President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) Fegalo Nsuke has charged Ogoni youths on integrity as leaders of tomorrow. MOSOP president Nsuke told the youths to imbibe a new orientation in line with MOSOP’s drive for Ogoni development.
Nsuke spoke to a meeting of Kingdom executives of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP, the youth wing of MOSOP) held in Giokoo, Gokana local government area on Saturday.
The MOSOP president who addressed the youths from Abuja via telephone link urged Ogoni youths to strongly stand and defend the Ogoni Development Authority as the vehicle for massive transformation and actualisation of the Ogoni dreams.
He assured the Ogoni youths of MOSOP’s commitment to the operation of an Ogoni Development Authority noting that it is the only acceptable pathway that guarantees significant investment in Ogoni development and aligns with the aspirations of the founding fathers as demonstrated in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.
“All the issues raised in the Ogoni Bill of Rights are issues of underdevelopment. Whether we are talking about the environment, water, jobs, security and all that, they are all issues of underdevelopment. The solution we have put forward is the ODA and it is our collective interest. Let us get it to work” he said.
The MOSOP president further noted that there is no better alternative to the ODA that assures a peaceful and permanent resolution of the Ogoni crisis.
“There is no better alternative to the ODA to drive development in Ogoni and we are strongly committed to its implementation.”
“In the past 30 years, we have been struggling to protect our lands, take back our place and to win back our resources from Shell. Now that we have significantly achieved the first part, it’s time to focus on building the future and the ODA is a right path to follow” Nsuke told Ogoni youths.
He noted that the struggle for a free Ogoni should not be expected without a fight and urged the youths to remain focused on the goals of the ODA. He called for more concern about tomorrow’s Ogoni and not to be discouraged by any opposition.
“Those who currently benefit from the system will always fight to resist the change. You must fight to achieve your goals for a better life and development”
Nsuke further urged Ogoni youths not to be deterred by their painful past. He motivated them to confront their future with a determination to succeed.
“Move away from the painful past and use the lessons of yesterday to match into the future. With the ODA, it’s a win-win for all parties. The government gets increased revenue, the oil companies return a better balance sheet and the Ogoni people are happier with infrastructural development, jobs and a secured future”.
“We must be very strong and committed to deal with the present danger of underdevelopment in Ogoni. This is a task for you and for me and we cannot afford to fail” Nsuke told Ogoni youths.
He urged the youths to stand for the truth and resist every attempt to subvert the interest of the Ogoni people.
“Let me also make it very clear that MOSOP will not accept any move subversive to the interest of the Ogoni people who paid the price of recovering our lost inheritance from Shell”
“This struggle has cost us over 4,000 lives and the interest of Ogoni must be our primary concern”, Nsuke said on Saturday.
The Central Committee of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, had in September 2020 approved the proposal for the operation of an Ogoni Development Authority as an acceptable pathway to resolve the Ogoni problem and drive development in the region.
MOSOP had since submitted the proposal to the federal government of Nigeria and maintained the call for its implementation.
