Press Release I, November 10, 2023

YEAC-NIGERIA COMMEMORATES OGONI MARTYRS, CALLS FOR ONE OGONI, ONE MOSOP

As the Ogoni indigenous peoples commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Ogoni martyrs; killing of the Ogoni Nine, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, on November 10, 1995, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has called for the collapsing of all factions in the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) into “ONE MOSOP” for “ONE GREAT OGONI”.

The group said the continuous balkanization, factionalization, and fragmentation of MOSOP into several mushroom groups had made MOSOP ineffective and tantamount to re-martyring the Ogoni martyrs, rolling back their preserveable legacies, and dancing on their unmarked graves.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, and made available to journalists in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the organization said the absence of One-MOSOP in Ogoni is contributing to a lack of coordinated development efforts, a platform for engagement with the Ogoni people, and the ability to speak with one voice.

The Ogoni-born environmental justice activist and human rights defender used the opportunity of the 2023 Ogoni martyrs day to introduce the “ONE OGONI, ONE MOSOP” slogan as an advocacy tool to restore peace, unity, and the lost glory of MOSOP for the GREAT OGONI PEOPLE!

The statement also called on President Bola Tinubu to quash the murder charge against Ogoni-9, release the confiscated Ken Saro-Wiwa non-motorized Memorial Bus, and name some national infrastructure after Ken Saro-Wiwa and other members of the Ogoni-9 to immobilize them and promote peaceful agitations across Nigeria.

ADVOCACY CENTRE stands in solidarity with the Ogoni people and called on members of the international community not to relent in their support in solidarity with the Ogoni in the struggle for self-determination and liberation.

Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface,
Executive Director, YEAC-Nigeria
November 10, 2023