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OGELE CLUB

International address- P.O.Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA.  Email: ogeleclub@aol.com

UK40 Gordon Road, Ilford, IG1 1SP

 

8 March 2006

 

THE UK REPORT: A BRIEF SUMMARY

 

On Tuesday we continued our determination to persuade the International Community to intervene in the Niger Delta and restrain the government of Nigeria from furthering its economic exploitation and ecological warfare on the Ijaws and other Niger Delta nationalities. As well as to prevent the Nigerian authorities from using her military forces to:

  • Continuously invade Ijaw communities
  • Incessantly kill Ijaws openly, secretly and extra-judiciously
  • Commit pogrom on the Ijaw people
  •   Put a stop to the vandalisation of oil facilities and kidnapping of oil workers. 

We took our protest to the offices of the British Prime Minister, Hon Tony Blair; the Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon Jack Straw; the British Parliament; the European Union; the Secretary General of the Commonwealth; and the Representative of the United Nation in the United Kingdom.

 

Key Officials at the above offices warmly received the Delegation. Short but very meaningful discussions took place and the petitions were presented. Officials at 10 Downing Street, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Parliament and the European Union, thanked the Delegation for the ‘well documented petition with relevant supporting data’. The Officials promised that the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and President of the EU respectively would get back to the delegation, given the importance of the Niger Delta in world affairs.

 

The British Police, though very co-operative, had insisted on restricting the number of persons to enter each of the above offices to six. The Police banned the use of placards, cameras and other electronic communication devices in the Prime Minister’s Office.

 

 In accordance with the British Police directives, six persons were selected from Ogele Club International, Ijaw Peoples’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland [IPA], Bayelsa State Union and Ijaw Youth Council International [IYC] to deliver the petitions and tell the Ijaw story to the International community. This honourable task lasted about six hours. The heavens opened up and the task was done in heavy rain to bless the mission.

 

With mission accomplished, Phase 1 of this campaign in the UK came to conclusion. Phase 2 will involve placard-carrying, massive peaceful demonstrations and hunger strikes if there is no favourable response to the petitions within a reasonable time.

We call upon every Ijaw persons to fast and pray between now and the time period we expect a response to the petitions.

 

The news has it that the Federal Government is making further plans to invade Ijaw communities with its weapons of mass destruction – submarines, gunboats, shells, and bombs – in the pretence of searching for ‘militants’ [Punch 7/3/2006], and the House of Representatives Committee on Defence had told the military ‘to move in with the might conferred on it by the government and route out the miscreants’ [THISDAY 8/3/2006]. This is a ploy to further destroy Ijaw communities and kill more of us. The Government used the same excuse to wipe out Odi in 1999, and made Odioma desolate in 2005. The urgency for the International Community to intervene cannot be over-emphasised.

 

We must not relent in our efforts as the International Community had intervened in similar crises in other parts of the world. Initial silence by the International Community caused deteriorating human rights, massacres and environmental abuses in these crises. Ours should not be allowed to deteriorate to such levels.

 

What we want the International Community to do is stated in our petition, which include:

  1. Sending an independent team to investigate all the killings, maiming, looting, destruction and other human right abuses by government forces in the Ijaw area
  2. Conduct a referendum to ascertain the aspirations and desires of the Ijaw people and other Niger Delta peoples
  3. Order the Nigerian government to withdraw its forces of occupation from the Ijaw area
  4.  Declare the Ijaw area a protectorate of the UN until all the issues of natural resources ownership and management have been acceptably determined
  5. Establish and supervise a dialogue process between the Ijaws and the government of Nigeria

 

Finally, we appeal to all Ijaws in Europe and North America to reach out to their Parliamentarians, Congressmen and women and Senators to tell the Ijaw experience in Nigeria.

 

FELIX TUODOLO

Coordinating

Tel: + 44 [0] 7762814461

Email: okusbaba@yahoo.co.uk

 

NB: We do apologize to all those who turned up enthusiastically at Trafalgar Square this afternoon despite the rain but were not selected for the movement. Thanks, this is the spirit. Your time will come soon. We shall bring you report from the USA and Republic of Ireland later.

 

Attached are some of the pictures from Tuesday.

 


OGELE CLUB
Nigeria - P.O.Box 11384, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Tel: 08034746918.
International address- P.O.Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA.  Email: ogeleclub@aol.com

 

TO:                                                                                                 20 FEBRUARY 2006

 

1. THE SECRETARY GENERAL

UNITED NATIONS
1ST AVENUE AT 46TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10017
 
2. THE PRESIDENT

EUROPEAN UNION

1049 BRUSSELS
BELGIUM
 
3.PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 
4. PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR
PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
 
5. PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC
PRESIDENT OF FRANCE
 
6. PRIME MINISTER JONICHIRO KOIZUMI
PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN
 
7. CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
CHANCELLOR OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
 
Sir,
 
Niger Delta: The Need for Immediate and Urgent International Intervention
May we, on the mandate of the over twelve [12] million Ijaw people, once more draw your attention to the despicable situation in the Ijaw territory of Nigeria and request your urgent intervention before an entire tribe is annihilated from the surface of the earth. As you are reading this appeal, the situation is becoming an admix of that of Darfur and Iraq, where several persons are being openly and secretly killed, people thrown into detention without trial, property is being looted, communities being invaded and destroyed by soldiers occupying the entire breath and length of the Ijaw territory in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria; and some elements of weak resistance by some local groups engaged in kidnapping of oil-workers and destruction of oil-facilities.
 
Some of these events you may never see in the news. There have been progressively intensifying air raids; with shelling and mortaring of Ijaw communities by the government forces. Four Ijaw communities - Perezouweikoregbene, Seitorububo, Olapogbene and Seingbene - were almost wiped out between February 16 and 19, 2006 (an average of one community per day).  Many people have been made homeless and have become refugees in other communities [Appendices 3, 4, and 5]. In addition, nine oil-workers were kidnapped and unknown persons have destroyed several oil facilities on Saturday 17 February 2006 [Appendix 7]. This is the second episode of hostage taking and damaging of oil facilities this year, and it reveals a new dangerous dimension by local people to defend themselves. These new strategies adopted by some groups in the region are the results of decades of deafening silence by the International Community to the injustice, oppression, marginalisation, deprivation and environmental devastation going on in the Ijaw area. The time for international intervention to stem further escalation is now.
 
There is a silent war going on - for air raids, land invasion, mortaring and shelling of communities cannot be described otherwise. The Nigerian government has continued to deploy increasing number of troops and weapons of war to the Ijaw territory. The raids on the Ijaw communities have not ceased either, although President Obasanjo had just given a temporary order to stop the raid on Ijaw communities. That is a clear evidence of the fact that extra-judicial killings have been taking place in the Ijaw territory [Appendix 6]. Yet, the International Community appears not to be interested in the happenings in the Ijaw territory.
 
The Ijaw territory has been under one siege after the other - military, economic and environmental for decades. We do not need to remind you of the high level of poverty, the ecological warfare occasioned by the activities of the multinational oil companies, the loss of livelihood, the negligence by government and serious underdevelopment of the Niger Delta area despite being the source of about 90% of the wealth of Nigeria. Your turning a blind eye to all the atrocities going on in the Niger Delta is one of the reasons the situation has continued to deteriorate.  Without international intervention, the situation will be worse than Darfur with attendant consequences for regional stability and the global economy. The logical outcome of non-intervention is that the resistance of the people will be similar to that of East Timor, Iraq and Palestine.
 
The International Community paid some scant attention to the problems in the Niger Delta when Kenule Saro-Wiwa was executed in 1995; nothing meaningful was done for the Niger Delta even then. Since the execution of Kenule Saro-Wiwa, do you know that the pogrom on the Ogonis was extended to other ethnic nationalities especially the (Ijaw ethnic nationality) by the Nigerian government; that the events in Darfur [Sudan] is playing out in the Niger Delta, where there is an intent to wipe out a people because of the rich natural resources in the area; that between 1999 and 2006, government forces have killed over five thousand Ijaws when they invaded the following Ijaw communities:
·        Odi
·        Odioma
·        Kaiama, Ovu, Liama, Okpoama, Obioku, Yenagoa, Amarata, Ekeki, Opolo, Agudama, Epebu, Oluashiri, Okolobiri, Mbiama, Azuzama, Ologoama
·        Oboro, Ogodobiri, Ojobo, Peretorugbene, Warri Corner, Okerenkoko, Torugbene, Ogbudugbudu, Ogulagha, Odimodi, Okerenkoko
·        Okigbene, Olugbobiri, Olugboboro, Ikebiri, Nembe, Twon, Ferebaghagbene
·        Opia, Ikenyan, Okokodiagbene, Ogbe-Ijo, Izon-Burutu, Ekeremor-Zion
·        Sagbama, Aven, Patani, Amabulu, Peremabiri, Obama, Fish Town, Koluama
·        Okrika, Bonny, Ataba, Iyak, Omelema, Otari, Degema, Bakana, Kula
·        Soku, Elem-Sangama, Opobo, Abuloma, Amadi-ama, Bille, Belema, Buguma
[See appendices 1, 2, 8- 16 for supporting evidence]
Yet the situation is not beyond remedy. The International Community intervened in the internal crises of other countries. Specifically, the International Community intervened in cases similar to the present situation in the Ijaw area of Nigeria in
  • Congo [1960 - 1964]
  • Cyprus [1964]
  • Angola [1991 - 1995]
  • El Salvador [1991 - 1995]
  • Western Sahara [1991 - present]
  • Georgia [1993 - present]
  • Kosovo [1999 - present]
  • Sierra Leone [1999 - present]
  • DR Congo [1999 - present]
  • Liberia [2003 - present]
  • Ivory Coast [2004]
The situation in the Ijaw area of Nigeria is deteriorating daily. You must not allow our situation to become unredeemable before you intervene. Your urgent attention is needed now to stop the:
·        Annihilation of the Ijaw ethnic nationality
·        Ecological warfare
·        Economic exploitation
·        Oppression of our people
·        Hostage-taking
·        Destruction of oil facilities
This you can do by:
  1. Sending an independent team to investigate all the killings, maiming, looting, destruction and other human right abuses by government forces in the Ijaw area
  2. Conduct a referendum to ascertain the aspirations and desires of the Ijaw people and other Niger Delta peoples
  3. Order the Nigerian government to withdraw its forces of occupation from the Ijaw area
  4.  Declare the Ijaw area a protectorate of the UN until all the issues of natural resources ownership and management have been acceptably determined.
  5. Establish and supervise a dialogue process between the Ijaws and the government of Nigeria
PLEASE INTERVENE NOW!
Signed:
FELIX TUODOLO
            Coordinating
            Tel: + 44 [0] 7762814461
email: okusbaba@yahoo.co.uk
 
CC
  1. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
  2. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
  3. FRIENDS OF THE EARTH INTERNATIONAL
 
APPENDIX
  1. Pictures of the destruction of Odi by government forces
  2. Pictures of the destruction of Odioma by government forces
  3. News reports on the recent invasion of Ijaw communities by soldiers
  4. News reports on the recent invasion of Ijaw communities by soldiers
  5. News reports on the recent invasion of Ijaw communities by soldiers
  6. News report on President Obasanjo ordering JTF to stop raiding Ijaw communities
  7. Newspaper reports on the recent invasion of Ijaw communities by soldiers
  8. Newspaper reports on the recent hostage palaver
  9. ERA report on Soldiers killing of Ijaw youths at Ekulama
  10. Military invasion of Liama
  11. 2483 casualties at Odi, ERA report
  12. Human Rights Watch report on the Odi invasion
  13. Report on the invasion of Odioma
  14. Human Rights Watch report on the military attacks on Opia and Ikiyen
  15. Human Rights Watch report on the military crack-down at Yenagoa, Kaiama, Ovu, Amarata, Sagbama etc
  16. Chronological account of the different killing of Ijaws at Bonny, Okrika, Ogulagha, Port Harcourt, Peremabiri, etc


OGELE CLUB

Nigeria- P.O.Box 11384, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Tel: 08034746918.
International address- P.O.Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA. 
Email: ogeleclub@aol.com

Briefings on the Odioma genocide 2

DATE: Thursday, 24 February 2005

SUBJECT: Soldiers comb forest for Odioma indigenes

 

The Joint Task Force [JTF] of Nigerian Army and Navy officers that invaded Odioma with four gunboats and several vessels and burnt down the community last Saturday are acting not only as an “army of occupation” but also as soldiers of “operation wipe out.” Yesterday, community indigenes that escaped to neighbouring communities reported that the soldiers are presently combing the forest bordering Odioma in search of persons who are taking refuge there. One person was reported to have been killed during the combing yesterday. This means that those that escaped to the forest are further being driven into the swamps and creeks, which in most cases is infested with mosquitoes and is almost inhabitable. More deaths are likely not only from the bullets of the guns of soldiers but from starvation and diseases.

A community spokesperson, Philemon Dickson, told Ogele:

“The soldiers are combing everywhere in the bush and shooting sporadically at any moving object. We don’t know what we have done to deserve all this. More persons are going to die, and Odioma will be completely wiped out. Please help us. We need help. Try and do something to save those of us in the bushes still alive. We are too small a community to loose lives like this. We will be finished”

 

Also yesterday, the Ijaw Youth Council [IYC] insisted that the soldiers must be withdrawn from the community and adequate measures be taken to stop further killings and destruction. A delegation of the IYC comprising Emmanuel Oyinfie Jonjon [President], Felix Tuodolo [Emeritus President] and Mike Wenibowei [Chairman, Central Zone] met with the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha. The government have agreed to immediately send relief materials to the community. The relief materials are expected to get to Odioma today with the support of the IYC.

Meanwhile, SHELL whose operation at Owukubu is the cause of the conflict in the area has kept mute at the happenings in the area. Also military sources claimed that the JTF have recovered the boat that was conveying the 12 persons [including four Councillors from Nembe LGA] that were killed. The boat was hidden in Odioma creek, claims the military source.

SOME FACTS TO NOTE

·        Odioma is small Nembe community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa state.

·        SHELL discovered oil in the area known as Owukubu in about 1998.

·        Odioma and Obioku communities are claiming ownership of Owukubu.

·        The dispute over the ownership of Owukubu has not been resolved before SHELL started operation at Owukubu in January 2005.

·        The killing of 12 persons [including four councillors of Nembe LGA] on 3rd February 2005 is strongly linked to the struggle over the ownership of Owukubu.

·        The neither police nor government have been unable to apprehend the culprits of the above crime.

·        The police and government have failed in the past to apprehend such criminals in the past.

·        Whenever both government and police fail to perform their duties properly under such circumstances, they punish or destroy whole communities if the crime is committed in an Ijaw area.

  • Ijaw communities that have been invaded and destroyed by the Nigerian army in the immediate past when the police have failed in their responsibilities include Odi, Ogodobiri, Ogbudugbudu, Asantuwagbene, Itagbene, Aza-ama Zion, Idegbene, Ayanogbene, and Adagbaras.

OUR DEMANDS

1.     Immediate supply of relief materials including drugs, food, water and building materials to Odioma, Obioku, Ibidi and neighboring towns.

2.     Immediate and unconditional demilitarisation of Odioma community, AND the rest of the Ijaw territory. Withdrawal of the military from Odioma will enable the return of persons still hiding in the forest and swamps, thus saving lives.

3.     Proper and unbiased investigation and trial of those responsible for the killing of the 12 persons [including the four Councillors of Nembe LGA] that were on a peace mission.

4.     Establishment of an independent arbitrator to settle all land disputes between Odioma and neighbouring communities, and all other land disputes between communities in the Niger Delta.

This Brief is published by the Information Bureau of the Ogele Club.





OGELE CLUB
Nigeria - P.O. Box 11384, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Tel: 08034746918
International - P.O. Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA.  Email: ogeleclub@aol.com



June 29,  2003


                                           PRESS STATEMENT                                


FUEL INCREASE: A FURTHER STRANGULATION OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE

The Ogele club, a socio-political mass movement for the advancement of the Ijaw people, met on Sunday 29th June 2003 to critically examine the recent announcement of the federal government to increase the pump price of fuel and the intended action of the Nigeria Labour Congress [NLC], and the effect such steps by government will have on the Niger Delta people, especially the Ijaws. Also perused are the reasons proffered by government for the increase - steady supply of petroleum products, stop artificial scarcity, stop illegal activities, improve the efficiency of the refineries, better competition in the international market, implementation of more people oriented projects etc. We observe that these were similar reasons proffered by this government when it increase the pump price of fuel from eleven naira [=N=11.00] to twenty-two naira [=N=22.00] to twenty-six naira [=N=26.00] and now forty naira [=N=40.00] per litre. Yet, the objectives of these increases were never achieved in all the past attempts. These reasons, in our view, are not cogent enough for any increase. Such reasons border on the lack of effective management and monitoring in the petroleum industry, severe acute shortage (SAS) of good governance in the polity and the prevalence of corruption in the system perpetuated and condoned by our leaders.

An increase in the pump price of petroleum products, coming at this time shows that government is insensitive to the plight of the people, as the masses will suffer more from the effects of such increase. The people of the Niger Delta, and mostly the Ijaws, will be worse hit by this increment, as the people are yet to recover from previous increments. Despite the fact that the Niger Delta produces the bulk of the crude petroleum, the people were never consulted before the prices of their products were increase. More so, the people never share in the gains of the increment. This is injustice of the highest order, and is unacceptable to us. The people only share in the pains and sorrows of increments of the price of petroleum products.

It is mostly in the Niger Delta, specifically the Ijaw territory, that petroleum products are scarcest despite the overbearing prevalence of the raw material in the area. This scarcity has severely affected the social, economic and political lives of the people. Some of the effects include:

  • High cost of petroleum products in the Ijaw territory. This is because it is only BLACK MARKET prices that exist in the Ijaw areas as there is the total absence of major marketers and Filling Stations e.g. in all our riverside communities [except capital cities like Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Warri] petrol is sold at the minimum price of fifty naira per litre [=N=50.00/L]. With this new increase, the BLACK MARKET price will double in the Ijaw areas. That is, a minimum of one hundred naira per litre [=N=100.00/L]
  • High cost of transportation in all Ijaw communities. Before this new increase, the cost of travelling within Bayelsa state is expensive e.g. (a) from Yenagoa to Amabulou is =N=900.00 (b) Yenagoa to Brass is =N=700.00 (c) Yenagoa to Foroupah is =N=1100.00. In Delta State, from Ojobo to Warri is =N=700.00, Oporoza to Warri is =N=800.00. In Rivers State, Edo, Ondo, and Akwa Ibom, the situation is the same for the Ijaw areas. These are all distances not exceeding 150km for which other parts of the country pay less than five hundred naira [=N=500.00] for similar distance covered. We despair to even think of the new transport prices we will be paying by this new increase. Already, all the above prices have doubled, and our people are afraid of travelling because travelling has become an exclusive pleasure for only the rich.
  • High cost of food items and other basic necessities of live as the cost of transporting these stuffs are included in the prices of these goods. Almost every item is 300% costlier in the Ijaw areas than in other parts of the country. For most families that depend on the use of kerosene Stoves for cooking [we are so poor that most of us cannot afford the use of Gas Cookers], starving to death or eating of raw foodstuff will be our only options. We await the worst with the new increase on fuel prices. We shudder to think of the multiplier effect this new increase in the pump price of fuel will have on the socio-economic lives of the Ijaw people…it will be strangulating! Or is this part of the dividends of democracy? We are therefore calling on the federal government to show sensitivity to the plight of the suffering masses by :
  • Immediately rescinding the pump price of fuel to its former price of =N26.00, and seek the consent of the people from whose land the products are derived from before any adjustment.
  • Ensure effective management in the petroleum industry and ensure the proper functioning of the refineries
  • Give a public account [including utilization for the benefit of the people] of the gains or excess money from the previous increments
  • Stop the exploitation and exploration of oil in the Ijaw territory, if such activity will be used to increase the hardship of the already suffering Nigerians.
  • Allow the people to have control over their resources - a panacea for the incessant fuel crisis
  • Improve the lives of the people by creating employment, embarking on meaningful projects, show transparency, stamp out corruption and provide good governance instead of elongating poverty via fuel price increases.
To all Ijaw people, we call on you to support the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as their strike this time is for the good of the poor and suffering masses. In addition, call or write to your representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives to stop President Obasanjo from further strangulating the people via an increase in the price of fuel, benefits from which never gets to the people.

Be firm, be resolute, our day shall soon come!



FELIX TUODOLO
Ogele Club Coordinator







SECOND TERM: THIS IS YOUR CHANCE
Monday, June 9,2003

OGELE CLUB
Nigeria - P.O. Box 11384, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Tel: 08034746918
International - P.O. Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA.  Email: ogeleclub@aol.com


TO:
1. His Excellency, Obong Victor Attah
    Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

2. His Excellency, Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha
    Executive Governor of Bayelsa State

3. His Excellency, Chief James Ibori
    Executive Governor of Delta State

4. His Excellency, Chief Lucky Igbinedion
    Executive Governor of Edo State

5. His Excellency, Dr Peter Odili
    Executive Governor of Rivers State


Sirs,

SECOND TERM: THIS IS YOUR CHANCE

We wish to, once again, draw your attention to our previous letter to you dated 21st March 2003 with the title "BETRAYAL OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE'S ASPIRATION AND MANDATE." We reminded you that most of your activities in the past four years were acts detrimental to the desires, aspirations, advancement and development of the Niger Delta people- particularly the Ijaws. This is the outcome of our observations and investigations since your assumption of office. We also beseech you to honestly search and re-appraise yourselves with respect to your performance these past years, and you will come to the same conclusions like majority of us - that you have rendered a below average performance. It will be pertinent to remind you of the following issues-

1. Relationship with the Federal Government
As Executive Governors in the states of the Niger Delta, you failed to use your position to either positively influence or actualise the following aspirations of the people:

  • President Obasanjo signing of the Onshore / Offshore dichotomy bill as passed by the National Assembly.
  • Full implementation of the minimum constitutional requirement of 13% [and a maximum of 25%] derivation principle by President Obasanjo which became effective from May 29, 1999.
  • Resource control for the people of the Niger Delta; the practice of true federalism; and convening of a sovereign National Conference.
  • Abrogate all the obnoxious degrees that are depriving the Niger Delta people of their fundamental rights including their land e.g. Land Use Act, Petroleum Act, Waterways Degree etc.
  • Attract meaningful federal projects to the Niger Delta region.
  • Prevent the invasion and destruction of Odi, a Niger Delta community, which is yet to be rebuilt.
  • Finding lasting solution to the reoccurring Warri crisis.

Yet, your party, the PDP, controls the Federal Government including the National Assembly. The intention of your party for the people of the Niger Delta is becoming questionable. Is your party really interested in the progress of Niger Delta people or is the PDP only interested in decimating the land and the peoples of the region while looting their natural resources?

2. Governance in the Niger Delta
Though some persons must have told you that in the last four years, you performed excellently, the realities on the ground tells a different story. If they were telling the truth, then the following would not be the state of affairs in the Niger Delta: The basic necessities of live are still lacking in almost all of our communities. Our road networks, if in existence at all, are in deplorable states of disrepair while portable water is an exclusive pleasure of the rich; the health system is chaotic and medicines beyond the reach of the poor; the topsy-turvy nature of the educational system has deprived the people the right to a basic education while the few that struggle to get educated spend more years/money than required to acquire their certificates; the people cannot afford decent housing or food coupled with unemployment, environmental pollution etc. Also, there are several inter- and intra communal crisis [e.g. the Itsekiri/Ijaw/Urhobo crisis in Warri, Nembe crisis, Okrika crisis etc] that could have been avoided if there was good governance in the Niger Delta region.  These are indices of non-performance, irresponsibility, recklessness and lack of good governance. Individuals touting your "phantom" accomplishments do not love you and the constituency you profess to serve - they should be avoided if we are to make any progress in the Niger Delta.

Despite these prevailing circumstances, you secured a second term during the last elections to lord it over the people for another four years. Although we strongly disagree with the outcome of the elections [as the results were criminally manipulated in favour of your incumbent ruling party-the Peoples Democratic Party], you are seated either by hook or crook as the leaders of the people. We salute your ingenuity. And it is because of this your "renewed mandate" that we are making the following comments.

The elections have come and gone, and you are now in power again. But winning a second term does not mean you are over the hump. It does not guarantee future wealth, peace of mind nor does it guarantee life security for the "winners." Kosovo, Bosnia, Zambia, and Ghana are places to draw lessons from. We see the "second term" for any ruler as a challenge and great opportunity to serve the people properly. It is an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the first tenure and address the ills of society. It is a rare opportunity for any one, and should be well utilized for the benefit of society. Posterity will not forgive the individual who fails to capitalize on such great privilege.

It is in this light we are appealing to you to better the lives of the people of the Niger Delta and make history by addressing the issues raised in [1] and [2] above. This is an opportunity to rescue the people from indebtedness; from the shackles of unemployment, hunger, poverty and underdevelopment; and hopelessness that characterised your last four years in office. It is a chance for accountability, political responsibility and good governance. In order to partly achieve this, you must be careful in selecting those who must govern with you in your cabinet. We therefore challenge you to appoint honest, disciplined, impartial and incorruptible persons instead of sycophants.  

On the other hand, you may choose to further enslave the people via unnecessary loans, reckless financial deals, embezzlement of public funds, phantom and elephantine projects, personal aggrandizement and enrichment [including family members].

The choice is yours. There is no greater opportunity than this. And we, the people are watching.

This is your chance!


FELIX TUODOLO KIME ENGOZU

TEKENA BEREGHA VIVIAN JUMBO

Cc
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Chief Olusegun Agagu
Executive Governor, Ondo State.

The above is for your attention and necessary action also.


                                                                                                               
About OGELE CLUB

Ogele Club works with other Ijaw patriots to advance the objectives of the Kaiama Declaration and the interests of Ijaw land. The club is a coalition of individuals and groups dedicated to the principles of the right of a people to choose their leaders. Ogele Club works for the emergence of accountable, responsive and responsible leadership in Ijawland.  Ogele Club membership is open to all Ijaws that share the club's ideology and possess the necessary will and means to contribute to the club's progress.

Aims
* To be in the forefront of the struggle to emancipate Ijaw land from internal and external subjugation; by working with like minds to change the political landscape in Ijawland for the better.
* To learn and share strategies for the economic empowerment of the Ijaw people
* To help transform the lives of Ijaw people by working for the emergence of visionary political leadership, making relevant input for the human and infrastructural development of Ijaw territories
* To network with other progressive minded Ijaw professionals, politicians, elders, and activists.

Objectives
* To work for the actualization of the spirit and letter of the Kaiama Declaration and all other similar declarations of other Niger Delta nationalities
* To help empower the people of Ijawland politically and economically
* To be actively involved in the process of identifying and supporting the right candidates for elective offices and other strategic positions in Ijawland
* To prevent from attaining positions of leadership those individuals not committed to the upliftment of Ijaws; by identifying and supporting individuals of reputable character to seek elected positions in Ijaw land and by running political and issue- based awareness campaigns in Ijaw land
* To contain individuals in positions of leadership, who are found to be acting in ways detrimental to the Ijaw peoples, by utilizing both legal options and mass action to hold such leaders accountable for their actions and or inactions
* To promote economic development and advocate for the establishment of infrastructure necessary for the economic development of Ijaw Nation
* To advocate for good ethics in business, politics and society as a whole
* To collaborate with other peoples' empowerment and development centered organizations in the Niger Delta and beyond
* To support the Ijaw nation's struggle for control of its resources and its rightful status within the Nigeria federation
* To draft and help implement Ijaw-centered platform for the benefit of Ijaw peoples
* To support and strengthen the Ijaw National Congress [INC] and Ijaw Youth Council [IYC], the umbrella organizations of the Ijaw people.

 




OGELE CLUB

Nigeria-P.O.Box 11384, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Tel: 08034746918.
International office- P.O.Box 43684, Brooklyn, MN 55443, USA.  Email: ogeleclub@aol.com





6th March 2003



His Excellency, Obong Victor Attah
Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

His Excellency, Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha
Executive Governor of Bayelsa State

His Excellency, Chief James Ibori
Executive Governor of Delta State

His Excellency, Chief Lucky Igbinedion
Executive Governor of Edo State

His Excellency, Dr Peter Odili
Executive Governor of Rivers State

His Excellency,

BETRAYAL OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE'S ASPIRATION AND MANDATE


We are writing to you because you govern a state where Ijaws have ancestral homes. We have been watching with keen interest the political atmosphere, which has been characterized by the evolvement and metamorphosis of personal and selfish politician interest by politicians given the mandate to protect and defend the interest of the people. This egoistic tendency, appear to be the order of the day in recent political history of Nigeria. But when certain persons, or group of persons, divert from this route, forsaking personal interest for communal interest, such persons or groups need to be commended and encouraged. It is in this light that we bear no apparent grudge against:
(a) The Governors and Houses of Assembly in Northern Nigeria for introducing the Sharia law, whose bill was sponsored by the governors and passed by their various houses of Assembly. This is the desire of the majority of their people.
(b) The Kano Elders Forum and 19 Northern governors for their selfish and parochial statement that General Obasanjo should not sign the onshore/offshore oil bill. This, of course, is the position of the majority of their people, which they their leaders must protect.

It is for the same reason that the people of the Niger Delta were thrown into jubilation when in 2001, you the governors of the South- South, parliamentarians and other leaders met in the ancient city of Benin and pronounced your support and commitment to the struggle for Resource Control. According to you, "for this is the wish of our people." For once, you appeared to have taken over the people's struggle and to champion it. Little did we know that the people's struggle was being hijacked to promote selfish interest, and to destroy it. After your pronouncement, no concerted effort was made to sponsor and pass any bill on any of the vital issues regarding Resource Control in the different states you govern. Instead, you watched and tacitly supported General Obasanjo when he did the following:

  • Politicised the development of the Niger Delta by stalemating all developmental projects in the Niger Delta for the first fifteen months of his government, where the bill on NDDC was introduced with procedural abnormalities. And it took over fifteen months for the National assembly to detect and amend some of the abnormalities, and whose bill he refused to sign until the National Assembly overrode his veto and passed the NDDC act.
  • Dragged the people and governments of the Niger Delta littoral states to the Supreme Court on their agitation for   resource control, while keeping silent on the issue of introduction of Sharia law by some states in the north.
  • Refused to abolish the obnoxious land-use decree he introduced into the constitution on his first advent to the headship as Head of State of Nigeria.
  • Delayed the implementation of the provision of the 1999 constitution on derivation [not less than 13%] for eight months on assumption of office.
  • Invaded and destroyed a Niger Delta community - Odi. Till today he is still unrepentant, unremorseful, unapologetic, and has made no attempt at rebuilding the community. On the other hand, Mr President did not destroy communities that committed "similar crimes" in other parts of the country, and for the only one he destroyed, he has apologised and set up a commission of enquiry.
  • And has recently refused to sign the bill on the onshore/offshore dichotomy passed by the national assembly for the good and stability of the country.
  • Failed to provide protection for citizens of the Niger Delta despite, their complaints of threats to their lives.

Sadly, while politicians from other parts of the country insisted and bargained for the interest of their people during the PDP primaries before supporting General Obasanjo for his second presidential aspiration, and on the heat of his refusal to sign the bill on offshore/onshore dichotomy, you only bargained to secure your party tickets for your second tenure ambition- your only condition for supporting General Obasanjo! After securing your party gubernatorial tickets, you now proceeded to work assiduously for the candidature of General Obasanjo. While all these events are awash in several national dailies, none of you have refuted them.

Despite all the above, you have met again with Mr President to amend the bill on onshore/offshore dichotomy to further deprive your people of their natural resources, even the little entrusted to you by virtue of 13% derivation you have failed to properly manage.

We view these actions as a betrayal of the trust, confidence and mandate given to you by the people when they "elected" you into office. You have again betrayed the people to secure a ticket for your second term ambitions. In this light, we demand the following:

  1. That you immediately resign from your offices, as you no longer represent our interest but yourselves.
  2. That you return the gubernatorial ticket of your party back to the party as your ticket was negotiated for selfish interest instead of communal interest.
  3. That you immediately render an account of your stewardship, especially as it concerns the management of the 13% derivation fund accruing to your state.
  4. That you stop further pronouncements on resource control, as your recent actions show your non-commitment to its ideals.

Failing these, we shall work with all the peoples of the Niger Delta, whose interest you have mortgaged to obtain your tickets, to ensure the total defeat of your party in the Niger Delta.

We thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

Sign:
Felix Tuodolo                 Rowland Ekperi                  Francis Ebikefe Porbeni

Cc
(1) His Excellency, Chief Adebayo Adefarati
Executive Governor of Ondo State.
(2) Chief Audu Ogbeh
National Chairman, PDP


Second Term

Open Letter to the Governors

FUEL INCREASE: A FURTHER STRANGULATION OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE