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.”