True to his word Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, returned to the same spot in Bori Ogoniland yesterday, a week after hoodlums disrupted his rally, shooting into the crowd and vehicles in his convoy. He took swipes at the Police Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Mbu, for encouraging the militants to take up arms against the people. ”The same people (militants) we chased away with the military are back to our state, fuelled by a man called Mbu and his cohorts in Abuja. “They do not mind that your lives are important. They want to sacrifice your lives just to earn the office of presidency and the office governorship,” Amaechi told his supporters at Saints’ Anglican Church premises. He berated an ex-militant who was said to have masterminded last week’s shooting. ”In 2007, this territory (Ogoni) belonged to one man called Solomon. I learnt he came to shoot here (Bori). Nobody could gather. Police could not even gather here. They were being shot at. I bought for the police 7 APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers). They were afraid,” he said. This time, the rally organised by Save Rivers Movement (SRM) was peaceful with armed policemen providing security in and around the area. He wondered why the federal government was reluctant to release the $1billion recommended for the cleaning up of Ogoniland by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He said the release of the funds would have transformed the four local government areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme. “UNEP finished all it needed to go and recommended that spend at least $1 billion in the cleanup of Ogoni and the development of Ogoni people,” Amaechi said. He added: “Have you seen the $1 billion (from the federal government) and they want you to vote for them? It will be a foolish man that will vote for the person, who denies you your rights. “ÜNEP asked Federal government to spend $1billion in Ogoni to change things, they said no. $49.8 billion is missing. If they say $49.8 billion is not missing, let them tell us where the money is. Let them publish. It is in their pocket.” “Without the UNEP report, the federal government cannot develop Ogoni. You are all suffering. You cannot fish. You cannot farm because your land is polluted.” He charged the Ogoni and the people of the state to stand up to whoever might want to harass or intimidate them for political gains. He said that by resisting oppression, the people would be forcing their oppressors to initiate peace. The governor went on: “I do not want to come back to Ogoni to hear that you were shattered. I do not want you to take the law into your own hands but I want you to make sure that nobody shoots at you. “They (gun-wielding militants) are all human beings. They are not ghosts. They are neither angels nor devil. They are human beings like you. If a man slaps you and gets away with it, tomorrow, he will come back. “The history of Ogoni is replete with struggle. They killed Ken Saro-Wiwa (during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995).Is the struggle over? “The man said you might take away my life but you would not take away the idea. You can kill the messenger, not the message. The idea of the liberation of the Ogoni people, is it not still on? I have been part of that idea.” He dismissed politicians fighting him, especially leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as hungry people, saying that his new party the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the fastest-growing political party in the country today and is prepared to transform Nigeria forever. He said: “PDP claims to be the biggest party in Nigeria. APC is the fastest -growing party in Nigeria. Then, there was no ACN, no CPC, only PDP in Rivers State. Now, they have seen another party, why are they afraid? “Why are they fighting? Why are they shooting? Why are they using policemen? They should allow voting to take place.” In a solidarity message from his sick bed abroad, Senator Magnus Abe, who was shot by the police at an earlier rally described the massive turnout at yesterday’s rally, as a proof that violence cannot subdue the spirit of a free people. Abe, an Ogoni, who monitored the inauguration and rally from London, noted that the successful hosting of the event in the face of threats and intimidation was a confirmation that the principle of non-violence with which Ogoni heroes fought the then federal military government and multinational corporations was still the best weapon. He praised Amaechi for his courage and exemplary commitment to Ogoni course, saying: “the governor was ready to take the first bullet for Ogoni. His courage, doggedness and commitment to truth continue to justify the decision of true Rivers people to stand with him in the defence of our state.”
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:09:53 +0000
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