The despicable acts of Shell in Ogoni and particularly the use of the Nigerian military against Ogoni protestors is gradually pushing the community of about 1.2million people towards an unfortunate calamity of same magnitude as the case of the genocide in Dafur region of Western Sudan.
Since 1990 when the confrontation with Shell began, the Ogoni people have made it clear that they were not prepared to tolerate further despoliation of their land. A well organized uprising against Shell Petroleum Company had forced the company out of Ogoniland and kept them away for over 17years. Thanks to the leadership of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his immediate successor Ledum Mitee who sustained this achievement for over 16years after Saro-Wiwa’s death.
The Ogoni people have raised critical issues pertaining to the operations of Shell in the area. First is the issue of environmental degradation. A recent United Nations report has highlighted the level of pollution in Ogoni and condemned Shell’s role in the destruction of the Ogoni environment. The U.N report says Ogoniland cleanup could take up to 30years to complete.
The other issues have to do with political marginalization and economic strangulation. Indeed, it is noteworthy that as at 1990, the Ogoni people have contributed over US$30Billion in petroleum revenue to the Nigerian government. This was being shared monthly by states who make very insignificant or no contribution to national wealth. The Ogoni people have no state of their own and the resources of the Ogoni are being used to develop non-oil resources in other regions of Nigeria.
The implication is that the Ogoni ethnic nationality cannot chat a course for its future. Ogoni is no doubt a painful victim of Nigeria’s corruption and ethnic divide.
Rather than address the legitimate complaints of the Ogoni, the Nigerian government continue to encourage Shell’s use of its military to suppress Ogoni protests.
Shell’s recent acts of sponsoring violence against the Ogoni people are clearly pointing to a plan to create internal conflicts and cause a military clampdown. On November 30, 2012 Shell invited a combined team of military men against civilian protestors in Ebubu, Eleme. The community youths had protested against a plan by Shell to return to the area. On December 15, 2012, Shell invited security forces to stop a protest in Bodo community against the company’s denial of liability in the 1998 oil spills in the area. The company says the spills were due to community sabotage and not equipment failure. Earlier, the company had accepted liability in a British court.
Shell claims that most of the spills in the Niger Delta had been due to sabotage by oil thiefs who run illegal refineries and communities who seek to attract compensation. This had become the company’s new-found and only defense after admitting in 2008 to killing the Niger Delta environment. The company had been unable to show any proff of of sabotage or illegal refining in Ogoni prior to the rise of militancy in he region at the beginning of the 21st century. One wonders the sudden clasp to the “sabotage/illegal refining” which essentially does not excuse the company for the destruction of the Niger Delta which its over 50years presence has caused.
To supress local community protests against the company’s irresponsible environmental practices, Shell resorts to the use of a suffisticated Nigerian military against peaceful protestors. The use of the Nigerian military to oppress legitimate protests in the Ogoni region is pointing clearly to a plan tht could repeat the experience of Dafur in Ogoniland. It is well known that the Nigerian military is very ruthless against civilians as we have seen in Ogoni in the 1990s, Odi and Zaki-Ibiam under the Obasanjo’s civilian administration.
Shell had been declared ‘Persona-Non-Grata’ in Ogoniland and the companys skimishes to have its way ad return to the Ogoni oilfield are simply provocative moves that are clearly aimed at inciting community protests to justify a military crackdown and weaken the Ogoni people through massive ruthless killings by the armed forces.
It is for this reason we call for global condemnation against Nigeria’s silence on the continued use of the military against peaceful civil protests as has become commonplace in Ogoni and parts of the Niger Delta.
Ogoni people deserve the respect of the government and the right to free expression. Their protests against Shell for the destruction of the Ogoni environment are justifiable and cannot be overcome by the use of military force. The Nigerian government needs to traet the Ogoni problem as a national emergency and take legimitate steps to address the issues withou further loss of lives.
Source: OgoniNews
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