Ogoni born Activist and leader of the Ken Saro Wiwa Associates, Gani Topba has accused the leadership of the Movement of the survival of Ogoni people, MOSOP, of working contrary to the interest of the Ogoni people.
Speaking at the Ogoni General Assembly convened by the Ken Saro Wiwa Associates on Saturday, 24th February, 2018, for the adoption and ratification of a Draft Communiqué which emanated from a similar meeting held on Saturday the 20th of January 2018. Gani Topba bared his mind on the ineffectiveness of MOSOP in protecting the interest of the Ogoni’s.
“Mosop leadership has failed. So where we are today, we’re talking about Ogoni, this is an Ogoni position. So is a working document, if Legborsi Pyagbara want to do Ogoni thing, it’s for him to take this document and work with it.
“Are you not aware that Shell has started laying pipe in Ogoni, MOSOP position was supposed to mobilize Ogoni people and truncate that process. Who were the people who truncated that process? It’s the K-Dere community.
“Look at HYPREP. The MOSOP president sits on the governing council board, approved 3bn to be paid upfront to a contractor, where people don’t have water. Should that not tell you that this leader has failed”.
The Ogoni general Assembly had drafted the 12 point communique, after its January 20th, 2018 meeting convened by the ken Saro Wiwa Associates, following the planned resumption of oil and gas production in OML 11 and other matters bothering the Ogoni people.
The communique read:
(1) That the Ogoni people desire to remain part of the federal Republic of Nigeria.
(2) That the Ogoni people are not opposed to oil production in Ogoni land. However, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and it’s subsidiary, the Shell petroleum development company of Nigeriaa Limited (SPDC) remains personal non Grata in Ogoni land, as declared by Ken Saro Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders in 1993. Therefore, SPDC cannot hold stakes or profit from exploration and production of oil and gas in the land.
(3) That the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is also the substantive Minister of Petroleum resources, should reject the application of SPDC torerenew iits lease over OML 11 (Ogoni Fields).
(4) That SPDC’s subsisting lease over OML 11 (Ogoni Fields) should be revoked immediately, to pave way for discussions with Ogoni Elders and leaders of thoughts, on the demand of the Ogoni people as articulated in the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR), presented to the Federal Government of Nigeria in October 1990, before the resumption of oil production.
(5) That the Unilateral decision of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to grant approval of operatorship license to Robo Michael Nigeria Limited to resume oil production in OML 11 (Ogoni Fields) on behalf of the SPDC, without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Ogoni people as guaranteed by International law, is brazen and undemocratic, as it is capable of igniting fresh crisis in the area.
(6) That Robo Michael Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) a subsidiary of NNPC and SPDC should steer clear of Ogoni land in the interest of peace.
(7) That the Federal Government of Nigeria should urgently rebuild all Ogoni Communities that were destroyed by the Nigerian military between 1993-1998, resettle and rehabilitate all Ogoni refugees in Nigeria and in the diaspora and victims of human rights violation during the period.
(8) That the Royal Dutch Shell PLC and it’s Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC establish and implement an appropriate and adequate compensation mechanism, consistent with the requirements of international law and industry best practices to compensate the Ogoni people for the environmental degradation, health impairment and loss of livelihoods, to which they have and continue to be subjected, through the decades of SPDC’s reckless oil and gas operations in Ogoni land.
(9) The Ogoni people reiterate that Royal Dutch Shell must accept responsibility and apologize for their complicity, in the human rights violations and murder of Ogoni’s between 1993-1998.
(10) The Ogoni people demand the speedy implementation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report and recommendation on oil spill clean-up in the Ogoni Environment.
(11) The Ogoni people mandate the Ken Saro Wiwa Associates, to facilitate the swift reconciliation of Ogoni leaders stakeholders with ideological differences to foster the sustainable development of the land and protect the legacies of their forebears.
(12) The Ogoni people affirm their belief in the nonviolent approach in their quest for social, economic, political, cultural and environmental justice as enunciated by their forebears, and thank the current security chiefs in Nigeria for the sustenance of peace in Ogoni land and maintained that the present security setup should remain committed to upholding the law and Human Rights in Ogoni land in particular and the Niger Delta at large
