of the environment of Ogoniland...As members of civil society, and concerned peoples of this great nation, we pledge to contribute our quota to see that this is not a mere political event, but one that is...implemented with clear targets and milestones, with best available expertise and with the full inclusion of local communities...With decades of extreme hydrocarbons pollution, the environment of Ogoniland and several places in the Niger Delta has been out of control. The environment that ought to provide the backdrop for life, safety and progress, indeed turned hostile, becoming an impediment to the enjoyment of the right to life...