A SPEECH PRESENTED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANIZATION (CLO) BAYELSA BRANCH, CHIEF(COMRADE) NENGI JAMES ON THE OCCASION OF THE 13TH MEMORIAL OF ODI GENOCIDE ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH,2013 IN ODI TOWN, BAYELSA STATE,NIGERIA PROTOCOL Let me begin by thanking the People of Odi Community for extending an invitation to the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) Bayelsa branch to participate in the commemoration of the 13th Memorial of the invasion and destruction of Odi by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. We recalled with nostalgia 13 years ago as the world watched with trepidation as the then president Obasanjo and his collaborators released federal troops of the Nigerian state to over ran the sleepy Odi community in November 1999, leaving in its wake unimaginable and unprecedented destruction of lives and property, and the attendant gross Human Rights abuses. Suffice it to say that the Odi Genocide still remains a sour reference point in the history of Human Rights abuses in Nigeria. There is a saying that he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. And so, even though we may say we felt or know about what happened to the Odi people when the community was invaded in 1999, no one can feel it more or exactly like the REAL victims of the genocidal action of the Obasanjo ordered solders. Even though Odi was a well known community in Ijawland; it became more popular through the evil that befell the community and its people. And, just as the whole world heard about the great evil the community suffered; so too that ungodly invasion by the Nigerian troops ordered by General Olusegun Obasanjo [rtd] was widely condemned by the local and international community; especially those of the Environmental and Human Rights community. Not only was the invasion uncalled for and utterly condemned, the attack on Odi community was equally done unprofessionally by the Nigerian troops; especially if really the mission was to go in search of some alleged criminals who took refuge in the community after killing some seven policemen. However, the reason for the invasion was something else; the continued rape of the Niger Delta people and their resources. This fact was clearly stated when Nigeria’s Minister of Defence General Theopilus Danjuma addressed the Economic Commission of West African States [ECOWAS] ministerial conference on November 25, 1999. He said: ‘’This Operation HAKURI 11, was initiated with the mandate of protecting lives and property--- particularly oil platforms, flow stations, operating rig terminals and pipelines, refineries and power installations in the Niger Delta [The Guardian, Lagos, November 26,1999]. And, it is recorded that, to carry out this murderous operation, the Nigerian Army assembled an arsenal of: 27 five ton vehicle loaded with over 2,000 troops, 4 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) mounted with machine guns, three 81MM Mortar Guns which were used to shell Odi between 2 p.m November 20, 1999 and 6:00p.m November 21, 1999. Also 2 pieces of 105MM Howitzer Artillery guns used in the shelling of Odi and conventionally equipped machine guns of a combat battalion. As observed by the team of Civil Society groups that visited on December 8, 1999; as captured in the book entitled: A BLANKET OF SILENCE, published by the Environmental Rights Action [ERA], the invasion of Odi by the military was a mission to wipe out the community from the face of the earth as, nothing was spared in the community by the invaders. It was like using a sledge hammer to kill a fly. Yes, because I was also part of the Civil Society groups that visited Odi on December 8, 1999; I know what I personally saw and; I am a witness in that sense. The destruction to lives and property was massive and total. It is in this premise that I thought that, if not Odi; the Human Rights community should have petitioned the United Nations with a view to dragging the mastermind and head of the mass slaughter in Odi, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to answer to the crimes against humanity, GENOCIDE. While the above is still possible, it was gratifying to note that Odi finally did the needful when it instituted a lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. More gratifying is the fact that justice was on our side and judgment was delivered in favour of the Odi People. This years’ memorial is a moment of sober retrospection of the ordeal of injustice the people of this kingdom has endured these past years vis -a-vis the attitude of the Nigerian state towards the full recovery and integration of the people. It is provoking and unacceptable that despite the various landmark judiciary victories recorded by the Odi people against the subversive Government of the Nigerian state and its agencies, justice has continued to be delayed, and justice delayed is justice denied. Instructively, the judgments is a clear vindication of Odi, Gbaramatu ,Odioma, and other communities in the Ijaw Niger Delta that the invasion and destruction of these communities were flagrant violation of Article 3 and 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. This was also echoed by Justice Lamdo Akanbi of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, when in his landmark ruling berated the Nigerian government for the , “brazen violation of the fundamental Human Rights of the victims to movement, life, and to own property and live peacefully in their ancestral home.” We therefore demand the immediate compliance of the Nigerian government and its agencies with the judgments of the courts and stop the machination of road blocks to delay the execution of justice. It is the duty of the state and its institutions to safeguard the Rule of Law and harmony in the society. However the perversion of justice with impunity by these entities leaves much to be desired. It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Today we are on the side of the oppressed and we are here to empathize and show solidarity with the people of Odi because as Martin Luther Jr. noted, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ In history, the struggle for a noble cause has never been a jolly smooth ride, rather it is a long tortuous path paved with pebbles. Nevertheless, we must consistently fight and engage the oppressors for our Rights. In the face of daunting challenges, let us not be weary or lost focus in the struggle for justice. The Ijawland, the Odi community and indeed the entire Niger Delta cannot afford to sweep the military attack on Odi under the carpet or forget it in a hurry.The sad and unfortunate event is now part of our annals; not only should this be adequately captured in the literatures of Human Rights groups and the conventional media, the academia; especially students of history must not fail to see the obvious need for recording and wide circulation. On the part of the Odi community, I wish to urge that this story of invasion and abiding resilience should become part of our social events and family reviews. The subject matter should be told again and again so that even generations unborn will hear the undiluted truth of how those who ought to protect them turned around to be the very ones to attack them. This is very pertinent because Justice is justice and what is bad is bad, no matter who is involved. And, it is for the common good because, even if our own son or daughter becomes the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; we would not support such an act to be meted on other communities; on innocent law abiding citizens. While all acts of criminality are condemned; the authorities should always ensure that the military and other security agencies live by the ethics of their professional callings; as the military invasion of Odi obviously lacked professionalism in approach. And, that is why it still stands condemned. We therefore call on all Human Rights groups, Activists, and other professionals to come together and put on machinery in motion to effect the prosecution of former President Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd) and his collaborators at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We also urged the State Government to contribute its quota to the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Odi and declare the community as a Special Development Area as a deliberate and sincere effort towards the re-integration of the PeopleLet us draw inspiration from the words of the Romanian-American novelist Elie Wiesel who wrote: “There are times we are powerless to prevent injustice but there must never be a time when we should fail to protest injustice.” Let us also be comforted that any evil done by man to man must certainly be redressed, if not now, later, if not by man by God for the power of evil over good can only be temporal. Thank you for listening and God Bless us all. SIGNED: Chief (Comrade) Nengi James CHAIRMAN
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:38:42 +0000
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