Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has described as premature and useless, insinuations that oil resumption in Ogoniland is possible without adequate negotiations and due consideration for the interest of the Ogoni people.
One of the contending Presidents of MOSOP Fegalo Nsuke said this at the MOSOP Secretariat in Bori, headquarters of Khana local government area and traditional headquarters of the Ogoni people, in a message to the executive committees of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) drawn from the eight Kingdoms and special units in Ogoniland.
Nsuke who spoke through the president of NYCOP, Theophilus Mbagah, said contemplating oil resumption in Ogoniland without first addressing the fundamental issues raised by the Ogoni People in the Ogoni Bill of Rights would amount to a deliberate design to kill the Ogoni people as the proponents of oil resumption know that the entire Ogoni will rise against it.
The MOSOP President said it was fundamental to note that the Ogoni people are not opposed to discussions on oil rather Ogoni wants it to be properly negotiated with the demands of the Ogoni people given very high priority.
Nsuke noted that given the brutal and very painful experience of the Ogoni people, oil resumption at this time would certainly be met with strong resistance.
He opined that the government should first address certain issues affecting the Ogoni people including the full implementation of the clean-up programme, the decriminalization of the Ogoni 9 hanged in 1995, respect for the political rights of the Ogoni people to self determination and the development of social infrastructure in Ogoniland to pave way for industrial development of the area and employment especially for young people.
The MOSOP President said it was inhuman for the Nigerian state to neglect the Ogoni people despite the huge contributions of Ogoni to economic development of Nigeria. Nsuke said Nigeria’s interest for the Ogoni oil rather than the people was regrettable and unacceptable.
He said it will be genocidal for the government of Nigeria to contemplate oil production in Ogoniland without the peoples consent as it will clearly portend the determination of the government to deliberately deploy military forces against peaceful Ogoni people who are only battling for the respect of their fundamental rights to decent living.
He noted that efforts to force oil resumption in Ogoniland without the people’s consent will be useless as it can only breed crises and dampen the hopes of a possible resolution of the conflict through peaceful dialogue.
