Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, the “Ogoni Four,” were awarded posthumously as the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by Bola Tinubu, president.
When the Ogoni Consultation Committee’s report arrived at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, he made the announcement.
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After decades of division, the President urged the Ogoniland population to embrace cohesion and unity.
“May our memories of them continue to inspire us to work together, with courage, and purpose.” At the meeting, Tinubu urged the Ogoni people to join forces across all classes, communities, and generations to end this tumultuous chapter and move on as a one-sided community.
He assured stakeholders that his administration would support Ogoniland’s efforts to achieve peace, environmental restoration, and economic revival while also facilitating the area’s return to oil exploration.
The Ogoni communities’ overwhelming support for the resumption of oil production encourages me.
The government will use “every resource” to aid your people in their march toward shared prosperity, he continued.
Oil exploration is supported by the president
Tinubu made note of the previous administration’s decision to transfer the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its joint venture partners in 2022, adding that his government would follow through on that decision.
Therefore, the President ordered Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA, to begin negotiations with the Ogoni people, NNPCL, its partners, and all relevant stakeholders before the start of operation.
In 1993, ongoing protests against environmental degradation and injustice led to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution and the execution of eight other activists in Ogoniland.
A dead asset is not valuable to the people, the country, or the community. The President urged the Minister of Environment to include pollution remediation and environmental recovery in the wider context of dialogue with the populace, while also directing the Minister of Environment to do the same. “The worse it is for everyone, the worse it is for us.
Let’s work together to make the suffering beneath Ogoni’s soil a blessing for both the people and Nigeria, Tinubu said.
Committee Report
Don Baridam, the Dialogue Committee’s chairman, stated that the committee ensured that all parties involved in the process were engaged in, noting that the report reflects the Ogoni people’s collective will.
According to Baridam, a professor, the report satisfies the people’s demands for a framework for sustainable development, renewed environmental protection, and structured participation in oil production.
Prior to the Committee’s report, the NSA claimed that local communities, traditional leaders, and the diaspora had been involved in the consultation process.
He emphasized that returning Ogoniland to its former state of neglect and conflict was not just about submitting a report.
