Buhari Playing Politics With Ogoni Clean Up —Youths

Five months after the celebrated announcement of the clean-up of
Ogoniland by President Muhammadu Buhari, youths of the area have
accused the President of playing politics with the exercise.

In a statement, the president of the National Youth Council of the
Ogoni people, Dr. Young Nkpah, accused President Buhari of deceiving
Ogoni people by that announcement.

PHOTO: Ogoni land and President

Buhari
President Buhari had, immediately after assumption of office announced
his readiness to implement the United Nations Environmental Programme,
UNEP report on cleaning of Ogoniland.

Dr. Nkpah said: "After a study of the approach, loud pronouncements
and long delays adopted by the government on the globally celebrated
implementation, the Ogoni people are not persuaded about the sincerity
of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government whose earlier
promises were designed to score cheap political points."

He said after the July 28, 2015 consultative meeting in Abuja chaired
by the immediate past Head of Service, Danladi Kifasi, the federal
government was yet to release any fund to kick start the process.

"Since the announcement by President Buhari of immediate action and
release of funds, the federal government has seemingly dosed off on
the programme without regard to the health hazards and increasing
mortality rate resulting from the long polluted Ogoniland. The silence
by President Buhari's administration has raised suspicion among the
Ogonis that the federal government in collaboration with SHELL has
opted for their usual strategy of divide and rule to set the Ogoni
leaders and the people against themselves and also employing gradual
frustration of the oil clean-up programme to force the collective
loyalty of the Ogoni nation to join the ruling party in the country,"
the statement said.

-Vanguard