Years after forcefully chasing Anglo–Dutch oil giants; Shell away from its land, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) last week vowed that it would resist present moves by the federal government to return the oil company.
MOSOP which spoke through its information officer, Mr. Bari-ara Kpalap declared that the people of Niger Delta would non-violently resist current moves by the Government to parley Shell and facilitate its re-entry into Ogoni land.
The statement expressed deep condemnation for the government ‘s alleged overtures to the oil giant and insisted that the agreement was unacceptable to its people.
According to the group, Shell was being arranged to operate as a silent ‘silent partner’ in deviance to MOSOP’s agitation to end the presence of the oil company in Ogoniland.
MOSOP expressed disappointment that the federal government had suddenly started showing unseriousness in its resolve to end the Niger Delta crises in general and bring lasting peace to Ogoniland in particular.
“Our expectation had been that the government would consult the Ogoni leadership on a new operator to enhance recommencement of oil production in the area rather than seemingly rooting for a failed process of retaining Shell in our land.”
“Coming at a time when the Ogoni people have built renewed confidence and had been dwelling on prospects of the future, we are left with no other conclusion than that government has not broken with the past and determined to undermine peace in Ogoni, which it claims to foster as well as provocatively assaulting our collective sensibility.
Accusing government of using its security apparatuses to forcefully bring Shell into Ogoni, the group disclosed that it “had last week alerted on efforts by Shell to provoke our people through a deliberate attempt to commence oil activities in Ogoni under the protective shield of heavily armed security operatives and local thugs wanted by the police for multiple murders and kidnapping, yet the government has maintained a worrisome silence on the matter.
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