Tensions are rising in Ogoniland as two prominent advocacy groups — the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Ogoni Liberation Initiative — have accused the federal government of provoking unrest with recent comments made by National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, regarding the resumption of oil production in the region.
The groups said Ribadu’s remarks, made during a question and answer session with Ogoni youths in Ebubu, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, were “insensitive,” “unfortunate,” and risked undoing five years of careful community engagement aimed at healing deep-seated wounds.
MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, who spoke on behalf of both groups, said Ribadu’s statements neither reflected the reality on the ground nor aligned with resolutions reached at the Ogoni Congress of November 30, 2024, and the Ogoni National Assembly of January 4, 2025. Those resolutions, he noted, empowered MOSOP to negotiate the region’s oil and gas interests while firmly rejecting any form of forced oil resumption.
“I think the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, is getting the wrong advice on the true position of things in Ogoni,” Nsuke said. “The issue of resuming oil production in Ogoni, being very sensitive, needs to be handled with deeper consultations to address the underlying problems first.”
He warned that recent actions by the Office of the National Security Adviser were eroding the gains of prior sensitization efforts and that the region risked being dragged back to the dark days of 1993 — a reference to the height of state-backed repression in Ogoni.
“To say the least, the NSA’s comments were unfortunate and had elements of provocation,” Nsuke said. “He should have known about the sensitive nature of the issue and how seriously the Ogoni people take it.” “When I heard the NSA’s comments, I was wondering if he was speaking of the oil in Adamawa or if he was actually speaking of the oil in Ogoni.
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I think we need to be a bit more realistic and not provoke people into the streets.” For Nsuke, the stakes go beyond oil. They touch on decades of injustice, environmental degradation, and human loss. “The Ogoni issue is about justice and not just revenue generation for the Nigerian government,” he said.
He recalled that at least 30 Ogoni villages were destroyed and over 4,000 people lost their lives during state-sponsored repression. “Ribadu forgot that the Ogoni environment is still polluted, with people struggling to have access to clean water. He forgot that four Ogonis were killed on May 21, 1994, another nine were executed by the state on November 10, 1995.
All these people, dead and alive, need justice.” Nsuke cautioned that displaying state power in sensitive matters such as Ogoni’s oil without addressing the core demands for justice and fairness would only deepen existing wounds and undermine national unity. “What MOSOP and the Ogoni Liberation Initiative are asking for are basic rights and justice for the living and the dead.
It is only natural to resist every move by government to resume oil production without corresponding actions to address the injustices which ignited the crisis and prolonged it,” he said. He urged Ribadu and the federal government to shift toward open dialogue, compassion, and genuine consultation — not coercion.
“We should not at all times deploy or display the force of state and cause deeper damage that will become too difficult to resolve,” Nsuke said. “Let us consider a proper dialogue, especially in the Ogoni case, where we have all shown willingness to talk.”
