Issues of unaddressed injustice have continued to hinder the progress of Nigeria. The case of the people of Ogoni in Rivers State is one that hurts, not only the people, but also Nigeria as a country. Despite attempts in the past to right the wrongs, the problem has remained. Will President Bola Ahmed Tinubu make crude oil to begin to pump again from Ogoniland? Fingers crossed!
Are you bothered as I am about the high level of unavoidable deaths and blood-letting in Nigeria, and the response from the government? A national mourning may be desirable!
Ogoni: Tinubu to the rescue!
In a space of two months, the issue of Ogoniland has dominated newspaper headlines across the country, for good.
On November 11, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had promised to honour the Ogonis that were brutally murdered in 1995 by the military regime of General Sani Abacha. The pledge was contained in a message signed by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on Information and Strategy, during the commemoration of the 2024 Ogoni Martyrs’ Remembrance Day.
Tinubu had said, “As we remember the Ogoni Martyrs, let us honour their legacy by committing to a future where such injustices are no longer tolerated and where the voices of all Nigerians are heard and respected.”
He declared that he stands in solidarity with the National Youth Council of Ogoni People and all Ogoni citizens to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the Ogoni nation’s interests.
“We honour their memory by recognising the sacrifices made and pledging to strive for a future characterised by peace, justice, and sustainable development for all communities, particularly those in the Niger Delta,” he said.
On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the President physically had a meeting inside the Aso Rock Villa, with the representatives of Ogoni; Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State and Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A number of Ogoni sons were at the meeting to represent their people. They include: a traditional ruler, King Festus Babari Bagia Gberesaako XIII, the Gberemene of Gokana Kingdom, Magnus Abe, Olaka Nwogu, Victor Giadom, Kenneth Kobani, Pius Kii, Leedum Mitee, Barry. Mpigi and Joe Poroma.
Read also: Tinubu appoints Ribadu to lead Ogoni reconciliation
Ogoniland has, over the years, reeled from pain to pain, a direct consequences of oil exploitation and exploration in the region. To worsen their miseries, their environment became toxic both to human beings and to the aquatic habitat. Farming activities were also hampered as the land became unproductive as a result of oil spills that destroyed farmlands.
Efforts of subsequent governments and administrations have been mired in politics and divide-and-rule, which also initiated new battle fronts in the area.
The struggles by some Ogoni leaders and youths to protect their environment from harmful oil exploration were met with severe repression, leading to the brutal and tragic execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and nine other leaders in 1995 by the Abacha regime.
For a President desirous of pumping up to 2.06 million barrels of crude oil per day to enable him generate more foreign exchange to fund his budgets, revamping oil exploration in Ogoniland is a task that must be done, hence, the olive branch being waved by Abuja.
But to achieve the needed peace, observers believe that the point to start with is to begin the real clean-up that critics alleged has remained a campaign point for politicians.
Although clean-up activities have been going on in the area for some time now, it has not achieved the desirable healing that is needed to recommence oil-drilling activities in Ogoniland.
An informed source in the area told BusinessDay that “nothing done in Ogoni can be accepted by countless non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that insist on being carried along.”
Peace went on a long holiday in Ogoniland following the suspicion of the presence of fifth columnists, who collude with the government and oil companies to deny the people their due, while they, themselves, live off the royalties accruing from the exploitation activities.
The poverty level in Ogoniland is palpable despite the huge crude oil deposit they were blessed with. Theirs has remained a case of one living inside a river, yet bathing with spittle!
It was this vexatious issue that moved the youth of the over 260 communities in Ogoniland against some of their leaders, which later snowballed into anarchy.
As part of the reconciliatory moves, Tinubu has pledged to heal the wounds from the killing of the Ogoni sons, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, one of the prominent Ogoni leaders.
“We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We cannot heal the wounds if we continue to be angry,” he said.
The President also told the representatives of the Ogonis that he had a personal burden to right the wrongs, because, some of their sons were in the trenches with him in the jackboot days.
“It has been many years since your children and myself partnered to resist military dictatorship in this country. No one dreamt I would be in this chair as President, but we thank God.
“Many of your sons present here were my friends and co-travellers in the streets of Nigeria, Europe, and America.
“I know what to do in memory of our beloved ones so that their sacrifices will not be in vain,” he said.
Read also: We will address the grievances of Ogoniland, others- Tinubu
For the records, clean-up began in Ogoni during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, but nothing concrete was achieved. He did not set up the structure to receive the $1billion United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recommended.
Shortly after he assumed office in 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari had set up a restoration fund following earlier damning United Nation (UN) report that advised the government and the oil industry to act urgently.
Buhari’s efforts were also mired in politics as government moved in and out, and all manner of photo-ups were planted in the newspapers and social media space by government officials, just to create an impression that something positive was happening. After eight years of Buhari’s “efforts,” the clean-up exercise remains a serious issue on his successor’s table.
Following the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in today’s Bayelsa State in 1958. And following the discovery of crude oil deposits in Ogoni much later, the area became repeatedly exploited till 1993.
Reports said that there are over 100 oil wells in Ogoniland, which have remained dormant over the years.
The activities of the company that exploited oil in Ogoniland sparked conflagrations as the region was plagued with serious environmental degradation.
Beyond the meetings and the oratorical assurances of a new lease of life for the Ogonis by President Tinubu, the major question on the front burner is, when will the REAL clean-up exercise begin?
Too much blood-letting in Nigeria
Every day, huge figures of avoidable deaths are reeled out and hit us in the face, through the newspapers and other media outlets. They are figures of people who die in circumstances that are even preventable. If it is not through careless road crashes, it is through tanker fire, bandit/Boko Haram/Unknown gunmen, kidnappers of from stray bullets of security agencies or ritualists.
The most shocking is that the Nigerian society is even getting use to the high numbers that such report of “eight persons killed” for instance, no longer evoke any empathy. You hear people say, “oh, the numbers are small.” Government agencies are also getting use to saying, “only two, or three” were killed.
Perhaps, the population of Nigerians has become so huge that the Federal Government now cares less about how many people die unavoidable deaths.
How can a country, in peace time, lose 88 people to a tanker incident? How can a country keep calm when 100 people are killed by invading bandits, herdsmen or insurgents? Why have we reduced life to mere numbers? There is no sanctity of life anymore.
The Internet is full of reports of killings and wanton deaths in Nigeria, and these do not speak well of us as a country.
The other day, a report had it that there have been 265 deaths from tanker explosions since September last year. Although President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set up a “high-powered committee” to investigate the root cause of the latest tragedy, it is not a guarantee that it would not happen again.
The latest of the tanker explosion happened at Dikko Junction in Niger State, claiming over 88 lives.
In just few months, similar infernos in Ibadan, Ife, Agai, and Jigawa have claimed hundreds of lives.
These avoidable deaths have become too many in Nigeria and the government must do something fast to stem the ugly tide beyond the “high-powered committee” that may not yield any tangible result.
Beyond the effusive condolences and condemnation that usually come from the government, practical actions must be taken to prevent unnecessary deaths in Nigeria.
Those who take joy in taking the lives of others, must not be rewarded with a slap on the wrist, no matter high highly placed.
Life is sacred; whatever steps that must be taken to protect it, is worthwhile.
Nigeria is seeing too much blood-letting. This calls for a national mourning!
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