26th August, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, has reacted to the demonstration by a handful of people at Akpajo junction on the East/West road, Eleme local government area, on Monday August 24, describing it as unwarranted.
MOSOP has warned the Ogoni people and the general public to ignore the group, which has been manipulated to attempt drawing Ogoni aback.
The group said backers of the demonstration erroneously believed that the five-year take-off grant of One billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) for the implementation of the report is up for grabs and should be shared by everyone.
It further warned that the good people of Ogoni would deal decisively with anybody wanting to truncate the efforts of Ogoni people, especially relating to the smooth implementation of recommendations of the UNEP environmental assessment report on Ogoniland.
MOSOP stated that reports available to them revealed that the demonstrators mischievously claimed that they were protesting exclusion from the UNEP report implementation process. The truth is that they thought that a non-existing UNEP report implementation money was shared and they were given hence their action.
“We condemn the action and reject the reasons adduced, which smacks of desperation. Insofar as we are concerned, the faceless gang and their sponsors who have earlier declared an unrecognised “Ogoni self-government” are drowned in ignorance and dubiously seeking relevance and should be discountenanced.
MOSOP said negotiations are always done on representative capacity and not by the entire community, organisation or institution. “In this case, all strata of the Ogoni society were fully represented in the multi-stakeholder engagement processes occasioning the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government’s approval of actions to fast-track implementation of recommendations of the UNEP report on Ogoniland.”
MOSOP stated that two prominent sons and a daughter of Ogoni, namely, Professor Ben Naanen, HRH Mene Suanu T.Y. Baridam, JP and Professor Roseline Konya chaired three out of the four working groups during the engagements.
And the truth remains that the outcome of the engagements has been hailed in Ogoni and beyond.
The group said facts available to it have also shown that the backers of the demonstration erroneously believed that the five-year take-off grant of One billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) for the implementation of the report is up for grabs.
“They are as well involved in circulating fake information in Ogoni communities that the money would be shared amongst the people. Similarly, they are engaged in duping unsuspecting Ogonis through sale of fake recruitment and qualification forms at the rate of N3,000 each.’
“It is a shame that whilst well-meaning Ogonis sustained efforts for the implementation of the report in view of the fact that the report passed a death sentence on Ogoni and the community has been harvesting deaths and suffering severe livelihood challenges, this fake group refused to identify with the people. Instead, they busied themselves with steps to dismember Nigeria and actually declared a so-called “Ogoni self-government”, which contradicted the collective position of our people as enunciated in the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR).” MOSOP said.
MOSOP said it has remained in the forefront of the campaigns and its approach and leadership especially relating to the engagements occasioned the step taken by the federal government. We are therefore committed to supporting the administration and other stakeholders in ensuring a quick commencement and successful implementation of the Ogoni project.
It thus advised against actions capable of creating confusion and doubts as to the readiness of Ogoni for the planned remediation and restoration of our heavily degraded environment ignored by the immediate past national government. After all, the victory would be for Ogoni and not otherwise.
MOSOP however, warned that Ogoni will not sit folding its arms while unscrupulous elements scuttle her interest.