Ogoni autonomy, illegitimate —Amaechi .• No comment —Labaran Maku •

Ogoni autonomy, illegitimate —Amaechi .• No comment —Labaran Maku • Nigeria needs bold leaders —Jang

Written by Bolaji Ogundele and Christian Okeke Sunday, 05 August 2012

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The Rivers State government has described the declaration of autonomy by the Goodluck Diigbo-led faction of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) for the Ogoni region of Rivers State as a treasonable felony.
But the self-styled President and Spokesman of the MOSOP, Dr Diigbo, has continued to insist the move for self-governance by his people was long overdue, citing the indigenous rights of the people.
Rivers State governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, speaking on Friday at the Forum of the Federated Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State chapter, said the declaration was not achievable in the Nigerian system.
According to the governor, the champion of the declaration, Diigbo, would not stand to canvass his idea. He added that going after him for arrest would not be necessary as he would flee from  Nigeria’s response to his call.
“On Ogoni autonomy, I wish them well. Ogoni autonomy is not achievable. The man (Diigbo) who declared Ogoni autonomy will run into the bush tomorrow morning.
“What Diigbo is doing is treasonable felony. You do not declare autonomy on the pages of newspapers and magazines or on radio and television,” Amaechi said.
Diigbo adamant
Maintaining his stance on the self-governance agenda, Diigbo noted that Ogoni people’s rights had been tampered with for long and that this was one of the reasons for the move
Speaking in another statement circulated in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Diigbo said the new approach would afford Ogoni people access to how they were governed and who governed them.
“The urgency behind the declaration is that self-government for Ogoni is overdue in view of many important issues bordering on indigenous rights of the Ogoni people being tampered with now. The UNEP Ogoni Report is one out of many,” Diigbo explained.
He stated further that: “The Ogoni declaration of self-government now guarantees the Ogoni people the right to participate in decision-making in all matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by the Ogoni in accordance with our procedures, as well as to maintain and develop all our own indigenous decision-making institutions, which we started to set up since 2011.
“It is my hope that this self-government will help to provide just and fair redress to decades of deprivation of our indigenous rights.
“Importantly, Ogoni can no longer accept dictation. Any institution, government or corporation interested in investment in Ogoni will enjoy transparent partnership, because we will end corruption and irresponsive governance in Ogoni.
“This means partnership will be based on free, pair and informed consent before any of our partners adopt and implement any project, and before the national government adopt any legislative or administrative measures that may affect Ogoni people.”
It would be recalled, however, that the mainstream MOSOP, led by the chairman of the MOSOP Provisional Council (MPC), Professor Ben Naanem, has dissociated Ogoni people from the declaration by the Diigbo-led group.
A statement sent out on Friday, signed by Naanem and secretary of the MPC, Dr. Meshach Karanwi, also said there was no more than one MOSOP, widely known and accepted by all Ogoni people and that it was led by Professor Naanem.
FG keeps mum
Efforts by Sunday Tribune to get the Federal Government's reaction to the declaration on Friday proved abortive.
On Saturday, Sunday Tribune, again, sought a reaction from the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, at an event to commemorate the 70th birthday of Air Commodore Dan Suleiman in Abuja, but he merely said “no comment.”
Failure of relevant authorities to make official comment on the matter stemmed from the fact that they were yet unable to reach President Goodluck Jonathan, who was away on an official assignment, to get clearance from him, it was gathered on Saturday.
A source told Sunday Tribune in confidence that the fact that the president was away was making going public somewhat complicated.
The source was emphatic that there was no way the minister could rush to the press without getting to talk with the president first and get proper briefing on what to say.
According to the source, the fact that the president is from the South-South zone where the declaration was made was another major factor.
Sunday Tribune had planned to also find out from Mr Maku if the government was already contemplating sending troops to Ogoniland to suppress the secessionists, especially as unconfirmed report had it that Bori, the headquarters of the Ogoni people, has been put under tension since Tuesday, 31 July, by groups of young men armed with automatic rifles and other weapons.
Jang canvasses bold leadership
Meanwhile, governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, told Sunday Tribune at the birthday event that Nigeria needed leaders who could take decisions, adding that the present crop of leaders should learn from past leaders.
"I pray that the present leaders should learn from past leaders; learn from their steadfastness and their contributions to national growth.

SOURCE: Sunday Tribune, 5 August 2012. http://tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php