Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has vowed to maintain pressure on the Nigerian authorities towards the implementation of the Ogoni Development Authority (ODA).. The declaration by MOSOP followed a resolution of its Central Committee yesterday during its meeting in Bori, headquarter of Khana local government area. The MOSOP Central Committee committed to the implementation of the Ogoni Development Authority as an acceptable path to resolve the protracted Ogoni conflict..
Addressing the members of the Central Committee, President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke called for a strong commitment to work with relevant groups and agencies to actualize the operation of the Ogoni Development Authority. Nsuke solicited the support of the national executive committee, the youths and other affiliates of MOSOP as well as the kingdom and chapter executives to promote and ensure grassroots support for the ODA. He noted that the ODA is a people oriented initiative expressing confidence that it remains the best way forward acceptable by the people for the resolution of the Ogoni problem.
“MOSOP is strongly committed to the terms of the Ogoni Development Authority. It is an initiative of the people and we are very confident that it remains the best way forward to resolve this conflict of over three decades”.
Nsuke further urged the MOSOP leaders to see their role to be that of peacemakers, noting that their engagement with the people should build trust in the system to strengthen support for the ultimate goal of achieving development in Ogoni. He however cautioned that all solicitations must be geared towards a sustainable solution to the problem through the implementation of the ODA noting that forceful oil resumption will only throw the community back into crises and lead to another round of military repression.
“Whatever we do, we must sustain the goal of a permanent solution and not one that throws us back into crises or invokes military repression and death. Our work should be to advocate peaceful methods to actualize our development goals” he said.
He further called on the Nigerian government to act speedily on the Ogoni issue to avert a humanitarian crisis noting that the Ogoni situation is very dicey at the moment with extreme youth unemployment, a devastated environment, high levels of insecurity, high death rates, no access to schools, no medical care and lots of other social problems. He therefore urged the government to speedily consider the proposals of the people for the implementation of the ODA to usher in a new era of hope and avert a humanitarian situation.
Nsuke maintained MOSOP’s opposition to Sahara Energy as an operator for the Ogoni oilfields accusing Sahara of showing tendencies to be worse than Shell. He said Sahara Energy has not shown any capacity to manage a huge oilfield that has been engrossed in conflicts for decades. He further accused the company of an inclination to be repressive. The MOSOP leader said the organization may be compelled to declare Sahara Energy a “Persona non Grata” in Ogoni if the company continues to mount pressure and threaten the peace of Ogoni.
“Let it be clear that the Ogoni people are opposed to, and reject Sahara Energy as an operator for the Ogoni oilfields, We have no confidence in them, we have not had any engagements with them and they have shown tendencies of being more repressive than Shell” Nsuke said.
Nsuke maintained that MOSOP’s current efforts are geared towards finding a sustainable solution to the Ogoni problem which has lasted some three decades and cost over 4,000 Ogoni lives.
“MOSOP hopes to get these issues with the government and the oil industry resolved in such a way that we will never have them recurring,” Nsuke said yesterday.
