“We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We cannot heal the wounds if we continue to be angry,” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has told a meeting with leaders of Ogoniland in Abuja on Tuesday.
Present at the meeting were Rivers State’s Governor Siminalayi Fubara, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the leaders of oil-producing Ogoniland of River State.
While oil exploration and production in the Niger Delta began in the late 1950s, operations were suspended in Ogoniland in the early 1990s due to disruptions from local public unrest.
The oilfields and installations have since largely remained dormant.
Things got to a head with the judicial killing of Environmental Activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight Ogoni kinsmen by General Sani Abacha in 1995 and the President’s words may have touched on the issue, a continual sorrow to the oil-producing community that hosted but forcefully evicted the Shell Oil Company it felt was complicit in the execution of the agitators.
On Tuesday’s delegations of the Governor and the FCT Minister, respectively, were Senators Lee Maeba, Magnus Abe, Olaka Nwogu, Chief Victor Giadom, Chief Kenneth Kobani, Monsignor Pius Kii, Leedom Mitee, Senators Bennett Birabi, Barry Mpigi, Chief Keneth Kobani, Prof.B. Fakae, amongst others.
Also in attendance are some of President Tinubu cabinet members; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
A statement on the meeting by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), said the President Tinubu pledged peace, justice and development in Ogoniland.
At the meeting at the State House in Abuja, President Tinubu passionately called for unity and reconciliation, urging the Ogoni people to set aside historical grievances and work together to achieve peace, development, and a clean environment.
“We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We cannot heal the wounds if we continue to be angry,” he said.
President Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to coordinate the negotiations as he called for inclusive consultation and mutual understanding.
The President commended the delegation for embracing the Federal Government-led dialogue and emphasised the need for collaboration, trust, and inclusiveness to resolve lingering issues in the region.
“We must work together with mutual trust. Go back home, do more consultations, and embrace others. We must make this trip worthwhile by bringing peace, development, and a clean environment back to Ogoniland,” President Tinubu said.
He asked ministers, the NNPCL, and the Rivers State Government to cooperate with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to achieve this mandate.
“It is a great honour for me to have this meeting, which is an opportunity to dialogue with the people of Ogoniland.
“It has been many years since your children and myself partnered to resist military dictatorship in this country. No one dreamt I would be in this chair as President, but we thank God.
“Many of your sons present here were my friends and co-travellers in the streets of Nigeria, Europe, and America.
“I know what to do in memory of our beloved ones so that their sacrifices will not be in vain,” the President said.
Governor Fubara thanked the President for his support of the Ogoni people and for welcoming an all-inclusive representation of the people to the Presidential Villa.
He said the meeting was a follow-up to an assignment the President gave him through the National Security Adviser.
Emphasising the importance of resuming oil operations in Ogoniland, the Governor pledged the delegation’s commitment to adhering to the President’s instructions and providing the necessary support to achieve the government’s objectives.
“What we are doing here today is to concretise the love and respect we have for the President for being behind this meeting and for him to tell us to go back and continue the consultations with a timeline so that the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland will commence,” he said.
The National Security Adviser commended the Ogoni people for their trust in President Tinubu and for embracing dialogue as a path to meaningful progress and enduring solutions.
“Guided by Mr. President’s vision that every voice is heard and every interest is considered, my office, the DSS, the government of Rivers State and the Minister of FCT embarked on a diligent and consultative process to assemble this delegation,” Mallam Ribadu said.
He noted that the over 50-member delegation that met with the President reflected the rich diversity of Ogoni society, representing various constituencies, interests, and viewpoints.
“The presence of this delegation is a testament to the Ogoni people’s readiness to engage constructively in the pursuit of peace, justice, and sustainable development,” he said.
A representative of the Ogoni leadership, King Festus Babari Bagia Gberesaako XIII, the Gberemene of Gokana Kingdom, expressed the community leaders’ willingness to engage in the process of finding lasting solutions to the lingering challenges in Ogoniland.
