No. 69, Kenule Street, Bori
4thJanuary 2015.
All
Protocol duly observed
22ND
OGONI DAY CELEBRATION, 2015
I
count it a rare great privilege to address you here today, the 4th
of January, 2015. It is Ogoni Day. Recognized by the United Nations for the
Indigenous Ogoni People; to evaluate our estate and take some bold steps to
confront our tormentors, assess our destiny and encourage ourselves to move
beyond the subnormal standard of living, which the government and people of
Nigeria have confined Ogoni since “independence”.
You
would recall that on August 2nd last year, I reminded us of what
Jephthah said in Judges 12 verse 3: - Ogoni has watched Nigeria and her leaders
to see that they will not help us, therefore we have taken our own destiny in
our hands, and have crossed over against the people of Ammon. It gives me great
joy that we are not one of those who “sitdownlook”
and get up to stage a shameful protest. We believe we have a challenge that
must be confronted headlong. We believe that until you strike the honeycomb,
the honey will not come out.
I
hereby challenge all those who think that the UN’s Declaration for Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is mere paper work that should be swept under the
carpet, to tell us that today is of no significance in our history. I make bold
to appreciate the United Nations (of which Nigeria is part) for putting
together series of Resolutions and Laws that are binding on every member State.
It
is my pleasure to announce to you, that MOSOP and the Ogoni struggle has moved
beyond where Ken left off, since Dr. Goodluck Diigbo took over, as
President/Spokesman in 2009. Ogoni has successfully conducted a REFERENDUM, well publicized and is
acceptable to the UN. (2). Nigeria and the UN now know that “You
can kill the messenger but cannot kill the message.” That is what
happened on August 2, 2012; 17 years after the murder of Ken
Saro-Wiwa and eight others. What was left of MOSOP and the Ogoni was “Ogoni Day
Celebration” when government officials come and rebuke us for hoisting our flag
or singing our solidarity song; “November 10 Commemoration” with speeches and
empty talks. Here, we talk and follow up with concrete actions. In 2014 alone,
so many actions have been taken, all to revamp the struggle back on
course. We are expecting the final of
final to be announced here today or whenever the President deems it fit.
My
sincere thanks and appreciation to EVERYONE. Your supports have taken us this
far. Skeptics and onlookers are hereby encouraged to urgently jump on the train.
I
want to end my speech by apologizing to the entire Ogoni on behalf of OGEPA
(Ogoni Environmental Protection Agency) for the rumor making the rounds, that
UNEP Report is about to be implemented. There is a new dawn, and Ogoni
environment will be cleaned, but in an acceptable manner, which will benefit everyone.
We have said it several times that, the Report by Mike Cowing, was cooked and
served on Ogoni by Rivers State govt, in collaboration with few individuals.
The literature is OK but the said tests and samples need some verification;
before any implementation. UNEP itself is convinced that this Report is faulty.
Therefore to correct that, Ogonis must subject the Report through (1). DUE
PROCESS, (2). NEUTRAL and IMPARTIAL, (3). INTEGRITY tests, and (4). RECONCILE
WITH WORLD BANK EIA POLICY, UNEP PROCEDURES and NIGERIAN GOVT REGULATIONS. Then,
we are ready for clean-up. Anything short of that, we are in for sweeping Ogoni
environment or window-dressing and not clean-up.
On
this note, I assure Ogoni people everywhere to embrace the Ogoni Central
Indigenous Authority (OCIA) as the vehicle for our FREEDOM and emancipation,
now.
Thank
you all for your time.
JOHN LAR-WISA
Administrator,
OGEPA;
ONLA
Leader (Elect)
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