By Godwin Etim
UKANAFUN (CONVERSEER) – The people of Edem Idim in Ukanafun Local Government Area raise an urgent and distressed cry to the Federal Government of Nigeria to come to our rescue from the hands of traducers who have invaded our land, exploited our resources, and left behind bitterness, devastation, and poverty. We are a peaceful community, but today we stand in anguish as Sterling Global and its collaborators have sabotaged our land without due consultation, without respect for established modalities, and without any form of proper settlement with the community whose heritage they have ravaged.
Our economic foundation has been completely shattered. The farmers can no longer cultivate because our farmlands have been polluted. The fishermen have been rendered jobless because our rivers and aquatic life have been destroyed. Sand dredgers and timber dealers have lost their livelihoods because the ecosystem that sustained their trades has been violently disrupted. Sterling Global has turned a once thriving, self-sustaining community into a place of hunger, sickness, and hopelessness.
The water sources that served generations are now contaminated beyond use. Our streams, rivers, and boreholes are polluted, exposing residents to severe health hazards. We have no good water to drink, no fertile land to farm, and no safe environment to live in. The indignity and suffering inflicted on our people—especially women, children, and the aged—cannot be explained away. We are facing hunger, sickness, unemployment, and environmental displacement. A once vibrant community is now struggling for survival.
We urgently call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to intervene without delay. We plead for the urgent involvement of all relevant ministries, departments, agencies, and commissions, including but not limited to:
Federal Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Lands
Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources
Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs
National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA)
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
Federal Ministry of Water Resources
Federal Ministry of Health
National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)
Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP)
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
Ecological Fund Office
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We demand an immediate investigation, comprehensive environmental assessment, emergency relief intervention, cleanup, remediation, compensation, and the establishment of a sustainable engagement framework with the host community.
We also call on the Akwa Ibom State Government, under the leadership of His Excellency, to stand in defence of our people and to work with the Federal Government to ensure that justice is served, our environment restored, and our rights protected. The State Ministry of Environment, State Emergency Management Agency, and relevant agencies must no longer be silent in the face of this adversity.
Edem Idim is not asking for charity—only fairness, inclusion, and restoration. We have been robbed of our economic value. Our natural resources have been exploited without benefit. Our identity has been disrespected. Our land has been polluted. Our people are suffering in silence. We cannot continue to die quietly.
Let the government hear our cry. Let justice roll down like waters. Let restoration come to a community that has been left to fend for itself in the aftermath of corporate greed and environmental injustice.
We are calling, we are pleading, we are crying—rescue Edem Idim before it is too late.
Godwin Etim is an illustrious son of Edem Idim Community, he writes from Edem Idem.
