The President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Chief Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, is always saying that Nigeria will be a better country, if other Nigerians can emulate Ogoni people’s non-violent struggle.
On August 4, Ogoni people defied the heavy rain to massively protest the resumption of crude oil production and laying of new pipes in the neglected/marginalised area, after over 24 years of sending the oil giant packing from Ogoniland.
The protesters, comprising elderly men, women and youths, who were armed with placards, bearing various inscriptions, drumming and singing anti-Shell songs, were led by the president of MOSOP.
The displeased protesters took off from Kpobie Junction in Gokana on the ever-busy Bori-Saakpenwa Road and trekked amid downpour for about five kilometres to Biara, in the same Gokana LGA, the site of laying of new pipes by SPDC and moved into the muddy forest, covering about 20 kilometres, to the last point with exposed pipelines about being laid, before connecting Bera-Ogoni in Gokana LGA, through a narrow forest path, still in heavy rain.
Sighting the advancing protesters, the Nigerian and expatriate workers of Anasami Construction Nigeria Limited, the Shell’s contractor handling the laying of new pipes, took to their heels, abandoning four bulldozers and other equipment, which were not damaged by the aggrieved Ogoni people.
As the protesters were moving round Ogoni communities, fully-armed soldiers and policemen in many Toyota Hilux patrol vans were driving/moving behind them, to prevent the breakdown of law and order, with Nigerian Army’s Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), marked NA 381 AO1, stationed at Kpobie Junction.
Pyagbara was accompanied by an alternate representative of Ogoni stakeholders in the Governing Council of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Mr. Kammy Ngelale, and the National Coordinator of a socio-political pressure group, the Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Chief Gani Topba, among other prominent Ogoni leaders, who kicked against the return of SPDC to Ogoniland.
Some of the placards read: “No broad-based discussion, no oil production in Ogoni”, “We say yes to clean-up and we say no to laying of oil pipelines in Ogoni now”, “FG, Shell, NPDC are dubious and murderers. We say no to your antics”, “MOSOP says no to Shell in Ogoniland”, “NPDC, Shell, FG insincere and unfair to Ogoni people. We say no to divide and rule”, “Resumption of oil extraction in Ogoni through the back door is evil. Go home now”, “Our environment is our life. No more pollution of the Ogoni environment” and “FG, Shell, NPDC fanning the embers of violence in Ogoni.”
Other placards included: “Shell, FG, NPDC undermining Ogoni security and survival, leave us alone”, “FG, Shell, NPDC, release money for Ogoni clean-up, not pipelines sponsorship”, “Our environment is ruined, can no longer stand oil production. Stop the work now”, “FG, Shell, NPDC, don’t cause crisis in Ogoni” and “We say yes to clean-up and say no to laying of oil pipelines now.”
Topba declared during the protest that SPDC had not been fair to Ogoni people, while polluting Ogoniland, before it was sent packing and would never be allowed to return to the area.
The national coordinator of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates said: “The protest is a total move by Ogoni people. In days ahead, things more than this will happen. What is key and which Nigerians must understand is that Ogoni people are prepared for resumption of oil production in the four Ogoni LGAs, but you cannot replace Shell with the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), which is worse than Shell.
“The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) report on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland, presented to the then President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on August 4, 2011, without implementation of the far-reaching recommendations, until after President Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated on May 29, 2015, has expired. The only thing the Federal Government can do now is re-assessment.
“As the clean-up of Ogoniland is being done, in line with UNEP’s recommendations, oil production can resume, but it must be done by a competent company that will be on the same page with what our leaders died for, because there is a blueprint on how Ogoniland can be developed. Shell and NPDC cannot come to Ogoni.
“The people of Ogoniland will meet and agree on a competent company, but it cannot be immediately. The Federal Government should first revoke the legal licence of Shell, because Ogoni people withdrew the social licence in 1993. By 2019, Shell’s legal licence will expire. Between now and 2019, Shell cannot take Ogoni oil. Ogoni people can discuss with another competent company, but not NPDC or Shell, after the revocation of SPDC’s legal licence.
“If the Federal Government refuses to withdraw the military personnel, policemen and other security agents they are using to protect the pipelines and laying of new pipes, what will happen in days ahead is that Ogoni people will come to the pipelines with their pots, they will cook soup and food, eat and remain there, until the government of Nigeria listens to them.”
MOSOP, on August 1 this year, gave the Federal Government and Shell a seven-day ultimatum to cease engagements on resuming oil production in Ogoni.
It vowed to resist the divide and rule tactics of SPDC and the Federal Government, through NPDC, the oil production arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people, while giving the ultimatum during a news conference at its secretariat, off Ken Saro-Wiwa (formerly Stadium) Road, Port Harcourt, declared that the actions of the officials of the Federal Government and Shell had the potential of igniting a blaze of conflict and violence that would skirt the forcible attempt to return to Ogoniland.
Shell’s Spokesman, Joe Ollor Obari, however, stated that SPDC stopped oil production in Ogoni in1993 and had no plan to return to oil production there.
The MOSOP president, while addressing the protesters at Kpobie Junction, said: “We are at a time of national emergency, because of certain developments that are happening in Ogoniland, that we are not happy with. On August 26, 1990, our fathers and mothers came together and put in place the famous Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR). Critical in the OBR is the issue of the stoppage of Ogoni environment from degradation. We initiated a lot of non-violent actions that forced Shell out of Ogoni in April/May 1993. Since then, Shell was declared personal non grata in Ogoni.
“We have not asked Shell to come back. We are seeing tendencies in the last few months about Shell trying to force its way back to Ogoni and we are saying no. The fire of the Ogoni struggle must continue to burn. We are demonstrating to the whole world, through non-violent strategy that our fathers taught us.
“MOSOP is committed to peaceful struggle and we are not about changing it. When we marched on January 4, 1993, we did not throw stone at anybody. Because we did not throw stone yesterday, we are not going to throw stone today. We are not going to burn or destroy anything. Ogoni is known for non-violent protests. The latest action of Shell is not approved by the Ogoni people.
“This is just the beginning of non-violent actions that we are planning in the coming days. There will be bigger protests in few weeks, if the Federal Government refuses to respond to the issues that we have raised. If you want to talk about resumption of oil production in Ogoni, you must come to the table. We must all discuss and bring to the fore, the issues that were raised by the founding fathers of the struggle, relating to oil production in Ogoniland.
“You cannot move into Ogoni today, because you feel that you have the soldiers and guns, but our fathers told us yesterday to dance the guns to silence. Let nobody fear any gun or threat.”
Pyagbara, after addressing the teeming protesters, led them to the site of laying the new pipes, stressing that the aim was to stop the contractor from further working, until there was discussion with Ogoni people, through MOSOP.
While again addressing the protesters in the forest, at the site of the laying of pipes, the MOSOP president said: “They say when the owners of the land and property come, strangers will run away. They (workers of Shell’s contracting firm) have run away. We are here because this is our land. Some people feel that they can move with impunity into our land, but we are saying no.
“When they tried it in 1993, we did not keep quiet. We protested and said no. The issues we raised in 1993 are the issues we are still dealing with till today. Nobody has come to tell us about the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of laying pipes here. Nobody has told us about the social impact assessment of laying the pipes here.
“In the modern world today, people are talking about environmental, social and human rights impact assessment. We have not had that on this pipeline and we are saying no.”
Pyagbara also stated that the forced pull out of SPDC in 1993 was necessitated by the series of non-violent actions, engendered by the Ogoni people, in recognition of the massive environmental pollution that attended Shell’s operations in Ogoniland since 1958, absence of Community Development Agreements (CDAs) and Community Benefit Sharing Agreements (CBSAs) that recognised the rights of communities to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
He noted that ever since August 26, 1990, when the OBR was launched, the Ogoni people had been striving for effective participation in the development process, as widely obtained globally in the 21st Century, to no avail.
MOSOP president said: “If there is credible interest in resuming oil production in Ogoni, the Federal Government and the prospective oil companies should together initiate a broad-based discussion with representatives from all sectors of the Ogoni community.
“Based on the UNEP report, government and companies must undertake a credible EIA of the proposed oil operations in Ogoniland, to include social and health dimension, as well as a public consultation process, as is the current industry standard.
“The full implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland must be placed on the list, as a pre-condition before and oil exploration commences. Ensure that the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the Ogoni people is embedded within the framework of any discussion with the oil sector and the government, relating to resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.
“The Ogoni people had all been involved in the Ogoni struggle and every community in Ogoni had been affected one way or another by the conflict over oil. The attempt by the oil industry and the government to divide the Ogoni nationality along the lines of oil bearing and non-oil bearing is unacceptable and will be resisted.
“Any agreement that will be agreed upon must be one global all-inclusive agreement, signed by representatives of the Ogoni community and not fragmented and compartmentalised along community lines, as this will certainly cause internal divisions.”
Pyagbara also informed the people of the world of the potential crisis and violence that the government of Nigeria and Shell/NPDC planned to inflict on the Ogoni people.
He declared that no oil production could take place in Ogoni, without a clear process of clean-up achieved and broad public discussion about the future of oil operations in Ogoniland attained. The Federal Government must not allow a repeat of the Ogoni crisis, especially between 1993 and 1995, which led to the death of many innocent Ogoni people. A stitch in time saves nine, while a word is enough for the wise.
