Ogoni Has Been Victim Of Insincere Govt – Senator Bennet Birabi

A Third Republic National Assembly member, Senator Bennet Birabi, has said the people of Ogoni would not trust any government promising them better days without action.

The former Senator for Rivers East Senatorial District, said the Ogoni people have suffered from the government’s insincerity over the years.

Naija News reported that President Bola Tinubu had a meeting with Ogoni stakeholders. The government hoped to resume oil exploration in the region amid years of severe environmental pollution.

In an interview with Arise News, Birabi said the meeting between President Tinubu and Ogoni land stakeholders was commendable but beyond that, they hope for action.

“The Ogoni people want oil production far more than the federal government. But the reason why they haven’t made any progress is simply that the government has been very dishonest and insincere with us,” he said.

Signatory member to the Ogoni Bill of Rights (1990), Senator Birabi, criticized the government for failing to adapt to the changes in Ogoni since 1958, saying, “At the time they entered Ogoni, our educational exposure was so low.

“Today, there is practically no family in Ogoni that doesn’t have a lawyer, and we have 46 petroleum engineers of Ogoni extraction.”

Speaking on trust for the President, the Rivers State elder statesman said he hoped to see results.

“He is the president, and he is a new president. It is my hope that this new attempt will yield results. Tuesday’s meeting was the first time I’ve been invited by any government to participate in the discussion, which is why I’m saying that there is hope,” he stated.

When asked what led to the 1990 Ogoni Bill of Rights, he explained that the Ogoni people resolved not to be only an extraction ground without commensurate development.

“We said we cannot be pumping oil from Ogoni for sale in Rotterdam, in New York, and all of that, and all we have left on the ground in Ogoni are oil pipelines,” he added.