Ogoni Celebrates “Ogoni Day” …Calls For Clean Up, Moratorium On Land Seizure!

The annual event, which like the yearly November 10 anniversary of the murder of Ken SaroWiwa and others, as usual led to the closure of business premises all over Ogoniland. Apart from stock taking, important decisions on the way forward and well being of the people are usually taken on this important day.

On this particular occasion, the non-implementation of UNEP report on Ogoni released 15 months ago, the issue of land seizure by the government and the recent invasion of oil-bearing communities by Shell and the military, took the centre stage.

Addressing the media at the venue of the event, Comrade AkpoBari Celestine, the National Coordinator, Ogoni Solidarity Forum (OSF), opined that the Ogoni is in a worse situation and environment today when compared to the days of Ken SaroWiwa. According to him, “it is sad that the polluters of Ogoni environment (Shell and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation) are still thinking of how to implement UNEP death sentence on Ogoni environment and people, 15 months after its report was presented to the President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

Continuing, Comrade Celestine said “all the Government and Shell think about is how to restart oil production in Ogoniand nothing on the clean up of its mess which has brought untold hardship, death, strange ailments and disease on the people. Celestine said Ogoni were poorer today than any period of their history as the people that once exported food to other parts of the country, are today dying of hunger while illiteracy is on the increase as once fishing and farming parents have lost their means of livelihood”

Another issue that took the centre stage on this occasion is the aggressive large scale land seizure of the remaining arable land in Ogoni by the Rivers State Government of Nigeria whose Governor, RotimiAmaechi like Shell, is in the habit of deploying heavily armed military personnel to destroy food crops and forcefully take away farm lands from the people for funny private plantations in collaboration with some Mexican farmers.

The Ogoni at this august occasion, also condemned the ongoing deployment of soldiers tocommunities whose people have consistently resisted government forceful land acquisition, stating that over 20 persons have been murdered and about 50 houses of poor farmers razed down in ZorSogho, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State for daring to join campaigns against land seizure in Ogoni.

The recent clandestine movement of Shell with full military escort in and out of oil producing locations and communities in Ogoni also received attention at the occasion.  The company which was sacked from Ogoni on January 4 1993, is said to have invaded Korokoro, Ebubu and Bodo communities recently with heavily armed soldiers under the pretext of changing rusty pipeline and failed equipments.

At the end of what can be considered a lengthy deliberation and cultural display, the people resolved as follows:-

1) That the Federal Government of Nigeria and Shell should commence immediate decommissioning and clean up of their polluted environment in line with recommendations of UNEP Report on Ogoniand stop paying lip service to a matter that affects their well being and livelihood;

2) That the Rivers State government should withdraw soldiers from Ogoni communities immediately;

3) That an independent probe panel be set up to investigate the killings of innocent people at Sogho and the destruction of about 50 houses in ZorSogho;

4) That the Rivers State government should stop ongoing midnight raids of Ogoni communities and arrest of all those resisting land grab in the area;

5) That all those arrested and detained in connection with land grab campaigns, be released with immediate effect;

6) It was also resolved that Shell stops community invasion and harassment of law abiding Ogoni people with soldiers

The people commended efforts of Ogoni Solidarity Forum-Nigeria, Social Action, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), OilWatch Africa, SERAC, Amnesty International, MOSOP and other rights groups for constant support and solidarity.###