Stakeholders from Ogoni land have rejected the offer by the federal government to pardon the late environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed alongside eight other Ogoni sons by the military regime of Sani Abacha.
Recall President Muhammadu Buhari had during a recent visit by a delegation of Ogoni leaders in the presidential villa, promised to consider the granting of pardon to the nine Ogoni sons in the spirit of national healing.
Addressing journalists while marking the remembrance of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others who were executed on 21st May 1994, Pioneer President Federation of Ogoni Women Association and Member Uniting MOSOP Forum, Queen Georgiana Tenalo, said it will be morally and legally wrong to grant pardon to men who were executed for a crime they never committed.
She urged President Buhari to take a clue from the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that declared former President Olusegun Obasanjo innocent after being unjustly convicted of coup plotting in 1995 by the Abacha regime, accompanied with an apology to the Ogoni people, compensation to all the affected families, and national recognition of the roles of the martyrs.
“MOSOP commends President Mohammadu Buhari for recognizing that the hangings of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others on November 10, 1995, for alleged complicity in the death of four Ogoni leaders on May 21, 1994, was barbaric and inhuman.
“However, we need to categorically state that the President’s intention to pardon Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others is uncalled for because their trial and conviction were flawed and their hangings unjust.
“The perceived sin of these innocent men was drawing the attention of the International Community and Nigerians to the deplorable living conditions of the Ogoni people and the devastation of our land caused by decades of reckless oil exploration and exploitation by Shell oil.
“We, therefore, call on President Mohammadu Buhari to exonerate these innocent men. Pardoning them for crimes they never committed is morally and legally wrong. We urge the President to take a clue from the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that declared former President Olusegun Obasanjo innocent after being unjustly convicted of coup plotting in 1995 by the Abacha regime. More importantly, the exoneration of these patriots must be followed by an apology to the Ogoni people, compensation to all the affected families, and national recognition of the roles of our martyrs in the political development of Nigeria.
“We therefore demand that the Ogoni nine (9) who were wrongfully accused and innocently murdered be exonerated and immortalized, and November 10 should be declared a public holiday in Nigeria.”
The Queen of Ogoniland, however, reiterated that the Ogonis have reaffirmed their stand on the Ogoni Bill of Right as to reawaken the World to their plights, while demanding that every Oil exploration in their land must be done according to the UNEP report standard in unity of the people.
“WE, THE PEOPLE OF OGONI, a separate and distinct ethnic nationality within the Federal Republic of Nigeria, RECALL that we presented THE OGONI BILL OF RIGHTS (OBR) (hereby attached) in November 1990 to the Government and People of Nigeria.
“But as of October 2, 2021, marking Thirty-one (31) years after the OBR was presented, the Federal Government of Nigeria HAVE NOT CONSIDERED implementing any item demanded AS OF RIGHT in the presented Bill.
“Pursuant to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s resolve to treat the OBR with disdain and ignominy, and noting that today, the 2nd Day of October 2021, is set aside by the United Nations (UN) as INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NON-VIOLENCE, we the People of Ogoni (Babbe, Gokana, Eleme, Ken Khana, Nyo Khana, and Tai) numbering about 1,500,000 being a distinct ethnic nationality within the Federal Republic of Nigeria, do hereby REAFFIRM OUR STAND on the OBR to reawaken the World to our plight to avoid Ogoni extinction. Therefore, we DECLARE as follows:
“THAT SHELL, including other multinational and indigenous oil companies, remain Persona-Non-Grata in Ogoniland; NO INDIVIDUAL, Group or Oganization presently has our mandate to negotiate the return of Shell, or any other oil and gas company, to Ogoni without first ensuring that the cardinal demands of the Ogoni People as enshrined in the OBR are peacefully and favourably discussed for possible implementation;
“OGONI CLEAN-UP should be given legal status by making the controlling institution – HYPREP – a product of an Act of the National Assembly (NASS) and be made an autonomous agency free from the administrative manacle of the Federal Ministry of Environment. In addition, the emergency phase of the clean-up project should be prioritized, as a matter of urgency, in strict adherence to the recommendations of UNEP.
” ANY CONTEMPLATION and ATTEMPT to embark on OIL RESUMPTION in Ogoniland without prior, free, fair and informed consent vis-a-vis concrete documented guarantee of the RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL for Ogoni people to operate the mineral assets within Ogoniland is a journey to the middle of nowhere; and we must avoid the unachievable.
“WE MAKE THE ABOVE DEMANDS in the belief that as Obafemi Awolowo has written and as supported by various instruments of the United Nations and the Charter of Rights of the African People, all of them Nigeria being signatories.
“In a true Federation, each ethnic group no matter how small is entitled to the same treatment as any other ethnic group, no matter how large.
“WE THEREFORE REAFFIRM our demand for these rights as equal members of the Nigerian Federation, who are contributing immensely to the growth of the Federation and have a right to expect full returns from the Federation.
“CONSEQUENTLY, our earlier adopted OGONI BILL OF RIGHTS on August 26, 1990, at Bori, Rivers State, is hereby REAFFIRMED on October 2, 2021, at Bori, Rivers State of Nigeria.”
