Vice President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday hosted the first exploratory meeting to kick start the process for holding the Niger Delta Summit. The meeting had the Ogoni ethnic nationality in attendance.
The Ogonis at the meeting endorsed the federal government’s comprehensive development plan for the “final resolution and holistic development” of the area.
The Vice President also used the opportunity of the meeting to explain the seeming delay in holding the summit, saying that after the interface with the youths and other stakeholders, he has to “fully engage” all the other ethnic nationalities in the region in order to reach a consensus which would form the basis for such summit.
The engagements with the ethnic nationalities, he explained, are to get their input to the blueprint and have their agreements on the issues which would form the final report to be presented.
The Vice President’s meeting with the Ogonis, held in his office, had is leader of the delegation, His Royal Highness, GNK Gininwa.
Others in attendance were the leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Dr Ledum Mitee, Senator Lee Maeba, Emmanuel Deeyah and Olaka Nwogu (members of the House of Representatives), Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Befii Charles Nwile, Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Dr Roseline Konya, Senator Ben Birabi, Dr Magnus Kpakol (NAPEP Cordinator) Marvin Yobana (Ogoni Youth Council), and Mr Justice Peter Akere (rtd). Jonathan said the “frank discussion” with the Ogonis is the first in the long line of meetings scheduled with all the ethnic nationalities in the region within the next few days.
He explained the rationale behind the government’s engagement of the Ijaws first, saying that the Niger Delta can be likened to “a decrepit house requiring extensive renovation, but in which some walls needed urgent propping up.”
And having propped those walls threatening to bring the structure down, it is now time to commence work in the rest of the region.”Today, it is the turn of the Ogonis. Tomorrow, it will be the turn of the Urhobos, Itsekiris, Ibibios, the Ikweres, the Isokos, the Ukwuanis, and so forth, until we have engaged all groups in the Niger Delta. All the consultations will take place before the Niger Delta summit proper.”He commended the Father Mathew Hassan Kukah Committee for the interventions in Ogoni saying, “they have done well. But all is not well yet in Ogoniland. There is still a lot of work to do. That is why I called this meeting, so we can figure a way forward and fix the problem once and for all.” The Vice President expressed happiness that violence has subsided in Ogoniland and that the Ogonis were willing to engage with the federal government on the way forward.Speaking on behalf of the Ogonis Royal fathers, Chief Gininwa expressed the appreciation of the Ogonis over the efforts of the Vice President in bringing up the meeting to dialogue on the way forward.
He noted that contrary to insinuations, the Ogonis have always believed in dialogue and peaceful resolutions to all problems, saying “we are not violent. And ‘we do not believe in violence. What the Ogonis want is a table conference and the federal government should come to our rescue. And I assure the government of our absolute cooperation.”MOSOP leader, Dr Mitee said that the Ogonis have become the metaphor for the Niger Delta problem all over the world, adding that interventions by the federal government would naturally be a statement of success or failure in the resolution of the Niger Delta question.
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