Under the umbrella of the Ogoni Women Coalition for Sustainable Environment, the women have insisted that no oil extraction should take place until the fundamental issues that led to the suspension of exploration in the 1990s are resolved.
Port Harcourt, Nigeria – Women from the Ogoni ethnic group in Rivers State have vowed to stage a nude protest if the Federal Government proceeds with plans to resume oil exploration in the area without addressing their longstanding grievances.
Under the umbrella of the Ogoni Women Coalition for Sustainable Environment, the women have insisted that no oil extraction should take place until the fundamental issues that led to the suspension of exploration in the 1990s are resolved.
In a joint statement released in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, 15 women groups, including Mba Okase Initiative, Eedee Ladies of Tai, De Voice of Eleme Women Association, League of Queens International, Gbogbia Feefee Women, Lekeh Foundation, and We the People, expressed their opposition to the planned resumption of oil activities.
Other signatories to the statement include KEBETKACHE Women Development and Resource Centre, Global Concern Women and Youth Development Initiative, Miikeekor Environmental Development Initiative, Concern Ogoni Daughter, Peoples Advancement Centre, Ogoni Women Coalition for Sustainable Environment, Yerebaneko Women Group, Tai, and Ogoni Women Development Initiative.
Exclusion from Oil Resumption Talks
The leader of the Mba Okase Initiative, Dr. (Mrs.) Patience Osaroejiji, lamented that Ogoni women had been excluded from discussions concerning the resumption of oil exploration. She emphasized that unless their concerns were addressed, they were prepared to march unclothed in protest.
“If, after taking this stand, the government still goes ahead with its plans, we, the women of Ogoni, will come out en masse and protest naked until the world hears our cry,” she declared.
Osaroejiji further stressed that the Federal Government must address the unresolved issues that resulted in the deaths of Ogoni leaders before any extraction could resume.
Unresolved Historical Injustices
Speaking on behalf of the Eedee Ladies of Tai, the group’s coordinator, Pat Ntetep, read a statement titled: “Ogoni Oil Again in the Eye of the Storm: Ogoni Women Stand Against Oil Resumption in Their Land.”
She expressed concerns that the core issues outlined in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, which led to the initial halt in oil extraction, remain unaddressed.
“It is disconcerting that in the rush to resume oil exploration, the concerns raised in the Ogoni Bill of Rights have not been considered. Justice has not been served to the families who lost loved ones, livelihoods, and properties due to military repression,” Ntetep said.
She further noted that individuals responsible for violence against the Ogoni people had not been held accountable, while pollution from past oil activities remains largely unremedied.
“Why is the government eager to resume oil exploration when the pollution from previous activities has not been cleaned up, and the recommendations of UNEP have yet to be fully implemented?” she asked.
Call for Government Action
The Ogoni women are now demanding that the Federal Government halt all plans for oil resumption and instead focus on restoring the environment and addressing the community’s demands for justice.
They insist that until these conditions are met, any attempt to restart oil exploration in Ogoniland will be met with strong resistance, including their threatened nude protest.
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