A/HRC/28/64/Add.2 level. The representatives advocated for a multilingual education programme in schools that included teaching children their mother tongue. One of the community representatives said that “Once you lose the language, you lose your identity, and therefore who you are”, and stated that between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of the children currently did not speak their local languages. 55. In Goi, community representatives stated that the land of the community had been abandoned owing to oil pollution. Many people in the community reportedly suffered from health problems, particularly asthma and skin-related diseases, and there was a high prevalence of miscarriages among women. The primary source of livelihood for the community was fishing, which had been lost when the water and soil became polluted. Goi representatives protested that the community had not been recognized as being affected by oil pollution. They reported a lack of basic services in the community, such as a hospital or a school. The Special Rapporteur visited areas of the community affected by oil spills and saw first-hand the devastating effects of oil pollution. 56. The Special Rapporteur visited Rumuekpe, an Ikwerre community that had been abandoned after an intercommunal conflict from 2005 to 2010. Community members commented that tensions within the community were linked to the disagreements over payments by oil companies to some community members. In 2010, the community had signed a peace agreement and some currently displaced people were returning to the area. During the visit, community representatives pointed out that, despite the fact that there were currently four oil companies operating in Rumuekpe, the community lacked basic services, such as a hospital, school and water supply. One commentator claimed that “the Government has not provided any service and always takes the side of the oil companies. They [oil companies] blackmail the Government by not paying revenues or stopping production in order to get what they want”. 57. The Special Rapporteur consulted representative from Shell Nigeria to seek the company’s views on the situation and to find out its activities in the Niger Delta. Shell informed her that the company had not operated in Ogoniland since 1993, but acknowledged that two of its pipelines passed through the Ogoni territory. Shell claimed that the profound environmental degradation was mainly due to oil spills caused by the sabotage of pipelines and bunkering (the illegal tapping of pipelines and small-scale refining). It indicated that, according to its own estimations, in 2012, 95 per cent of spill volumes were caused by sabotage and only 5 per cent were due to Shell’s operations. The company stated that compensation to the affected communities was only payable in the event of an operational spill. 58. Shell affirmed that, if granted access to the territory of a community that has suffered an oil spill, it would clean up the polluted area. It indicated that Bodo community leaders had not granted them access to the community. It also stated that communities had denied it access to the sites in order to claim higher compensation. Shell representatives noted that it would like the Government to play a more active role in the development and regeneration of the area. VII. Governance and political participation 59. It was frequently stated by civil society organizations, community representatives, youth groups and religious leaders that good governance and inclusive political participation were key factors to achieve social and political stability as well as a means to overcome many of the socioeconomic challenges faced by Nigeria at present. One commentator acknowledged that “Nigerians would care less about ethnicity and religion if poverty and inequalities were really addressed”. 14