The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People has given the conditions that can lead to drilling of oil in Ogoni land.
MOSOP made the position known during its congress and rally which was held over the weekend at the Gokana Central Field in Bera, Ogoni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
President of the movement, Mr Fegalo Nsuke noted during his address that the Ogoni Bill of Rights mandates MOSOP to make “representations on behalf of the Ogoni people as long as injustices continue.
Unlike other areas in the Niger Delta, oil operations were suspended in Ogoniland in the early 1990s due to disruptions from local public unrest. The oil fields and installations have remained largely dormant. Protesting against oil spills and devastation of their land; between 1976 and 1991, over two million barrels of oil polluted Ogoniland in 2,976 separate oil spills
Then after many years of litigation Ogoni people got justice as the multinational oil company, Shell Petroleum Company, agreed to pay N45.9 billion for the losses suffered as a result of oil spills that ravaged their communities. The Federal Government recently commissioned a project for the clean -up of Ogoni land
The injustices which led to the struggle according to Mr. Fegalo included absence of basic amenities such as roads, potable water, housing, hospitals among others, adding that Ogoni people will not accept any option that does not consider the position of MOSOP on Ogoni oil, given the inputs it has made during the struggle that chased Shell out of Ogoni land.
He said that the Ogoni Development Authority should be “operationalized”, meaning that 20 percent of the resources that comes out of Ogoni land should be committed to development in Ogoni land, adding that the resources will go into a trust fund that will be managed by a third-party asset management firm that briefs the people regularly on how the money is put to use.
According to the MOSOP President, “we want Ogoni Development Authority to be operationalized, and in the interest of Ogoni in that trust will take equity in any company that is coming to drill oil in Ogoni.
Mr. Fegalo explained further that the third-party asset management firm “will map the entire Ogoni land, and design development, so we know where there will be the electricity generating plant, sewage management, road networks, hospitals, schools, factories and companies that will create jobs.”
