Kelechi Asogwa-Amadi
Ijaw-Kalabari non-partisan activist, Rev Dr Sokari Soberekon, has advised the people of Ogoni to shun violence in their demand for self-determination.
He spoke to journalists in his office in Port Harcourt recently while reacting to the news that Ogonis, especially the women, are planning to embark on a protest to demand self-determination.
Rev Dr Sokari, who said he was speaking in his capacity as a Senior Advocate of Niger Delta, noted that although the Ogonis have suffered much injustice in their quest to protect their environment from pollution caused by oil exploration by multinational companies, resorting to violence, to demand self-determination will not yield meaningful results.
He said: “I commend them for agitating for self-determination but they should use non-violence and non-cooperation. Unarmed old women can chase anyone out of Ogoni Land with prayers. The people are complaining of lack of water without which the clean-up cannot be complete and oil production should not resume.
“The government should know that injustice to one is an injustice to all. The entire Rivers, Bayelsa and all the oil-producing states are not happy with what is happening in Ogoni.”
He, however, called on the federal government not to use force on the Ogoni people in their quest for self-determination, adding that using force to stop the people from agitating for their rights will cause more crises.
Rev Sokari, who repeated his call for restructuring of Nigeria along the six geo-political zones, also advised the federal government to suspend the planned resumption of oil exploration in Ogoni Land and attend to the needs of the people first with the aim of wiping out poverty in the place, adding that the oil spill clean-up should be completed first before oil resumption in the area.
Rev Dr Soberekon, who said it was his advice to former military governor of old Rivers State, Anthony Ukpo during the people’s parliament when he worked as a roving parliamentarian that a higher institution be sited in Bori that resulted in the establishment of Rivers State Polytechnic now Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, called on the people of Ogoni to use peaceful and prayerful means to fight for their rights to avoid a repeat of Odi massacre.
He added: “Ogonis should be united like a broom, not a political party broom, but an ordinary broom which is able to sweep dirt out of the town square.”
