New president of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke, has condemned the recent call for resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni land by the Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers (SCOTR)
Nsuke, who is opposed by the Pyagbara group, in an interview with BusinessDay in Port Harcourt, Monday, said, “The position of the Ogoni traditional rulers does not represent that of the people of the area, which is that oil exploration will not be resumed in Ogoni until the oil spill is cleaned up.”
He expressed disappointment that the federal government should contemplate resuming oil exploration in Ogoni without first cleaning the oil spill in the area as recommended by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).
As proof that the federal government is not sincere in the clean-up programme, Fegalo, who was the immediate past Public Relations Officer of MOSOP, said that none of the companies said to be engaged in the programme is registered.
Nsuke said the people of Ogoni were worried that the Federal Government decided to toe the path of insincerity. “The so-called clean-up in Ogoni is a deception. They’re actually not doing anything. Nothing is happening. It’s all a scam,” he lamented, adding that the government is using the clean up as a bait to convince the people of the area to allow oil exploration to resume.
A delegation from the Netherlands and Mike Cowing of the UNEP who carried out the study have however endorsed the clean up going on in the area, saying bigger technology would only be needed when the task gets to deeper and bigger sites.
The MOSOP president, who cried that his people are still dying from various strange diseases caused by the polluted water they’re drinking and other health hazards occasioned by the oil spill pollution, expressed surprise that any right-thinking Ogoni person would endorse the resumption of oil exploration in the environmentally battered area when the clean-up has not been done, in consonance with UNEP’s recommendations.
He did not mention re-pollution, a bigger threat to the environment caused by natives breaking pipes to cause spills every time and illegal refining activities that pour waste into waters in the area.
He, however, vowed that the people of Ogoni would not give up in their quest for justice and survival, insisting: “We will continue to speak our minds.”
The planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni has been eliciting angry reactions from many concerned indigenes of Ogoni who feel that the federal government does not care about the interest of their people.
Former president of MOSOP, Ledum Mitee, has also added his own voice to the condemnation of the move by the federal government, insisting that the interest of the Ogonis must be considered first while consultations should be made with the people before oil exploration could be resumed. What is unclear is what ‘consultation’ means to different sections of the Ogoni, and for how long it should go on. Many Ogoni chiefs and monarchs have openly called for return of oil activities in their lifetime.
Last week, the Gbo Kabaari Ogoni (Ogoni Elders Forum), wrote a letter to the managing director of NPDC, expressing concern that the company had ignored its earlier letter in which they raised serious concerns about the advertised re-entry of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11 and called for dialogue.
In the letter, said to be jointly signed by the chairman and the secretary of the forum, Bennett Birabi, and Desmond Nbete, respectively, the group faulted the planned resumption of oil exploration without first properly engaging the Ogoni people in a thorough conversation.
