By Mark Lenu
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called for better relationships between companies and their host communities. MOSOP said this will improve the management of community discontent before it degenerates into conflicts and public protests which sometimes disrupt operations.
President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke who was reacting to the news of protests against companies in recent times especially last week’s protest by the people of Eleme at the Port Harcourt Refinery said most of what turned out into lockdowns and shutdowns could have been easily resolved through peaceful engagement.
Nsuke said the failure of companies to exploit dialogue opportunities has led to a breakdown of relations between them and communities and caused huge productivity losses.
“Companies must disabuse the long-held orientation that communities can always be defeated by the force of the state. There is always a set time for freedom when all chains of oppression are broken
“Dialogue remains our best option and I will encourage corporate organizations to make the best use of peaceful methods to resolve issues rather than allowing them to degenerate into confrontations,” Nsuke said.
He also charged the Ogoni people, especially the youths, to resist violence in the face of provocations, noting that violence has never produced anything good.
“I understand that our society has largely enthroned violence in normal social settings and in government, all in desperation to win elections. However, we must all preach peace and development to address this anomaly.
“The government has a big role to play in addressing these problems. Government must advance and protect the rights of citizens through legislation and ensure that repressive strategies are discouraged because when the people are eventually pushed to the wall, they will fight back and the consequences can be unpredictable,” he said.
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