By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The decision of Ogoni leaders to appoint Governor Nyesom Wike to lead their delegation for deliberation with the federal government on how to resume oil production in Ogoni Land is currently generating controversy.
Reports reaching TPCN reveal that some prominent Ogoni sons are opposing the choice of Governor Wike as leader of the Ogoni delegation to Abuja.
The aggrieved Ogonis believe that the Rivers governor will not be able to represent the collective interest of Ogoni people concerning their quest for redress over the various forms of injustice they have allegedly suffered in the hands of the federal government.
“On what basis are they appointing Wike to lead the delegation for talks with the federal government on the expected oil resumption? How can they do that? Who did they consult before making such a decision, or were they forced to do it? The talks with the federal government on oil resumption should be an Ogoni affair between us and the federal government because the person wearing the shoe knows where it is pinching him.
“Yes, Governor Wike is our governor, and to me, he is doing well, no doubt about that. But he is not from Ogoni, so he can’t fully grasp our mood on these issues of terrible injustice against us by Shell and past military governments. That alone makes him unqualified to play that role.
“We’re the ones wearing the shoes here, and so only we know where it is pinching us. Only an Ogoni son can fruitfully lead such a delegation because the issues to be discussed are very sensitive and essential to our existence as a people,” an Ogoni chief who pleaded anonymity said on Friday in Port Harcourt.
He expressed worry that the controversy, anger and bitterness the issue is already generating in Ogoni Land may not subside soon until the decision is reversed.
TPCN learnt that the likes of a popular environmental activist, Celestine Akpobari and Nigeria’s former ambassador to the Netherlands, Orji Ngofa, have also condemned the selection of Governor Nyesom Wike by some Ogoni stakeholders to lead the talks on oil resumption. They accused those who made the decision of failing to consult with the generality of their people.
Speaking on a radio programme in Port Harcourt on Friday, Celestine Akpobari argued that Governor Wike, as an interested party, was not morally fit to lead the Ogoni delegation to the federal government for oil resumption talks.
“Governor Wike has told the world that he has bought OML 11, and you still choose him to lead the delegation? He’s not even qualified to be at the meeting because he’s an interested party,” Celestine Akpobari argued. He maintained that it was wrong for the Ogonis who were present at the meeting to choose an outsider to lead the delegation, adding that they did not have the right to do that.
According to the environmental activist, Ogonis have capable people who can spearhead the discussion with the federal government on oil resumption.
“We have senators who were chairmen of committees on upstream and downstream petroleum sectors who can lead the delegation,” Akpobari said.
Also speaking on air, former ambassador to the Netherlands, Orji Ngofa, described the decision by the said Ogoni leaders to choose Governor Wike to champion the oil resumption talks with the federal government as an absurd and misplaced priority.
“It is absurd. It is a misplaced priority. They should have first embarked on consultations with the people of Ogoni before taking such a decision. Those who agreed to that decision have killed Ken Saro Wiwa the second time,” he fumed.
The former chairman of Eleme Local Government Area disclosed that during their last visit to the presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to dialogue with the Ogoni people regarding the oil resumption plans.
He insisted that only the Ogoni people could best represent their collective interest.
A group of Ogoni leaders had, at a closed-door stakeholders’ meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday, adopted Governor Nyesom Wike to lead a multi-consultative forum for talks with the federal government concerning oil production resumption on OML 11.
The Ogoni stakeholders at the meeting, including a former president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Barr Ledum Mitee, Senator Lee Maeba, Senator Olaka Nwogu, among others, explained that the reason for adopting Governor Nyesom Wike to lead the talks on oil resumption was to prevent traitors from hijacking the situation and use divide and rule tactics to cause crisis in Ogoni Land and subsequently jeopardise the collective interest of the people.
Mitee, who spoke to journalists shortly after the stakeholders’ meeting, said they were in Government House to brief the Rivers Governor of the outcome of their meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari a few weeks ago.
“We reviewed the outcome of that meeting, and we, as a people, resolved that the issues that were discussed are such that required partnership with the state government.
“In other words, we felt that the government of Rivers State and Ogoni people would work together to pursue some of these issues that were raised as an outcome of the meeting, specifically on the issues of OML 11 and resumption of oil.
“We felt that it required some sustained and painstaking consultation process which must involve the state government as partnering with us and its leadership on how we will go together to work so that some divide and rule will not be exploited to the detriment of our people,” Mitee explained.
On his part, Senator Lee Maeba said: “This meeting today was the Ogonis coming to tell the governor that, and we have resolved that the governor must lead the multi- consultative forum to discuss with the federal government about any issue concerning OML 11 resumption or non-resumption of oil. So, we are united under the state government.”
