…As Akani charges Ogonis on unity
By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba has rejected the posthummus state pardon granted to late activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni Martyrs.
Okaba who spoke at a one day memorial lecture in remembrance of the fallen heroes of Ogoni organized by the Prince Biira led faction of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP, in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to exonerate the names of the Ogoni nine from the allegations leveled against them and render an unreserved apology to the people of Ogoni ethnic nationality over the extra-judicial killing of their leaders.
The INC President who described Ken Saro-Wiwa as a hero of the Niger Delta struggle said the Ogoni 9 were unjustly executed by the Sani Abacha led Nigerian Military Government in conformity with the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on November 10th, 1995 for speaking the truth.
“The execution of Ken and other Ogoni leaders provoked the entire human rights family.
“If Saro-Wiwa did not speak, maybe we would have all been swallowed. Instead of a pardon, what we demand is an apology from the government”.
Okaba used the medium to call on the Ogonis to unite against external forces if they must achieve the dream of their fallen heroes, warning that the entire struggle would be in vain if they remain divided.
“Ijaw National Congress and the Conference of Ethnic Nationalities of the Niger Delta are interested in a ‘United Ogoniland’, and a focused Niger Delta.
“As a united people, we can do a lot. A united Ogoniland is the dream of Ken Saro-Wiwa.
“I agree with you all that there is one indivisible body, but you must carry everybody along, because the danger of having factions is that the enemies will catch up, particularly in this political dispensation.
“You must stand as one because standing as one is what Ken Saro-Wiwa fought for. These people died because you must be united. They paid a sacred sacrifice that as a people, you must be focused and dedicated and the sacrifice of these heroes would be in vain if the Ogonis remain in tatters,” he said.
In his lecture on ‘The Minority Question and Social Justice in Nigeria; The Ogoni Case, the Guest Lecturer, Eze Chris Akani tasked the leadership of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), on the unity and peace of Ogoniland.
Akani, a senior lecturer in the department of political science at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education said for the sake of the struggle and sacrifice of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other martyrs, the Ogonis must step up to the challenge of providing credible leadership that would ensure sustainable unity and peace in the area.
“The lesson to be gleaned from the Ogoni heroes is that we should be doggedly committed to a cause of the exploited and humanity.
“This occasion (of November 10th) affords us an opportunity to inscribe an epitaph of unity and cohesion in our consciousness.
“You should endeavour now to nurture a leadership that has a historical consciousness, virtue to decipher when to strike and retreat. A leadership that has the vision of a python and with ears keen enough to hear even the soft football of the ant.
“This is the challenge before MOSOP. Without these virtues, social justice for Ogoni people would remain a fleeting illusion”.
Earlier in his address, President of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, Prince Biira maintained that the leadership of MOSOP is intact, stressing that they will work with all to ensure Ogoni is united.
