Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has petitioned President Bola Tinubu over the alleged selective approach by the consultative team set up by Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to interface with all facets of Ogoni society for possible oil resumption.
President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, who signed the petition said the team was avoiding the Ogoni Development model outlined by the MOSOP, which prescribed the operationalisation of the Ogoni Development Authority (ODA).
He accused the NSA’s team, comprising mainly of political appointees of seeking to set aside a unanimous decision of the MOSOP Central Committee of September 27, 2020 and a MOSOP Congress decision of November 30, 2024, which endorsed the ODA as an acceptable pathway to resolve the Ogoni problem through the resumption of oil production.
He said the team was not discussing development, rather, “they were seeking to manipulate people to achieve a predetermined goal,” adding that “the NSA’s oil resumption campaigners were politicians too afraid to speak the truth to their current paymasters and were sitting on both sides of the table to manipulate the process for personal goals.”
The MOSOP president urged President Tinubu to intervene in the situation immediately to forestall any conflicts that could arise between the local people and the manipulative tendencies of the allies of the NSA.
“At this time, we want President Tinubu to intervene and ensure that the trust of the people is not eroded to the point where they become resistant. The president’s intervention is necessary at this time to forestall any possible crises that could be triggered by a resistance and to ensure that the process succeeds with the alignment of the people.
“It is important to note that when we talk about the Ogoni struggle, it was driven by the people and not the politicians who are now seeking to hijack the process and shut down a people-based development plan that has an overwhelming embrace. These rural community dwellers need protection and assurance of their future and not the seemingly directionless talks going on with the NSA’s team.
“When people are oppressed, it is absolutely right and natural for them to seek justice and to resist such oppression. However, such resistance must be conducted peacefully.
“Mr. President, as a father of the nation, you deserve our truth at all times. And the truth we want to tell you at this point is that the NSA team members do not have the backing of the Ogoni people, and as such, they are scared of talking directly to the people.
“Virtually all of them have an interest in one oil company or the other that they plan to project for oil drilling when the time comes. But, Ogoni people will definitely resist them because they don’t have any good plans for the people.”
Nsuke frowned at the current approach of the NSA’s team, describing it as repressive and coercive. He alleged that some members of the NSA’s team have issued threats against civil society activists, warning that such threats were not healthy for a society that has been the harbinger of human rights struggles.