The leaders of Ogoni Kingdom in Rivers State have threatened to take their protest to the streets of Abuja, if the Federal Government fails to implement the United Nations Environmental Assessment (UNEP) report on Ogoni land.
The Ogoni people and their leaders displayed their unity of purpose in a consultative meeting with representatives of the Federal Government in Bori, Ogoni, Rivers State.
The atmosphere was tense and not even a joke from the masters of ceremony could force a smile from the faces of those gathered. And their worry was that Ogoni people have suffered years of health and economic losses.
The Ogoni leaders blamed the Federal Government of neglect, especially in the implementation of the UNEP report released by the United Nations on August 4, 2011.
The Minster of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Danladi Kifasi, said ”its better late than never” as he reaffirmed the Federal Government’s resolve to bring a lasting solution to the plight of the Ogoni people.
On the back of this, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOB, resolved to put the planned protest in Abuja on hold but threatened to resume their agitation if the Federal Government fails to show considerable action in the next one month.
Meanwhile, some of the elders who spoke at the event insisted that the issues must be addressed without politics, as it appears that agitation for environmental justice in the Niger Delta is far from over.
