2015: Ogoni Group Cautions on Ethnic Politics, Blast Pro-Ogoni Campaigners

Ahead of the 2015 elections, The Center For Peace and Development in Ogoni has cautioned against the use of ethnicity to make a case for governorship aspirants in Rivers State.

Reacting to a question from newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, president of the group Barine Benson Nnah said the ethnic politics being presented by the protagonists of the Ogoni governorship agenda portends grave danger to the development of Rivers State and should not be allowed to balkanize Rivers State as it will hurt the anticipated growth and development in the state.

He said "Rivers State should not be driven into ethnic politics at the detriment of common people of the State. For Ogonis. i know they will wish to control their own affairs in a state of their own rather than being the governor of Rivers State and that should not be exploited to destroy Rivers State because the Ogoni demands has not been met. The Ogoni people were not desperate to produce the governor of Rivers State in 2015. What the people want is good governance in the interest of the entire state. "

Nnah said "My judgement of the current agitation for an Ogoni governor is that it is a personal agenda presented deceptively as a demand for political justice. But if we work on that premise and all the groups in Rivers State has to take their turn, then Ogonis may not talk the governorship again for the next 100years. The logic is simply faulty and i will urge all political parties to avoid ethnic politics in order not to throw the state into deep crises in future."

The governorship of Rivers State is not meant to benefit only the Ogonis and so when we begin to see the kind of desperation we are seeing now, it questions the real motive for the agitation and cast some doubt that the position will be used for the good of all Rivers people: Nnah said yesterday in Port Harcourt.

The CPDO chief maintained that what Rivers State needs now is a governor who will embrace every group and not one who thinks he has been cheated and needs to be compensated because their has to be some form of political justice. Rivers State should not be an "Elephant meat" and the people need to move away from this trend which is anti-developmental and embrace a process where political office holders should see themselves as representing the interest of all the people and not to grab or attract development to their ethnic groups.

Nnah urged the people of Rivers State to be weary of the desperation of politicians who are seeking to take advantage of them to achieve their private and very selfish agenda. Rivers State needs a governor who represents the interest of everyone and should not be persuaded to accept any kind of ethic politics which will catapult into a leadership crises in future.

Signed:
Burabari Yorghor
Secretary CPDO