The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), Dr. Fabeke Douglas, has urged the Ogoni people to remain united and resist attempts to create division within the longstanding struggle for justice and environmental restoration.
In a statement titled “A Note of Advice to the Ogoni People,” Douglas alleged that some individuals were being sponsored to sow discord among Ogoni communities for personal interests. He, however, expressed confidence that such efforts would not succeed, insisting that the Ogoni struggle was founded on sacrifice and collective purpose.
Drawing parallels with the Christian faith, Douglas said the sacrifice of Jesus Christ brought salvation to humanity, adding that the sacrifice of the Ogoni Nine, led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, remains the foundation of the Ogoni struggle.
He recalled that Saro-Wiwa, before his execution in 1995 alongside eight other Ogoni activists, declared that “the Ogoni people have suffered tremendously,” stressing that the late environmental activist spoke for the entire Ogoni nation rather than his Bane community.
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According to Douglas, the sacrifices made by the Ogoni Nine have strengthened the movement and should not be undermined by divisive agendas.
While acknowledging that some communities suffered more severe environmental degradation than others, he said such realities should not be used to promote campaigns capable of weakening the unity of the Ogoni cause.
He noted that oil resources cut across several local government areas and communities, adding that while organisations are free to pursue development initiatives for their respective oil-bearing communities, such efforts should not be used to create disunity within the broader struggle.
Douglas called on all groups and stakeholders to remain committed to the shared vision established in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, urging every voice within the movement to work towards the common goal of justice, environmental restoration and sustainable development for the Ogoni people.
