MOSOP: Suage Badey Advocates For Peace In Ogoni-land
The Ogoni people in Rivers Stateof the Niger Delta regionseem to be a calm and collected people. But recently the tilt has been a consistent negative especially in the front pages of the Nigerian local dailies exposing the cold war on-going in the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People's, MOSOP, leadership which is about throwing the Ogonis apart if nothing serious is done to stem the spate of personality clash between the two MOSOP leaders: Ledum Mitee and Goodluck Diigbo. A good observer of the squabble in the leadership of the MOSOP would know that governance in the Ogoni has taken a narrow orchestrated dimension capable of causing hitches, not only in Ogoni, but in the entire Rivers State.
According to Mr. Suage Badey, who has seen it all since 1994 in Ogoni-land, having his father Mr. Albert Badey killed alongside other three Ogoni patriotic sons, has advised Mitee and Diigbo to tow the line of peace for the progress and unity of the Ogonis. Reacting to a newspaper publication by Diigbo condemning the 25th September alleged solidarity match by Mitee in Ogoni-land for the late Human Rights Activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Badey said that, “Be there a change or not in the leadership of MOSOP, that, in no way should dilute our focus as well as generate tensions capable of throwing us apart. We are a people known to possess a deep sense of respect due to the moral values inherent in our culture passed to us by our forefathers through several generations and as such should uphold brotherly love than divisive tendencies which is alien in the annals of our history as a people”.
Badey is not happy with the set-back certain internal squabbles are causing his people, which in his own word, “Brewed up because everybody wants to be a leader in Ogoni-land. No one wants to be led. What is it in this entire fray propelling the government to beam its searchlight on Ogoni-land, not for any developmental projects, rather on retrogressive issues resulting from leadership tussles? It is necessary that we abstain from attitudes that could precipitate or brew any form of catastrophe be it internally generated or externally visited as was the case in the genocide of Odi and Zakibiam?”
Speaking, Badey said that he is not happy with the manner Mitee and Diigbo are going about the MOSOP thing and advised they stop exposing their linens for others to launder with criticisms capable of smearing the good image of the Ogonis. “Ogoni is one, and nothing should bring division amongst us. We were once known as our brother's keeper. What has happened today? Money can never buy the life of any Ogoni son or daughter. So, I urge Mitee and Diigbo to tow the line of peace, while we hope our collective zeal to uphold the tenets of a history well articulated by our forbears would build and sustain the much needed peace in our land,” Badey said.
Odimegwu Onwumere is the Founder of Poet Against Child Abuse (PACA), Rivers State.