Ogoniland: The Battle Continues
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| Polluted waters of Ogoniland P. Courtesy |
We are here today to rekindle the position of the Ogoni people highlighted in a letter to Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, world leaders, and institutions all over the world on 10/25/2014 pertaining to divestment of Shell Oil Blocks in Ogoniland. We wish to strengthen our position by asking Royal Shell Oil Company to bequeath its 45% interest in NNPC as equitable relieve for its liquidated debt and unliquidated damages. As a common practice the world over, Ogoni is entitled to rent, royalties, and proceeds for landownership; this has been denied us for over fifty years and therefore bequeathing the said 45% to Ogoni will serve as compensation for the Ogoni people.
May we also reiterate on this occasion that, “Ogoni Oil mining license (OML 11) is not for sale.” NUOS International USA recently discovered a sinister move by a pseudo Oil Company. Some Ogoni community leaders were recently flown to Lagos where they held secret meetings on Ogoni Oil sale. They were bribed with N3 million and giving documents with which to collect signatures from the Ogoni people as consent to the sale of Ogoni Oil. We are restraining from naming names but we know all parties and agents involved.
On the political situation in Ogoniland, the Ogoni students in diaspora advice Ogoni people to re-strategize and re-position themselves to access the dividends of democracy. Ogoni people should negotiate their future with our votes. As democratically oriented people, we should start to engage our political arrowheads what their candidature would mean to Ogoni. Ogoni politicians should be accountable and answerable to the massive developmental and infrastructural stagnation in Ogoni. Importantly, Ogonis should no longer be subservient to the political class and therefore should monitor and expose public corruption, unethical practices (including ghosts and duplication of names on payroll in Ogoni Local Government Councils), and sharing of public funds in Ogoni. Silence means complacency.
The demand for the creation of state is still on the front burner in Nigeria. We hereby encourage you not to give up on the creation of Bori State as Bori State is the only remedy to the institutional enslavement of our people.
The issue of politically master-minded cultism in Ogoni is limping into national and international arena. Ethnically, we are losing greater number of youths in Ogoni area to politically master-minded cultism than any other ethnic group in Rivers State. The Ogoni youths must ask themselves, whether it is worthy to carry AK-47 for the sake of politicians, Belema/SHELL oil that means no good to Ogoni. Ogoni youths should ask for BOOKS and employment rather than guns. We urge Ogoni people to give priority to tackling security menaces in 2015 to bring normalcy into Ogoni Kingdoms. Ogoni people must live in peace because it is a universal right as declared by the United Nations.
On the issue of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), we hereby call on the Federal government and SHELL OIL to empower UNEP herself to come and handle the cleanup in Ogoniland as we shall not accept any Chinese firm that has no technical know-how and capability to clean up Ogoniland.
In conclusion, the generation of Paul Timothy Naaku Birabi left a legacy for Ogoni as pioneer nationalists and path finders, those of Ken Saro Wiwa brought Ogoni out of the dirt and shadows enabling us to celebrate a day for the Indigenous peoples as it is today. The question that begs an answer is: what will be our legacy? I leave this with us as food for thought.
NUOS INTL.USA call on Ogoni people to unite as we shall not fold our hands nor blind our eyes and watch SHELL OIL Company auction the remains of our heroes in the name of divestment of OML11. We also call on Belema oil to stay clear from OML 11 as it is not for sale.
Long Live MOSOP. Long Live Ogoni!!!
By Mr. Pius Barikpoa Nwinee on behalf of the National Union of Ogoni Students’ USA on January 4, 2015.