Recent activities of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, who has allegedly made several attempts to go through the back door to return Shell and its surrogates to Ogoni has provoked anger and distrust among Ogoni people who feel cheated and insulted, at best, by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

This is according to Mr Dine-Bari Augustine Kpuinen, Vice-President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), USA. He said that Ogonis now see Buhari as manipulative and to have betrayed all his 2015 campaign promises.

Augustine Kpuinen is a younger brother to late John Kpuinen, one of the Ogoni 9 environmentalists who was hanged by Gen Sani Abacha’s government along with Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995, against all national and international pleas. Mr Kpuinen literarily spat fire as he warns the Federal Government and Shell to desist from their “genocidal mission” in Ogoni. He spoke recently in an exclusive interview with Sun Africa international newspaper.

“The Ogoni understands Heirs Holdings Ltd and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc are owned by the Nigerian tycoon, Tony Elumelu, who is said to be discussing the buying of Oil block 11 and 17. We advise Mr Elumelu to withdraw from such negotiations, as Ogoni people have a lot at stake over the matter with Shell, Mr Kpuinen observed.

“We also understand that the OML 11 is smaller than what it was because the Federal Government had split it into three parts in April this year. This was after Shell had sought to renew its oil production licence in Ogoni. The splitting of OML11 into three by the government is illegal. Also, Shell’s plan to mortgage its licence over OML11 is not acceptable to the Ogoni, because Shell has nothing but liabilities in Ogoni,” he said, adding:

“Ogoni people are dismayed that all these tactics by both Shell and the Federal Government of Nigeria are but attempts to use collateral fraud against us, the Ogoni people, instead of owning up the colossal mess they had caused in Ogoni. Shell and its agents are bent on insulting the Ogoni people. This is barbaric, inhuman and oppressive.”

“The OML11 Operational licence or Ogoni oil is not for sale, nor is it transferable. This is because Shell does not own any assets in Ogoni but liabilities. We, therefore, warn Heirs Holdings and any other oil companies, in that Shell remains persona non-grata in Ogoni. Shell or other companies are barred from operating in Ogoni, be it on-shore or off-shore drilling,” he stressed.

“This warning is also applicable to any Ogoni person or group of persons who want to satisfy their greed by mortgaging Ogoni oil, land and opportunities and the rights of the Ogoni people. No person or company, internal or external, with the right frame of mind would want to inherit the huge damages in Ogoni caused by Shell. Most importantly, Ogoni oil will not be open for discussion until all demands in the Ogoni Bill of Rights have been properly addressed,” Mr Kpuinen pointed out.

He added that Shell’s Obligations to Ogoni people are to clean our environment, pay royalties, pay land and mining rents from 1958; rehabilitate Ogoni people, rebuild the 22 villages that were destroyed on Shell’s orders between 1993 and 1996, as well as rehabilitate the Ogoni who were rendered, homeless refugees.

According to the UNEP 2011 Report, it will take 30 years to clean, remediate and rehabilitate Ogoni land. By the report, the Ogoni environment has been destroyed 300 times above the world tolerance level. After six years (2011-2018) of Shell Nigeria treating this report with ignominy, Nigeria/Shell wants to tie the clean-up of Ogoni to oil resumption. We see this as a slap on the face of our dead heroes and a humiliation of the Ogoni people. This is not acceptable. The Ogoni whose oil has made Nigeria a rich nation deserves better, he noted.

Ogoni people call for justice, freedom and equality in the Nigerian federation. We call on the people and government of Nigeria to address all the issues as enshrined in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, with the urgency. The same rule of justice that was recently visited on the victims of June 12 is what the Ogoni people deserve. The Ogoni 9 environmentalists, who were viciously hanged by Abacha should be equally exonerated and declared innocent. Nigeria/Shell should commence the clean-up unconditionally as there were no pre-conditions when they destroyed our environment. We demand that all genocidal actions and political marginalisation of Ogoni people be stopped forthwith, Kpuinen averred.

“The use of the military in killing and victimising the Ogoni people while laying of oil pipelines is a clear indication that Shell and Nigeria are not prepared to come to terms with Ogoni people. Therefore, we demand that Robo Michael, Belema Oil, NNPC, Shell and Heirs Holdings should stop all their operations in Ogoni and vacate our land,” he warned.

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