Celestine Akpobari, a human right and environmental activist, on Wednesday said the Ogonis would continue with their struggle without violence until they achieved the “Ogoni Bill of Right”.
Akpobari, who made the resolve in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, noted that the non-violence position had helped their struggle.
He said: “The struggle has been on non-violence, and I don’t see a future where we will adopt a violent strategy because the non-violence position had helped us.
“It has also attracted sympathy from the international community to our cause.”
Akpobari said that the clean-up also had the sympathy of international community.
He said: “So, the struggle will continue until we achieve all the pillars of our legitimate demands as enshrined in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.”
According to Akpobari, Ogonis will make statements around their political future, especially with focus on 2019.
Akpobai stated: “Don’t forget that since the creation of Rivers, no Ogoni person has been governor, deputy governor, speaker of the state assembly and even chief judge of the state. This is gross political marginalisation.
“But we are a major ethnic nationality in the state. Are we escorting people or are we still part of Rivers?
“Decisions around these issues will be taken at the Ogoni Day Celebration.”
Akpobari said that the Ogonis would discuss their cultural future, their language that was dying and what they would do to resuscitate it.
He said that the youths would be advised during the celebration of the Ogoni Day to allow the process of the environmental clean-up in the land to go on unhindered.
January 4 is set aside by the UN to celebrate the World Indigenous People.
The Ogonis as a distinct ethnic nationality and indigenous people have always celebrated the day.
Source; TheEagleOnline
