The president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, has urged the Ogoni people to remain hopeful and steadfast as the leadership of the movement continues to seek avenues to address the problems that has bedeviled the ethnic nationality in the past 60 years. Nsuke said the escalation following years of persecution and killing of over 4,000 Ogoni people under the regime of Gen. Sani Abacha had made compromises really difficult. He however expressed hopes and assurances that a common ground will be reached but warned that nothing good comes easy.
The MOSOP president said what Ogoni needs critically at this moment is a compromise for a system that guarantees a steady flow of resources into critical development areas including job creation, electricity, security, infrastructural development, especially the construction of schools and hospitals.
Nsuke who spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday said the Ogoni people must realize that what is needed at this moment which will fulfill the dreams and demands of Ogoni today is a guaranteed and consistent injection of funds into Ogoni development.
“Ogoni is in critical need of development funds to drive infrastructural changes, create jobs and improve peoples’ lives. That is the whole essence of the struggle itself and the only thing that makes meaning to MOSOP at this moment” he said
He further urged the Ogoni people not to be manipulated by semantics noting that whether we talk about the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) or its recent translation into an actionable format calling for the operationalization of the Ogoni Development Authority, what it all means is that money must consistently flow into Ogoni to power a development and transformation process.
“Whether you consider the Ogoni Bill of Rights, the prescription for the operationalization of an Ogoni Development Authority or whichever way you want to look at it, the bottom line is that resources must be committed into building Ogoni, creating jobs and improving lives” Nsuke said.
He urged the Ogoni people to be hopeful but understand that nothing good comes easy. While urging the people to keep faith in the peaceful resolution through the operationalization of the development program proposed by MOSOP, he also assured them that victory is hear already for Ogoni and all issues will eventually be resolved in the interest of all parties including the Ogoni people.
He reminded the Ogoni people that their future is in their hands and should be guarded responsibly. Nsuke spoke strongly against any deviation from MOSOP’s peaceful methods which he said “though slower in terms of producing results, has proven to be more effective in mobilizing civil society to stand for their rights”
“We are doing our best to get all issues resolved in the collective interest of our people and we expect that everyone will keep the peace and follow-up on what we are doing through our legitimate channels and be patient to allow the process work”
He regretted that in the past decade, much money flowed into MOSOP and the struggle became highly commercialized and politicized. He said the lies and manipulations of the past should be the more reason why we should all strive to resolve issues before political and economic struggles cause an implosion within. God forbid” he said.
