Press Statement
MOSOP CONDEMNS UNWARRANTED PUBLIC
PROTEST BY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE
In
response
to the reportedly ill-informed and unwarranted demonstration by a
handful of people at Akpajo
junction on the East/West road, Eleme local government area, today
(24/8/15), the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has
warned the Ogoni people and the general public to ignore the group,
which have
been manipulated to attempt drawing Ogoni aback. It further warned that
the good
people of Ogoni would deal decisively with anybody wanting to truncate
the
efforts of our people especially relating to the smooth implementation
of recommendations
of the UNEP environmental assessment report on Ogoniland.
Reports
available to MOSOP have revealed that the demonstrators mischievously claimed
that they were protesting exclusion
from the UNEP report implementation
process. The truth is that they thought that a non-existing UNEP report
implementation money was shared and they were given hence their action.
We condemn
the action and reject the reasons adduced, which smacks of desperation. Insofar
as we are concerned, the faceless gang and their sponsors who have earlier
declared an unrecognised “Ogoni self-government” are drowned in ignorance and dubiously
seeking relevance and should be discountenanced.
Negotiation,
we all know, is always done on representative capacity and not by the entire
community, organisation or institution. In this case, all strata of the Ogoni
society were fully represented in the multi-stakeholder engagement processes
occasioning the President Mohammadu Buhari led federal government’s approval of
actions to fast-track implementation of recommendations of the UNEP report on
Ogoniland. In fact, two (2) prominent sons and a daughter of Ogoni, namely,
Professor Ben Naanen, HRH Mene Suanu T.Y. Baridam, JP and Professor Roseline
Konya chaired three (3) out of the four working groups during the engagements. And
the truth remains that the outcome of the engagements has been hailed in Ogoni
and beyond.
Facts available
to us have also shown that the backers of the demonstration erroneously believed
that the five-year take-off grant of One billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) for
the implementation of the report is up for grabs. They are as well involved in
circulating fake information in Ogoni communities that the money would be
shared amongst the people. Similarly, they are engaged in duping unsuspecting
Ogonis through sale of fake recruitment and qualification forms at the rate of N3,000
each.
Indisputably,
MOSOP has remained in the forefront of the campaigns and its approach and leadership
especially relating to the engagements occasioned the step taken by the federal
government. We are therefore committed to supporting the administration and
other stakeholders in ensuring a quick commencement and successful implementation
of the Ogoni project. We would thus advice against actions capable of creating
confusion and doubts as to the readiness of Ogoni for the planned remediation and
restoration of our heavily degraded environment ignored by the immediate past
national government. After all, the victory would be for Ogoni and not
otherwise.
However, let
it be known that Ogoni will not sit folding its arms while unscrupulous
elements scuttle her interest.
To be fore-warned,
they say, is to be fore-armed.
Signed:
Bari-ara Kpalap
Media/Public Affairs Advisor to the
MOSOP President
August 24, 2015
Comments
Post a Comment