Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The leadership of The Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has raised the alarm over the absurd allegation of ethnic bias leveled against the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, by some stakeholders of the Ogoni ethnic extraction in Rivers State.
MOSIEND who faulted the call, described it as an action capable of disturbing the peace of the region.
MOSIEND said the recent unguarded press statements published by various Ogoni groups and open letters written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to sack the NDDC boss over a mere issue of alleged exclusion from the just concluded 3-Day Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit shows that the authors were not only being mischievous but can be counted as crisis merchants hiding under the umbrella of one of the sister ethnic nationality to brew disaffection against the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta.
In a statement signed on Monday by the Spokesman of MOSIEND, Comrade Charles Omusuku, and made available to Daily News Hub in Yenagoa,described the action of the Ogoni stakeholders as an attack against the Ijaw ethnic nationality as Chief Ogbuku is one of the brilliant lights of the Ijaws.
He further said the call for his sack is akin to a stab on the back of a people who over the years have shared the pains and sufferings of the Ogonis, who even keep the memory of their illustrious son, Ken Saro-Wiwa by observing his annual remembrance across the Ijaw nation even though he is not an Ijaw man.
Omusuku said the move showed clearly that the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), the Greater Ogonis in Diaspora (GODO) and the rest groups who have been vocal against the NDDC MD, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, do not appreciate the love and solidarity which they have enjoyed from the Ijaw brothers over the years since the issue of oil exploration started.
He recalled how countless Ijaw environmental rights activists such as Elder T K Ogoriba, Morris Alagoa and Nengi James (just to mention a few) risked their lives while agitating for the rights of the Ogoni people and mobilizing stakeholders across the Niger Delta to join the advocacy for the clean-up of Ogoni land, even though Ogoni is not the only place polluted by oil and gas exploration activities.
MOSIEND urged the Ogoni’s to retrace their steps and retract their statements against one of the shining star of the region as their hasty conclusion without thorough investigation was in bad taste and they should refrain from such hasty and inconsiderate action which could undermine the harmonious co-existence and support enjoyed by both ethnic nationality and promote continuous dialogue and peace in the region.
