Opinion
Ogoni Deserves the Humane Treatment it Seeks
By Fegalo Nsuke
The struggles of people all over the world to protect their rights and dignity have been the subject of conflicts especially when few individuals privileged to control the powers and authority of state turn these privileges into an instrument of repression and will want to surpress agitations that favour greater social freedom.
Quite often, state repression arises from the failure or inability of state actors to articulately defend their actions. The fear of a more superior idea and the desperation to cover their emptiness, many times, turn them repressive.
In Nigeria, the Ogoni people have been victims of a bitter repression. After 35 years of reckless oil mining by The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the Ogoni people saw that the wealth of the land made no impact in their lives. This prompted an awakening spiralling into an unprecedented civil consciousness in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region and forcing Shell to shut down its Ogoni operations in mid 1993.
With a verifiable oil production capacity of 500,000 barrels a day, Nigeria lost a very conservative estimate of $375 Billion to Shell’s exit from the Ogoni oilfields in the past 30+ years. With recent drilling technology, the production capacity is put at over 500,000 barrels per day.
Shell’s failure to respond to community concerns had become intolerable due to accumulated environmental and economic disaster and had ignited a huge civil uprising against the company. The company’s response to the protests was to back a brutal state repression which left some 4,000 Ogonis dead including Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others that were hanged on November 10, 1995.
Today, the stench of Shell still remain profound in Ogoni but Nigeria’s unfriendly environmental laws have made it extremely difficult to seek redress for the Ogoni people. A very sad narrative is that Nigeria’s laws do not punish for crimes like that of Shell in the Ogoni area.
The good news is that despite the persecutions, killings, torture and the painful situation in which our people live, the Ogoni people still show some strong patriotism and willingness to move on with hopes for a change that will undo the wrongs of the past.
One of these expectations is the right of the Ogoni people to function within Nigeria as a distinct ethnic nationality, secured from political and economic deprivations as is currently the case. The right to be protected from the prejudices of dominant ethnic groups in Nigeria and to optimize its potentials for the good of the people.
The Ogoni people should not be left vulnerable to the exploitation of Nigeria’s dominant ethnic groups, nor should the pollution and murders of Shell be further tolerated and allowed to flourish without consequences.
The government cannot only be interested in exploiting the enormous natural endowments of the Ogoni people while they are left to grapple with the negative consequences of natural resource extraction. The pride, dignity, and future of the Ogoni people should also be secured and not be sacrificed for businesses and profits.
That is the basis we have proposed the operationalization of the Ogoni Development Authority (ODA) as an acceptable pathway to resolve the three decade oil conflicts in Ogoni. The ODA is an expression of our desire for self respect, fairness and the humane treatment we seek. A desire that doesn’t threaten any other nationality in Nigeria. In fact, our proposal is in the best interest of our country and will only conduce to greater peace and development for Nigeria.
We all need to unlock the huge natural resource potentials of Ogoni for national development and also for the benefit of the Ogoni people. We need to break the limitations which has kept these resources stranded in the ground, untapped, not benefiting anyone, while the Ogoni people walk that same grounds in difficult conditions.
These expectations require strong decisions and compromises which we must make. Going forward, that will be a right path to take.
Ogoni Must Survive.
Fegalo Nsuke is president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
By Rinret Jennifer Mwarap
The unrelenting massacre of citizens in Plateau State has reached an alarming level. While the government claims to be taking steps to restore order, the reality on the ground tells a different story one that feels like nothing meaningful is being done.
It is heartbreaking to see our loved ones butchered without cause. The questions torment us: What have we done wrong? Who have we offended? Where did we go astray? Must we continue to endure this suffering for no justifiable reason?
The killing of innocent people in Plateau must come to an end. The government and security forces cannot afford to look away. Their responsibility is clear they must act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators to justice, for the sake of the innocent victims and the children left behind.
I call on the Governor of Plateau State to rise to this challenge. Take bold and immediate action against those who seek to destroy our land and shed innocent blood. Let them face the full weight of the law.
This feels like a nightmare—how did we get to the point where the same Plateau where I once slept peacefully with both eyes closed is now a place where even sleeping with one eye open feels unsafe?
Where is the peace in our “Home of Peace and Tourism”?
When will our tears dry? When will justice prevail?
If we truly seek peace, then justice must be non-negotiable.
Ken Nnamani, a former president of the senate, says he did not beg Elisha Abbo, a former senator representing Adamawa north, on behalf of any judge after the ex-lawmaker lost his election case in court.
In October 2023, the court of appeal sacked Abbo and declared Amos Yohanna, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the Adamawa north senatorial election.
Appearing on Channels Television on Wednesday, Abbo said he was a victim of “miscarriage of justice”.
The former senator said Nnamani pleaded with him on behalf of a judge after he lost his election case in 2023.
Reacting in a statement, the former senate president described Abbo’s claim as “blatant lies”.
“My greatest surprise was to hear him state that Senator Ken Nnamani visited him to plead with him on behalf of a judge for the miscarriage of justice. This statement is a blatant lie. I do not know how Senator Abbo can boldly fabricate an event that never happened to buttress his allegation of judicial miscarriage against him,” he said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have never visited Senator Elisha Abbo at his house or anywhere. Up to this moment, I do not know where he lives. I have never discussed with him about his case, or any case pending or decided by any court of law in Nigeria.
“The only time I met with him was when he visited me in my house. It was more of a social visit by him. At this meeting, we never discussed his case or any case. I recall that when the matter of his political career came up, I advised him to avoid controversies as a young politician.
“The statements Senator Abbo made regarding me and his case are all fabrications. I believe I have had a sterling and distinguished public service career. I am determined to maintain my integrity and commitment to excellence till the end of my life.”
Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources, says the federal government plans to commence implementing the drill-or-drop provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Section 94 of the PIA gives operators a period of three years to begin oil production or relinquish the assets to the federal government.
Speaking during the Cross Industry Group (CIG) meeting held on Tuesday in Florence, Italy, Lokpobiri said it is in the best interest of the country that all inactive wells go to work.
He said the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has provided every necessary incentive to ensure international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria run smoothly and profitably.
“Now, it is imperative for these industry players to match the government’s efforts with increased investment by announcing final investment decisions (FIDs),” he said.
Furthermore, Lokpobiri discussed “the challenges, expectations, and measures to enhance the sector’s contributions towards domestic energy needs and regional expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa”.
He emphasised that while IOCs have highlighted engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors as a challenge, “EPCs will not come unless they see strong commitments from industry players”.
“The government has done its part to provide the requisite and investment-friendly fiscals, the ball is now in the court of the IOCs and other operators to make strategic investment decisions that will drive increased production and sustainability in the sector,” he said.
“We must also recognise that domestic crude supply is essential to national energy security. The best solution to this challenge lies in increasing production, which will ensure a balance between domestic supply obligations and external commitments.”
The minister further urged industry players to explore collaborative measures, such as shared resources for contiguous assets and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production.