The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MOSOP

  • Rivers sliding into anarchy, MOSOP warns

    The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has stated that Rivers State is fast drifting into anarchy, declaring that the shameful crisis in the state was caused by political intolerance.

    It warned that if nothing was urgently done by the Federal Government and security agencies, the crude oil and gas-rich state would return to the dark days of uncontrollable, politically-motivated gang violence, which once crippled social and economic activities in the state.

    MOSOP, through its President, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, noted that the deepening crisis was taking a dangerous dimension and must immediately be “frontally and holistically tackled”.

    It also decried the return of militancy, cult activities and violence, which had become things of the past in the state, describing the situation as worrisome.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people said: “The ugly development goes beyond mere presidential and PDP’s hierarchical denials of involvement in the avoidable impasse in the Rivers chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “It requires immediate, practical and decisive steps to put an end to the crisis, including ensuring security of lives and property in the state. This will be the only way to reassure and rebuild the confidence of the people.

    “We have taken this position in view of the events of the past couple of days, occasioning re-emergence of gangs taking over some strategic streets in Port Harcourt, cult rivalry and violence.

    “This situation is troubling and should be roundly condemned and should motivate collective action against it.

    “That some calm has returned to the state capital may not amount to an end to the sad events, as the current development may not be a guarantee for enduring peace, if strategic security approaches, including addressing the root cause of the crisis, is not adopted now.

    “If the truth must be told, the crisis has been a function of crass political intolerance. It is a shame that over time, the integrity and maturity of our politicians have been put to test and on all the occasions, they have failed.

    “While we would not consider political leadership competition as unhealthy, we make bold to question the do-or-die approach that our politicians have been adopting in outdoing one another. It is this tendency that is responsible for the present condemnable situation in Rivers State.

    “This has also regrettably manifested in the lack of transparency, resulting in partisanship in PDP’s response to resolving the crisis in its Rivers State chapter.”

    MOSOP also stated that it found it difficult to rationalise attempts by national chieftains and other pronounced stakeholders of the PDP to distance themselves from the situation in Rivers State.

    It warned that violence and intolerance were ill-winds that would blow no one any good at a time the Niger Delta people were yet to fully recover from the implications of past militancy and related activities, which it said led to divestments from Rivers state.

    The Ogoni umbrella organisation declared that no environment of insecurity and instability could inspire progress and prosperity, stressing that the solution lies in refraining from actions that are capable of compromising and undermining peace.

    It called on all the persons involved in the crisis to sheathe their swords and give peace a chance.

    MOSOP also admonished all lovers of peace and friends of Rivers State not to turn a blind eye to the happenings in the hitherto peaceful state, stressing that their peace efforts would help in saving people’s lives and property.

  • Advice for MOSOP president

    THE President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, has been urged to press for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland.

    The advice was given in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital yesterday by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee

    He asked the new MOSOP boss to also tackle other challenges facing the Ogoni people.

    Kwanee, who is also the Chairman, Parliamentary Exchange and Mentorship Programme of the Pan-African Parliament (PEMP), implored Pyagbara to continue the philosophy of non-violence, enshrined by MOSOP’s founding fathers.

    The deputy speaker urged Pyagbara to carry everybody along, not minding the political, religious and cultural differences of the Ogoni people.

    Kwanee, who represents Khana Constituency 2, admonished Pyagbara to also extend a hand of friendship to Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

     

  • New MOSOP leader vows to lead Ogoni cause

    The newly-inaugurated President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, has vowed never to let Ogoni people down.

    He urged them to set aside the events of the past few weeks and embrace love while forgiving each other’s mistakes.

    He also dissolved all the committees of the Ogoni umbrella organisation in line with the planned revamping of the body.

    Pyagbara, who unveiled his administration’s plans for the body yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, also urged members of the public to be wary of any individual or group, purporting to be representing any committee on behalf of MOSOP.

    Until his election in December last year, the new president was MOSOP’s International Advocacy Officer.

    Pyagbara said: “Following ongoing consultations with our grass-roots audience, MOSOP shall inform the public in due time, of the formation of new committees and their composition.”

    Pyagbara could not be inaugurated along with other members of his executive on January 4 this year at the 20th Ogoni Day at Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland and seat of Khana LGA of the state.

    The Chairman of the MOSOP Provisional Council (MPC), Prof. Ben Naanen, who is also of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), during the inauguration of other members of the executive, stated that there was a petition against Pyagbara.

    The new MOSOP president was eventually inaugurated on Friday, at the movement’s secretariat along Olu Obasanjo Road in Port Harcourt.

    While giving his inaugural speech, Pyagbara assured that: “I call on you all, particularly MOSOP members, who may have felt aggrieved and estranged, to come back into the MOSOP fold.

    “In the coming months, we shall be embarking on wide-ranging consultations and intense grass-roots mobilisation across the length and breadth of Ogoniland, aimed at resuscitating MOSOP at all levels, including chapters and kingdoms and the affiliates of the organisation.”

     

  • MOSOP demands justice for Saro-Wiwa, others

    •Asks govt to implement UNEP report

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has stated that Ogoni remains a forgotten economic wasteland, ravaged by deepening poverty and socio-economic exclusion.

    It called on the federal government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland, despite the fact that it has set up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Programme (HYPREP). The movement said it might be forced to take the case to the international community.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also demanded a judicial inquiry into the killing of Ogoni-4 and justice for Ogoni-13, as well as the other victims of the repression of the 1990s.

    The Chairman of MOSOP Provisional Council, Prof. Ben Naanen, stated this yesterday at Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland and the seat of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during the 17th remembrance of the hanging of the renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and other Ogoni activists.

    Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged on November 10, 1995 at the Port Harcourt Prisons, during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha, for their alleged roles in the murder of the Ogoni-4, while on May 27, 1994, four prominent leaders of MOSOP were brutally murdered at a gathering at Giokoo-Ogoni in Gokana LGA of Rivers State.

    The Anglo/Dutch oil giant, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), was chased out of Ogoniland in 1993 and yet to return, with the Ogoni people vowing that the oil firm would never be allowed into the four Ogoni LGAs of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    Naanen, who is also of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said in his thought-provoking address at the remembrance service, that the event was for all who gave their lives to the Ogoni struggle.

    The UNEP report on Ogoniland’s environmental assessment was issued on Aug 4, 2011 and received by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on August 12, 2011, but the recommendations are yet to be implemented, while the Federal Government decided to set up HYPREP, to cater for all Niger Delta communities with similar problems as Ogoniland.

    MOSOP said: “The Ogoni struggle is one written in flesh and blood. It is the story of a people who demanded accountability for their environment, after decades of oil production, in which about the main reward they received was a devastated environment and destruction of their traditional livelihood.

    “It is the story of a marginalised people, who wanted to take their destiny in their own hands. It is about a people who wanted freedom and to improve their lives, by having control of their local affairs, while remaining an integral part of the Nigerian nationhood.

    “It is the story of people who suffered undeserved discrimination and wanted to recover their lost dignity and respect. One may ask what the Ogoni people have gained from the supreme sacrifice of these martyrs. The people have largely recovered their dignity and respect, but hardly anything much beyond that. The area remains a forgotten economic wasteland, ravaged by deepening poverty and socio-economic exclusion. Oil-related environmental devastation remains a sordid and conspicuous feature of Ogoniland.”

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also stated that the judicial process that produced the gruesome verdict, which led to the hanging of Saro-Wiwa and eight others, had been variously described as “show trial”, “unfair trial” and “politically-motivated trial”.

    It noted that the then British Prime Minister, John Major, called it “judicial murder.”

    MOSOP reiterated that in the period between the killings at Giokoo and the executions of November 10, 1995, Ogoni was subjected to a reign of terror, in which significant number of innocent people were killed or tortured by the authorities and communities burnt down, all in the attempt to destroy the Ogoni revolution.

    It said: “MOSOP is calling on the Nigerian Government to take immediate steps to implement the UNEP report, the pre-emptive set up of HYPREP notwithstanding. The Ogoni people want to see action.

    The Ogoni umbrella organisation also stated that the martyrs gave their lives, so that Ogoni could be a model of accountable leadership.

    It added that as MOSOP would be preparing for its elections, it called on all Ogoni people, who considered themselves qualified for the challenge of leadership, to step forward and present themselves for the people’s verdict.

     

  • MOSOP says visit to President fruitful

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has said the meeting of the Ogoni people with President Goodluck Jonathan on the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP’s) Report was successful.

    MOSOP Provisional Council Chairman Prof. Ben Naanen spoke in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, during a meeting that witnessed the adoption of the presentation to Jonathan as a working document for the Ogoni people.

    On September 3, the Ogoni, led by King Godwin Gininwa and Senator Magnus Abe met with the President on the implementation of the report, compensation for damages in the area, the creation of Bori State, youth empowerment and the provision of basic amenities.

    Naanen dismissed claims that the delegation did not act in the best interest of the people.

    He said: “Our meeting with Jonathan was very successful. It is our prayer that the Federal Government speeds up the implementation of the document presented in order to alleviate the suffering of the Ogoni people.”

    Naanen urged the people to avoid making frivolous statements that can hinder their progress.

    Abe, represented by the Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area, Mr. Ledee Demua, said the implementation of the Ogoni Bill of Right was important for the survival of the people.

    He said surface and ground water contamination at levels over 900 times above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) prescribed safety limit meant that every Ogoni person was a potential cancer patient.

    Abe said: “This is a potential public health disaster of monumental proportion, which warrants emergency action ahead of other remedial efforts.

    “Our environment and survival is of great importance to us and we expect the Federal Government to take our demands seriously.”

    Abe said despite their commitment to Nigeria’s unity, the Ogoni would continue to seek control of their resources.