Justice For Ogoni 4

In June this year, we published this editorial appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revisit the lawsuit of the Ogoni 4. He listened and has conscionable obliged us. We convey him for exercising his powerfulness of prerogative of mercy. We republish it contiguous arsenic a people of honour to a listening President.

Succumbing to unit from activists, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, precocious reopened the astir closed section of the calamity that befell Ogoniland 30 years agone successful 1994. In his code to the federation to people June 12, the much-acclaimed Democracy Day, helium pardoned the Ogoni Nine, made up of societal activistic and caput of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ken Saro-Wiwa, alongside 8 of his chap leaders -Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. He besides conferred connected them posthumous nationalist honours.

The Ogoni Nine, arsenic they person travel to beryllium famously referred to, were enactment connected proceedings for allegedly inciting the execution of 4 Ogoni chiefs: Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage and Samuel Orage. They were recovered blameworthy and hanged connected November 10, 1995. That incidental provoked outrage and condemnations by satellite leaders, individuals and organisations, chiefly due to the fact that it happened astatine a clip erstwhile the temper of the federation was against the military, which had earlier truncated a genuine antiauthoritarian march with the annulment of an predetermination that was believed to beryllium escaped and fair.

Political observers, successful analysing the motives that undergirded the determination by President Tinubu, argued that his pardon and honours conferment were much than enforcement acts. That is beyond question. However, the assertion that they were reconciliatory moves, signalling that nary portion of the country, nary substance however geographically tiny oregon politically marginalised, is forgotten successful his imaginativeness of a agreed Nigeria, volition marque implicit consciousness if the Ogoni Four are brought into the picture. Otherwise, arsenic agelong arsenic they are near out, the animosity and ill-feeling that precipitated the carnage volition linger dangerously for generations, which volition not service the involvement of bid successful that community.
As a paper committed to the origin of earthy justice, equity and bully conscience, we deliberation the President ought to person accommodated the Ogoni Four successful his enactment of prerogative of mercy to adjacent that disfigured section successful the nation’s past and march to democracy.

General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) acceptable an illustration when, astatine the extremity of the Civil War successful 1970, helium had the bully bosom to assistance pardon to those who played large roles successful that fratricidal warfare that took the federation 30 months back. President Shehu Shagari consummated the process by pardoning Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a motion that enabled him to instrumentality from exile and perceptibly closed the record connected that war.

The Ogoni tragedy, arsenic unfortunate arsenic it was to astir fair-minded individuals, was fundamentally a clash of personalities successful a assemblage that had seen the worst of internecine strife. The occupation that led to the wiping retired of a procreation of Ogoni leaders was resource-based, intended to gully attraction to its antagonistic interaction connected the people. The parties successful the quality mismanaged what was different a bully cause. In the process, they played into the hands of different interests, shifting their absorption to aspects that had thing to bash with the well-being of that oil-rich assemblage infested with biology despoilation and degradation.

The subject junta astatine that time, nether the dreaded strongman General Sani Abacha, took undue involvement successful the substance and politicised it. The pro-democracy activists warring the subject claimed that the sidesplitting of the Ogoni Nine was portion of the Abacha regime’s anti-democracy credentials, which the planetary assemblage bought into.

Nonetheless, the bully constituent successful the full play was that it brought into crisp absorption the biology challenges successful Ogoniland. Beyond that, not overmuch has changed to warrant the killings and counter-killings that was the destiny of a radical striving to eke retired a surviving successful a onshore that is, successful the existent sense, flowing with the proverbial beverage and honey.

It is important to emphasise that this editorial is not an effort to blasted either broadside of the divide. A batch has already been written for and against, truthful immoderate effort to articulation issues with anyone present volition magnitude to flogging a dormant horse. Instead, it is an entreaty to the President to assuage the wounded the families of the Ogoni Four consciousness now. The pardon and nationalist honours granted to the Ogoni Nine to the exclusion of the different 4 formed them successful the mould of the blameworthy party.

In the lack of a thorough probe that, successful our opinion, is not sufficiently fair. They were besides patriotic Nigerians who paid the ultimate terms for a origin they believed was successful the involvement of their fatherland, successful this instance, Ogoniland. We callback that conscionable arsenic the bodies of the Ogoni Nin...