The recent declaration of political autonomy by a faction of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) is a sign that people are deeply displeased with government. It captures the feeling of discontent across the country.
Ogoni, a leading oil-producing area of Rivers State, has been in the news for many years – for the wrong reasons – especially during the military regime of the late Sani Abacha. Over the years, allegations of neglect against the Federal Government and oil prospecting companies, especially Shell, have been rife.
Leaning on the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 13, 2007, Goodluck Diigbo announced “the proclamation of this General Assembly Declaration of Political Autonomy for the Self-determination or Self-government of the Ogoni people within Nigeria.” He pointed out that “Ogoni people have not resolved to pull out of the Nigerian federation; what they need is political autonomy within the nation’s federalism.”
Indeed, the declaration was to alert the powers that be that the Ogoni people are no longer ready to tolerate further devastation of their environment, which has been going on as a result of over half a century of oil exploration.
Currently, the inability of the Federal Government to address the environmental challenges posed by oil exploration in the area has exacerbated the anger of the Ogoni people. The people are particularly unhappy with government’s delay in implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) one year after it was officially made public by the same government.
The degradation of Ogoniland through oil spills has rendered natives incapable of farming and fishing. According to UNEP, Ogoni water is contaminated with benzene, an agent capable of causing cancer. Reports have it that about 10,000 litres of water are trucked to Ogoniland for consumption on daily basis by the Rivers State government.
It was against this backdrop that a Netherlands-based factional leader of MOSOP, Diigbo, made a historic declaration on August 2, 2012, of self-government of Ogoni people from his overseas abode. This development in Ogoni further signposts an increasing loss of confidence in the Nigerian government to protect its citizens.
While we call on government to speed up action in healing the wounds of years of deprivation and ill-treatment of the Ogoni people, we also urge the Ogoni people to show understanding in the midst of their frustration. Government’s slow approach to addressing the issue, we imagine, is not to discard the recommendations. Hopefully, it has a long-term plan to regenerate Ogoni. If this is the case, there is, therefore, the need for patience.
If there are lessons to be learned from aggrieved Nigerians elsewhere, a responsive government that corrects its wrongs by providing sustainable development through social, environmental and economic projects is all the people want. No doubt, if government gets it right, it will send a message of justice being done and allay fears of government indifference.
Source: Business Day
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