The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says it is becoming increasingly clear that “the Nigerian Government is not bothered about the genocide against the Ogoni people in Nigeria.”

Speaking in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday, March 17, 2019, President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, said that the Nigerian Government does not care about the poor living conditions in Ogoniland. He accused the government of using the Ogoni cleanup programme to deceive the people while their real intention is to resume oil production in the area without the consent of the Ogoni people.

Nsuke said it is pitiable to find that all Nigeria is interested in is the Ogoni oil and gas and definitely not the people.

The MOSOP President also said that the cleanup programme under the Hydro Carbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) had been shrouded in secrecy. He maintained that HYPREP is corrupt and not implementing the UNEP report on Ogoniland.

“The very first recommendation of UNEP is the issue of water provision. HYPREP has ignored that fundamental recommendation and moved on to award contracts because that enriches the beneficiaries. The very key aspect of the report dealing with water provision which benefits the Ogoni people has been jettisoned,” Nsuke said.

Lamenting the neglect of the Ogoni people despite their enormous contributions to the economy of Nigeria, Nsuke said: “In over 50 years, Shell and the Nigerian Government have polluted Ogoniland; our land and resources have been carted away to the detriment of the Ogoni and to the advantage of the rest of Nigeria. This is really a sad story and a very ugly side of our national history which I expect the Nigerian Government to quickly address instead of chasing the Ogoni oil like people without conscience.”

Nsuke also condemned “the militarisation of Ogoniland and the extra-judicial killings which have characterised the presence of the security forces in Ogoniland.” He cited the recent case of the shooting of a polytechnic lecturer, Dr Ferry Gberegbe, in Bori.

While calling for an immediate investigation into the killing of Dr Gberegbe and others, Nsuke described the involvement of the Nigeria Police in the shooting of defenseless and innocent Ogoni citizens as reflecting Nigeria’s degeneracy and a threat to national unity.

The MOSOP President said that the gradual militarisation of Ogoniland “only reminds Ogoni people of the evil Shell and Nigeria have done to us in the past which led to the death of over 4,000 Ogonis.”

“The military only remind us of our loved ones they have killed. It would have been better for our country to negotiate any issues they have with us instead of sending the military whom we only know and remember for the killing of over 4,000 Ogonis,” the MOSOP President said.

He said that MOSOP was raising the alarm “because Nigeria appears to be implementing a policy to kill the Ogoni people.” He noted that the recent directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to take over Ogoni oilfields was one of such decisions not acceptable to the Ogoni people “and the government knows it has not allowed any reasonable discussions on the matter nor has it taken steps to address the demands of the Ogoni people as contained in the Ogoni Bill of Rights. The failure to allow broad-based discussions with the Ogoni people opens the window for conflicts which the government seem to prefer as it gives them the opportunity to crush our peaceful protects.”

While maintaining that the struggle of the Ogoni people is justifiable, Nsuke charged MOSOP leaders at all levels to educate and mobilise the people “to peacefully protest the dangers the security forces now pose to the peace of Ogoniland and resist attempts by the government to trample on the people’s rights.”

The MSOP President assured Ogoni people that freedom is sure. He said: “The Ogoni demands are legitimate and Nigeria cannot be allowed to continue to trample on citizens’ rights. We will continue to protest the violence and injustice against the Ogoni people until we are truly free and protected like other Nigerians.”

•Photo shows MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke (centre) MOSOP Coordinator in Gokana, Celestine Viura (right), and MOSOP Coordinator for Bori National Territory, Sylvanus Adamgbo (left)

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