The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP has said the future of Nigeria strongly depend on its handling of the non-violent struggles of the Ogoni people.
Speaking at the Francis Solanus Casey Center in Detroit, State of Michigan, United States of America on Friday, March 13, 2020, President of MOSOP Fegalo Nsuke said Nigeria was increasingly accommodating and encouraging violent agitation which now stand out to threaten the peace, security, unity and future of the country
The MOSOP leader called on the Nigerian authorities to encourage peaceful methods by rewarding the non-violent approach of the Ogoni people, cooperating with the Ogoni and honoring our demands for self determination rather than encouraging violent tactics adopted by some groups and nationalities in the country.
The MOSOP leader called on the Nigerian authorities to encourage peaceful methods by rewarding the non-violent approach of the Ogoni people, cooperating with the Ogoni and honoring our demands for self determination rather than encouraging violent tactics adopted by some groups and nationalities in the country.
He further said, however, the Ogoni people will nonviolently continue to pursue the cause for self determination as a distinct ethnic group in Nigeria until it is won. Nsuke noted that the Ogoni struggle is justifiable, it is about the fundamental rights of the Ogoni people as a distinct ethnic group in Nigeria and it is in line with the intentions of the founding fathers of our country.
He said Nigeria was encouraging and rewarding violent agitation at its detriment and needs to reverse the trend by discussing to resolve issues peacefully and amicably.
Citing the despoilation of the Ogoni environment by Shell, the reckless exploitation of the oil mineral resources without any reward for the Ogoni people and the political marginalization of the Ogoni people in Nigeria, Nsuke said the Ogoni demands are well founded and legitimate
While noting that the Ogoni people will sustain its non-violent approach as a core tenet of the struggle for self determination led by MOSOP, The MOSOP president, assured the Ogoni people that its peaceful methods will bring the desired happiness for the Ogoni people in Nigeria.
He said the discrimination against the Ogoni people places a huge burden on Nigeria’s claims to being a free society noting that what Nigeria is doing to the Ogoni people today is worse than the Ogoni experience under colonial rule.
While urging the Ogoni people to remain committed to nonviolence, Nsuke said the Ogoni people should be encouraged by the support the Ogoni cause enjoys among men and women of good conscience who believe in upholding the fundamental rights and basic freedom of peoples all over the world.
The MOSOP president subsequently attended Mass at the Francis Solanus Casey chapel before returning to Chicago where he will meet with the Ogoni community in the state of Illinois.
