- Says Shell is Ogoni’s greatest enemy.
- Blames government for Ogoni 4 murders
In memory of Chief Edward Kobani, Chief Theophilus Orage, Chief Samuel Orage and Mr. Albert Baddey, the four prominent Ogoni chiefs who were murdered in Giokoo on May 21, 1994, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has charged Ogonis on truth and reconciliation. This was contained in a statement by the secretary general of MOSOP, Alex Akori.
President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke gave the charge in his speech in Bori, Ogoni to mark the 29th memorial of the murders. Nsuke further urged the Ogoni people to uphold the ideals of truth as the fundamental for true reconciliation, peace and freedom.
Filled with emotions, the MOSOP president said “the Ogoni four murders turned the road of our vision£. We should commend our collective tenacity to sustain MOSOP to this day and I tell you honestly, we must uphold the truth to ensure that all these sacrifices are not in vain” he said.
The MOSOP president blamed Shell and the Nigerian government for the murders accusing them of a connivance to incriminate and eliminate innocent civil rights activists including Ken Saro-Wiwa,
“The Giokoo murders were simply a plot to incriminate some persons and they got that plot executed on November 10, 1995 when they killed 9 innocent Ogonis who were simply fighting for a better society for all” Nsuke said.
He stressed the need for Ogonis to put down their differences, preach and act reconciliation. He also noted that those who plotted the May 21 killings may not have succeeded if we had earlier accepted reconciliation. However, we must also tell ourselves the truth because there will be no true reconciliation if it is founded on false assumptions and lies.
Nsuke acknowledged that a key challenge facing Ogoni today is the political economy of the Ogoni struggle and externally-induced conflicts raging between those who are committed to truth and those who seek to pursue economic gains at the expense of the people’s future.
“We must all face the reality that a common enemy called Shell Petroleum Development Company in alliance with a Nigerian system that has promoted discrimination wrecked our lives and destroyed our environment and economy. And we have a duty to reconcile these differences and put an end to the ravaging conflicts.”
“I call on you to embrace reconciliation and truth as the foundation for peace and a stronger Ogoni as we move forward in our struggle to redefine our cause,” Nsuke said.
He noted that in advancement of MOSOP;s commitment towards reconciliation, MOSOP has proposed the implementation of an Ogoni Development Authority (ODA). Confident that the ideals of the ODA is the way forward, Nsuke called on all Ogonis to support the proposal as a frantic solution to the Ogoni problem.
