For the Ogonis, 4th January is a day of great significance. It comes to rekindles the freedom and liberty they won on January 4th, 1993.
As 2020 birthed, the people of Ogoni as usual gathered to commemorate 4th January in renewal of their commitment to continue to protect and jealously guard their freedom and rights.
In his address on the occasion, the president of MOSOP, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara noted that the commemoration was to bear witness to the enduring strength and resilience of Ogoni people.
“We recall that what binds us as a people in this generation is our abiding fidelity to the ideas of our forebears and our total allegiance to our declaration, the Ogoni Bill of Right. What makes us exceptional is that our struggle like every struggle founded and prosecuted on the twin pillars of truth and non-violence must continue to be the enduring alternative to the condemned face of violence,” he noted.
Chronicling his administration’s achievements since 2013, he expressed happiness that the UNEP Report is implemented during his time adding that the banner on the long forgotten issue of Ogoni representation was raised as well as the launch of the Ogoni Political Justice Campaign.
“We may not have arrived at our anticipated destination but we succeeded in raising a consciousness about this that has never before witnessed in the history of our land. We promised that Ogoni natural resources can only be exploited when a proper framework is put in place. In furtherance of that objective, we have launched an Ogoni Template for Sustainable Extractive Sector Investment in Ogoniland,” he informed.
He, however, acknowledged that like every human entity, MOSOP is not immune to challenges and conflicts as what stands it out is ability to resolve it’s challenges and move past it’s differences for the sake of Ogoniland.
He called on Ogoni people to unite like never before and desist from playing politics with the issues of Ogoni people but to subsume individual interests under the collective interest of Ogoni people.
