PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper News Across The Region
Related Articles
4th of January is the Memorial Day in the struggle of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People MOSOP). Each year in the past decade has been a fanfare, of ‘remonstration,’ of lost opportunities and the quest for the illusive unity sought after by the Ogonis. Of all the years, marking the day in 2019 appears to be a nightmare in the house of Ken Saro Wiwa.
By CHRISTOPHER UKANDI (Editor in Chief)
Whenever a new year is celebrated in Nigeria, the 4th of January is revered by the civil society as the day when conscience is reinforced across the globe with the celebration of the Ogoni Day, anchored by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People. If the day was to be marked by only the Ogoni people, it holds no special meaning to the enlightened society except to add to the culture and reminiscences of the tribal sentiments of the Ogonis.
But because the day is associated with the day when conscience was murdered in the country vis-à-vis the judicial hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni men on the 10th of November 1995; the civil society keyed in with full antenna. Saro Wiwa and all the ideas he subscribed to became the icon for which societies with similar pains subscribed to, live up and emulated. For this, the Ogonis should have been mindful that the celebration of any day organized by MOSOP or Ogoni has a search light that hovers over them not as a people but for the symbol with which their nation symbolizes.
The nightmares in Ken Saro Wiwa’s house dates back to the era of Ledum Mitee when the likes of Patrick Naagbantom, Goodluck Diigbo and others diverged radically from the tenants of the ideals that Mitee was propagating as MOSOP president. Why they diverged was not clearly discernable even as Legborsi Pyagbara stepped up the saddle.
But sources within Ogoni told Port Harcourt Mundial that three factors played a key role to why MOSOP is yet to wake up from the nightmare that is plaguing the enclave. The first is that there is a segment in MOSOP that looked at the earlier struggle of MOSOP as vehicle for self-determination as a step for the independent state of Ogoni. The second, group looked at the self-determination quest as the autonomy of Ogoni within the Nigerian context and the third group, looked at MOSOP as a vehicle for political appointments or lucrative contracts from governments and multinational companies.
The first group within MOSOP operates in an amorphous nondescript manner and is located deep within the hoi polio in the enclave. The adrenaline of the hoi polio drives them and rhetorics of environmental degradation, politics of Ogoni Clean up and unseen Shell Petroleum war chest of billions of dollars in remediation efforts that are hanging in the air waiting to be disburse if only Ogoni is self-govern! The presence of this group is visible on sign post located across Ogoni even with a proposed capital at Bori.
The second group which looks at the Ogoni self-determination within the Nigerian context seems be assuaged by the near assimilation or huge concession to Ogoni, economically, socially and political as enough goodwill that reinforced their belief that the struggle has achieved its aim and everyone should move forward. This group calls for democratization of MOSOP, leadership change and the social, economic and political re-engineering of Ogoni.
In the second group is the political class that is effectively competing for office plums in the state and the country at large. These find it anathema having been conceded political space in the state and in the country, to at the same time speak of self-determination. The notion held by this group is what is the contention between the first and second group and so the divergence. Those who hold belief in self-determination within the Nigerian context see MOSOP as no longer a vehicle for the struggle for the survival of Ogoni.
Goodluck Diigbo, President, Ogoni Central Indigenous Authority (OCIA)hold the view that the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) is no longer relevant to the Ogoni struggle as a new phase has opened for the propagation of the goals which the founding fathers of MOSOP set up.
Diigbo was quoted to have said MOSOP has been abolished and should not be patronized. According to him, “MOSOP, having achieved its primary objective, has currently been abolished to pave way for an autonomous body that would oversee the implementation of MOSOP’s demand as a collective concern of the Ogoni people.”
Commenting further, the President of OCIA stated MOSOP is only a vehicle used by the Ogoni people to project their quest for self-government/resource control in Ogoniland. “The fact that the MOSOP’s struggle has been able to bring Ogoni to the limelight, especially as regards the demand for the clean-up as well as other demands to better the lot of the Ogoni people, the agenda of MOSOP is adjudged fulfilled.”
The third group that looked at MOSOP as a vehicle for political appointments or lucrative contracts from governments and multinational companies cannot accept the abolition of MOSOP, which is a ticket to surviving; their definition for self-determination and freedom for the people is not defined.
Perhaps this explained why five factions emerged as MOSOP celebrates the memorable day, January 2019. Be that as it may, it is a truism that Ken Saro Wiwa’s legacy has grown above the narrow interest of Ogoni and cannot crucify on the cross at Golgotha.
Hear the rhetoric in Ogoni as captured by the media: “The injustice against the Ogoni people had destroyed the entire Ogoni nationality and must be confronted and defeated. We have contributed over $100 billion to the Nigerian economy; all of that had been shared by Nigeria and nothing has been invested in Ogoni. We must reverse this trend by demanding self-determination for the Ogoni people and that must be now,” said Fegalo Nsuke, a supposedly newly-elected president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP.
The nightmare is in the dismissal of past gains since the Ogoni campaigns: ”The program (Ogoni CleanUp) was a fraud. It will not benefit the Ogoni people as currently implemented. Companies approved by HYPREP do not represent Ogoni interests except one. This is not acceptable to us as the clean-up is about us, we have paid the price and made all the sacrifices. They must listen to us and not plot to take away our money to Abuja, Lagos and other places.” Nsuke added.
The irk of the New Year was the discordance tunes from Ken’s House when Leborsi Pyagbara, whose tenure as President of MOSOP has expired, 31st December 2018. In a press release about developments in MOSOP said to be contingent on reorganization of the activities of the body; Pyagbara stated: “Following some major re-organisation in the activities and personnel responsibilities of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) particularly with the suspension last week of the Deputy President, Dr. Fortune Chujor and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Fegalo Nsuke respectively, it has become necessary for us to officially inform you that all contacts, enquiries, and undertakings, including transmission and publication of statements/information from any of the MOSOP official/staff be cleared with us.”
The MOSOP President Continued: “Henceforth, any statement or information not issued and duly signed by the MOSOP President or Secretary-General should be discountenanced. MOSOP appreciates all the support and cooperation it has continued to enjoy from you and will not cease to work towards sustaining and improving on such relationships.”
A political observer of trends in Ogoni, Harrison Momo averred that the Ken Saro Wiwa’s brand is now a global brand to be protected by both the Ogonis and non Ogonis. “If the Ogonis cannot manage this legacy, the civil society would get up and seized that legacy from the warring house of Saro Wiwa for generations worthy to inherit it.” Momo said.
