Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has called for a better relationship between prospective drilling companies and their host communities. MOSOP said this will improve the management of community discontent before they degenerate into conflicts and public protests which sometimes disrupt operations in the Ogoniland. President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke who was reacting to the news of protests against companies in recent times especially last week’s protest by the Eleme people at the Port Harcourt Refinery, said most of what turned out into lockdowns and shutdowns could have been easily resolved through peaceful engagement.
Nsuke said on Sunday in a statement that the failure of companies to exploit existing opportunities for dialogue have led to a breakdown of relations between them and communities thereby causing huge productivity losses. He also advised companies against the orientation that people can be abused and suppressed perpetually with the instruments of state, noting that it gets to a point where it becomes unbearable and the people must act. “Companies must disabuse the long-held orientation that communities can always be defeated by the force of state. There is always a set time for freedom when all chains of oppression must be broken. Dialogue remains our best option and I will encourage corporate organisations to make the best use of peaceful methods to resolve issues rather than allowing them to degenerate into confrontations” Nsuke said.
He also charged the Ogoni people, especially the youths, to resist violence in the face of provocations, noting that violence has never produced anything good. “I understand that our society has largely enthroned violence in normal social settings and in government, all in desperation to win elections. However, we must all preach peace and development to address these anomaly. The government has a big role to play in addressing these problems. Government must advance and protect the rights of citizens through legislation and ensure that repressive strategies are discouraged because when the people are eventually pushed to the wall, they will fight back and the consequences can be unpredictable”
Recall that last week, the people of Eleme Kingdom in Ogoni, mainly youths, protested at the gates of the Port Harcourt Refinery in Alesa Eleme local government area of Rivers state over neglect and unemployment. While the MOSOP president justified the protest against oppression and denial of Rights, he stated that communities should never be tired of rising against injustice. “When the people realise that they have been cheated and denied their rights, a day must come when they rise to reclaim those tights and no amount of state powers can stop them”, Nsuke said.
