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Gbaragbe’s Murder: Ogonis Declare Amaechi Persona-Non-Grata …As MOSOP Raises Alarm Over Safety Of Ogonis
As Ogonis and Nigerians at large continue to mourn the death of a senior lecturer and former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Kenule Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic (Kenpoly), Bori branch, late Dr. Ferry Gbaragbe, who was gruesomely murdered by men of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) during the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Bori, a socio-cultural group, Ogoni Ethnic Nationality (OEN) has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu and other relevant security agencies not to leave any stone unturned to arrest and prosecute the culprits and their collaborators in Ogoniland.
The OEN, in a statement issued in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area after an emergency meeting, last Wednesday, described the murder of Gbaragbe as outrageous, sacrilegious and a desecration of the land.
Consequently, the group has declared those Ogonis who led the F-SARS Commander, ACP Akin Fakorede and his murderous team to the Bori Collation Centre where Dr. Ferry Gbaragbe was shot and killed, persona-non-grata.
Among those so declared, according to the statement, are former Rivers State Governor and Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Emma Deeyah, Victor Giadom, George Feyii, Greg Nwidam and Eric Nwibani, amongst others.
In the statement, which was signed by the group’s Secretary, Dr. Baribe Yorko, the OEN said they would invoke the gods of Ogoniland to avenge the death of Gbaragbe and other Ogonis who lost their lives during the elections.
Wondering why an illustrious son of Ogoniland, who was carrying out a legitimate election duty should be the target of elimination by enemies of the people, the group vowed that all those declared persona-non-grata would be visited with dire consequences any day they step their feet on Ogoniland.
“They should better be advised to stay away from Ogoniland. Should they choose to try our resolve, we assure them that their blood will flow, just like those of the people they have killed”, the statement said.
On the statement credited to Chidi Lloyd that the death of Dr. Ferry Gbaragbe was an ‘amateur Nollywood movie’, the OEN described the comment as the height of sacrilege, regretting that it was not surprised, knowing Lloyd’s antecedent and disregard for human life.
“It is quite unfortunate that Chidi Lloyd, rather than empathise with Ogonis who are mourning with a heavy heart, decided to dance on the grave of the man slain by F-SARS and his party men”, the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says it is becoming increasingly clear that “the Nigerian Government is not bothered about the genocide against the Ogoni people in Nigeria.”
Speaking in Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, a factional President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, said that the Nigerian Government does not care about the poor living conditions in Ogoniland.
He accused the government of using the Ogoni clean-up programme to deceive the people while their real intention is to resume oil production in the area without the consent of the people.
Nsuke said “It is pitiable to find that all Nigerian Government is interested in is the Ogoni oil and gas and definitely not the people.”
The MOSOP president also said that the clean-up programme under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) had been shrouded in secrecy, and maintained that HYPREP was corrupt and not implementing the UNEP report on Ogoniland.
“The very first recommendation of UNEP is the issue of water provision. HYPREP has ignored that fundamental recommendation, and moved on to award contracts because that enriches the beneficiaries. The very key aspect of the report dealing with water provision which benefits the Ogoni people has been jettisoned,” Nsuke said.
Lamenting the neglect of Ogoni people despite their enormous contributions to the economy of Nigeria, Nsuke said: “In over 50 years, Shell and the Nigerian Government have polluted Ogoniland; our land and resources have been carted away to the detriment of Ogonis and to the advantage of the rest of Nigeria. This is really a sad story and a very ugly side of our national history, which I expect the Nigerian Government to quickly address instead of chasing the Ogoni oil like people without conscience.”
Nsuke also condemned, “the militarisation of Ogoniland and the extra-judicial killings which have characterised the presence of the security forces in Ogoniland.”
He cited the recent case of the shooting of a polytechnic lecturer, Dr Ferry Gbaragbe, in Bori.
While calling for an immediate investigation into the killing of Gbaragbe and others, Nsuke described the involvement of the Nigeria Police in the shooting of defenseless and innocent Ogoni citizens as reflecting Nigeria’s degeneracy and a threat to national unity.
The MOSOP president said that the gradual militarisation of Ogoniland, “only reminds Ogoni people of the evil Shell and Nigeria have done to us in the past which led to the death of over 4,000 Ogonis.
“The military only remind us of our loved ones they have killed. It would have been better for our country to negotiate any issues they have with us instead of sending the military whom we only know and remember for the killing of over 4,000 Ogonis,” the MOSOP president said.
He said that MOSOP was raising the alarm “because Nigeria appears to be implementing a policy to kill the Ogoni people.”
He noted that the recent directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to take over Ogoni oilfields was one of such decisions not acceptable to the Ogoni people “and the government knows it has not allowed any reasonable discussions on the matter nor has it taken steps to address the demands of the Ogoni people as contained in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.
“The failure to allow broad-based discussions with the Ogoni people opens the window for conflicts which the government seem to prefer as it gives them the opportunity to crush our peaceful protects.”
While maintaining that the struggle of the Ogoni people is justifiable, Nsuke charged MOSOP leaders at all levels to educate and mobilise the people “to peacefully protest the dangers the security forces now pose to the peace of Ogoniland and resist attempts by the government to trample on the people’s rights.”
The MSOP president assured Ogoni people that freedom is sure.
He said: “The Ogoni demands are legitimate and Nigeria cannot be allowed to continue to trample on citizens’ rights. We will continue to protest the violence and injustice against the Ogoni people until we are truly free and protected like other Nigerians.”
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.