Amid the tropical heat, intense humidity, and foggy greenery of the delta, deserted houses are all that remain of what was once the bubbling and thriving community of Goi. Situated deep in Nigeria's Niger Delta, around 50 kilometers from the regional center Port Harcourt, Goi was just one of 10 Ogoniland communities devastated by severe oil spills in  2008.

Signs near the river bank prohibit using the water source, warning of crude oil contamination. It's emblematic of how oil extraction and spills have left slick scars in the Niger Delta.

Despite oil being extracted from the Niger Delta since the 1950s, the resource certainly does not seem to have enriched the local communities. In fact the precious resource has been blamed for destroying the agricultural livelihoods of the Ogoni people. In the 1990s, Ogoni activists such as Ken Saro-Wiwa and others drew the world's attention to the crippling effects of oil extraction in Ogoniland, which resulted in Shell, the biggest multinational in the area, stopping drilling operations in 1993. It also cost Saro-Wiwa and other activists their lives.

But the United Nations Environmental Program's (UNEP) landmark assessment in 2011 laid bare just how severely oil extraction had damaged Ogoniland, and Nigeria's federal government declared a state of emergency. 

It initiated the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to address the environmental damage caused by oil spills, particularly in Ogoniland. Despite some relief, the cleanup's progress is slow, with key stakeholders continue to disagree on priorities. 

Delta villages poisoned

Some of the riverine communities, intertidal creeks and shorelines of Bodo West are heavily polluted. Mangrove vegetation, vital for regulating water flows and storing carbon, have been destroyed. Water bodies around various communities are contaminated with hydrocarbons that decimate fish populations.

But it's not just the water bodies suffering: extensive soil contamination, sometimes meters deep, can be seen across the land, even from the air, including areas like Nisisoken Ogale and Ejama Ebubu. Ground water, which is the primary source of drinking water for many communities, is still heavily contaminated with benzene type toxins. As a result, affected farms deliver poor, or unconsumable, crop yields.

Nearby Bori, the capital of Ogoniland, is visibly more lively, with businesses and social activities picking up. Recently, about 100 Ogoni youths completed three months of an intensive training program initiated by the UN Development Programme and Global Environment Facility (GEF). They learnt about solar energy installation, maintenance systems and business models.

But such opportunities are few and far between. DW spoke to young Ogonis in various Niger Delta communities who expressed fears of a bleak future: opportunities destroyed, and environmental devastation that cripples farming and fishing, which also hold ancestral and cultural value. Many also fear the mooted resumption of oil drilling in Ogoniland, which had been iced since 1993.

Bleak prospects

Godsgift Stella, an entrepreneur in southern Kono Boue community, told DW how her business prospects remain meagre.

"There are no jobs for the youths and this encourages social vices," the 27-year-old said, adding that environment pollution had robbed farmers and fishers of livelihoods, and caused them them to migrate to Bori.

"It is tough, things have not changed a bit, people are still dying of hunger, youths go out to steal in broad daylight. If our lands were all cleaned up, and we go back to farm, things will not be like this," she said.

Electrical technician Joel Yigale, 36, from the Biem-gwara community, said oil drilling should not resume.

"The basic thing the federal government ought to do is deal with the Ogoni Bill of Rights. As far as I know this has not been attended to, these are some requirements we the Ogoni youths want," he said.

The Ogoni Bill of Rights,adopted in August 1990, calls for greater autonomy and control over resources in Ogoniland. Yigale points out that oil drilling brings back painful memories, saying that as many as "4,000 people" were killed in protests related to oil extraction. 

"It is very tough for me, no jobs, poverty worries me as it stands, there is no help coming from anywhere, our lands and water are polluted, no fish in the river," Yigale said.

Oil: Cause or answer to Ogoniland woes?

But veteran Ogoni broadcaster Bamene Tanem told DW the majority of Ogonis were open to oil exploration if it is conducted safely and responsibly, and there are tangible benefits. 

Tanem said the Nigerian government had shown reasonable seriousness by conducting discussions with local people. 

"The major road that links Ogoni people, the East-West road, is being reconstructed now. The seriousness is very clear. But a lot needs to be done. HYPREP is constructing a standard hospital, the issue of portable water is being addressed in most of our Ogoni communities and that is impressive," he said.

Building, and in many cases repairing, infrastructure will take time. In 2011, the UN estimated it would take 30 years to clean up the oil-rich Niger Delta. Along with many abandoned or neglected oil facilities, crude oil leaks remain a menace, and oil thieves continue to operated illegal, "artisanal" refineries, causing new spills and new contamination.

Despite this, the paramount ruler of Dee Eewa village in Khana Local Government Area, Chief Magnus Edooh, also supports oil drilling. 

"I am 100% in total support of oil resumption in Ogoniland, we want our community to develop. We are more informed than before, so no oil company can use oil without developing Ogoni. There should be total agreement between the Ogoni people and the federal government," he told DW.

Edited by: Cai Nebe