– Says Nigeria risks “returning Ogoni to 1995”
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has cautioned the Federal Government and oil industry operators against actions that could trigger unrest in Ogoniland, warning that current approaches toward restarting oil production risk “returning Ogoni to the dark days of 1995.”
President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, in a statement said the organisation remains committed to peaceful dialogue and development-focused engagement but accused the government and oil operators of “distorting” ongoing peace efforts and undermining the trust built with the people.
“The immediate consequence of this distortion is a desperation to downplay the core issues raised by the Ogoni people and vehemently push the goal of government to resume oil production, not minding the environmental impacts and attendant consequences on human and mental health,” Nsuke said.
He said while MOSOP’s peace strategy over the past six years had succeeded in mobilising grassroots support, recent government actions appeared to be “state capture” of those efforts, adding that this could reignite discontent in the area.
“We are now witnessing growing discontent from those who laboured, paid unquantifiable sacrifices, and are still bearing the pains and stigma of the repressive years. These protests risk escalation as long as the people’s confidence in the process is less than overwhelming,” he added.
Nsuke warned that renewed pressure to resume oil operations without addressing long-standing grievances could reignite conflict in Ogoniland similar to the crisis that led to the killing of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders in 1995.
“In 2025, we should do all we can not to return to the awful and globally condemned persecution of the Abacha years,” he said. “Returning Ogoni back to 1995 will be a strategic error and could further dampen hopes of a permanent resolution of the conflicts which every reasonable leader seeks.”
He emphasised that the people’s demands go beyond development promises or infrastructure projects, saying justice and self-determination remain central to the Ogoni struggle.
“The crimes against the Ogoni people are not, and will never be so hurriedly forgotten nor overlooked,” Nsuke declared. “The Ogoni people demand justice over their dehumanization, torture and murders due to protests against Shell’s unethical business practices.”
The MOSOP president insisted that true reconciliation would require a public inquiry into past atrocities, punishment for perpetrators, and adequate compensation for victims and their families.
“We cannot so callously underestimate the people’s determination to seek justice for the deaths and torture in state-backed cruelty that senselessly executed an entire leadership of Ogoni and killed an estimated 4,000 people,” he stated.
Nsuke said a sincere resolution must also include political restructuring that recognises Ogoni as a distinct nationality within Nigeria, including the creation of a Bori State, which he described as a key demand in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.
“The starting point of confidence building should be the creation of a Bori State,” Nsuke stressed. “That is central to the Ogoni people and reasonably fulfils our desire to function within Nigeria as a distinct ethnic nationality.”
The MOSOP leader accused oil companies of relying on state protection to suppress dissent and warned that any attempt to use force to restart oil production would backfire.
“The oil industry, as usual, is always comfortable with government backing and never hesitant to deploy the instruments of state violence against the people and rights advocates who question its modus operandi,” he alleged.
He urged the government to adopt a more transparent and inclusive approach, focusing on confidence building rather than coercion.
“Any sincere assessment of the situation in Ogoni will acknowledge that we still need to broaden the dialogue, encourage healing through positive action, and build in more transparency and inclusivity to achieve a win-win situation,” Nsuke said.
Criticising what he described as selective deployment of state power, Nsuke said Nigeria must not continue to exhibit “strength only against unarmed and non-violent Ogoni civil rights actors” while failing to confront armed insurgents elsewhere.
“Nigeria cannot continue to present itself as a country whose strengths can only be seen against the Ogoni people,” he argued. “The show of strength against harmless and non-violent Ogoni civil rights actors cannot be something we should be proud of.”
Nsuke concluded that sustainable peace in Ogoniland would depend on genuine dialogue, environmental justice, and equitable participation in resource governance.
“Averting further physical and psychological pain on the Ogoni people will depend on how we respond to their demands for fair treatment,” he said. “We must not allow a repeat of the debacle of the 1990s.”
