By Mark Lenu
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People has again insisted that the Ogonis will not allow Sahara Energy to explore crude on their land.
You recall that since the unjust killing of the vocal environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa and other Ogoni Leaders by the late Gen Sani Abacha in the 90s, oil exploration has not taken place in Ogoni.
Several attempts have been made by the Nigerian government and oil companies to resume oil exploration in Ogoniland but weren’t successful following their refusal to reach an agreement with the Ogoni people.
MOSOP also warned that any backdoor joint venture partnership between the NNPC and Sahara Energy will not be acceptable to the Ogoni people.
The president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke made the position known at the end of a meeting with the leadership of the Council of Ogoni Leaders of Thought (COLT) at the MOSOP secretariat, Bori, Ogoni.
Nsuke warned against any maneuvers to foist Sahara Energy on Ogoni, advising the Nigerian Government against acts that can truncate ongoing reconciliatory efforts.
“We will strongly resist any move by the NNPC to force Sahara Energy on us by any means whatsoever. We have laid down our conditions for a peaceful resolution of the Ogoni issue. The government should look into those demands and we are ready to make the necessary compromises on mutually beneficial terms,” he said.
Nsuke called on the Nigerian Government to immediately halt Sahara Energy’s moves to enter into a joint venture agreement with the NNPC over OML 11 without the input and consideration of the position of MOSOP and the Ogoni people.
“Any attempt to foist Sahara Energy on Ogoni will only mean a deliberate plot to repress the Ogoni people. That will result in a civil crisis of monumental proportions, the rest of the Niger Delta will show solidarity and that could throw the entire region into a crisis which we do not want.
“We urge the Nigerian government to give peace a chance and accept discussions on the recommendations we have made in the interest of peace in our land. We do not want anything to take away our peace and the NNPC should spare us that trouble.
“We have proposed a pathway to address the Ogoni problem and that option should be given a chance. Our proposal calls for the operationalization of the Ogoni Development Authority (the ODA),” Nsuke said.
