President Bola Tinubu, at a meeting in the Villa on Wednesday, conferred  posthumous national honours on the late Ogoni Four – Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, Samuel Orage – and urged the people of Ogoniland to come together after decades of division.

He said: “May their memories continue to inspire unity, courage and purpose among us. I urge the Ogoni people across classes, communities and generations to close ranks, put this dark chapter behind us and move forward as a united community with one voice.”

The President promised to support peace-building, environmental remediation and economic revival in Ogoniland, while confirming plans to facilitate the resumption of oil production in the area.

He directed the National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to begin engagements between Ogoni communities, NNPCL, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for restarting operations.

The Minister of Environment was also instructed to play a key role.

The NSA, meanwhile, had this to say at the Villa meeting:

“As Your Excellency could recall, following your historic meeting with a high-powered Ogoni delegation at the Presidential Villa, you directed that this office should assume responsibility for coordinating a structured and wide-ranging consultation process with the Ogoni people, in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders.

“In compliance with that directive, we assembled a Dialogue Committee composed of representatives from the four Ogoni local government areas, traditional institutions, youth, women groups, civil society, and diaspora voices. This approach was embarked on to ensure that no voice was excluded, and no concern left unheard…”

The NSA formally presented a report that reflected this “intensive, methodical, and transparent engagement” and summarised it as follows:

“First, the Ogoni people, while not forgetting past injustices, have reached a point of collective readiness to see the responsible resumption of oil production in Ogoni land—anchored on fairness, equity, environmental responsibility, and direct community benefit.

“Secondly, the Ogoni people are not merely asking for tokenism but for structured participation—through equity, development funds, employment, and institutional safeguards.

Furthermore, there is all-round appreciation for Ongoing Confidence-Building Measures. It would be recalled that at the beginning of this dialogue process, Your Excellency graciously approved some early confidence-building steps to be undertaken to build needed trust. I am glad to confirm that considerable progress has been achieved in the actualisation of these measures. These include the constitution of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Environmental Technology, significant progress on the East-West Road, Acquisition of land for an Industrial Park, Progress on processes for targeted employment, and Assessment visits to some hospitals earmarked for renovation, among others. These strides have sent strong signals of goodwill, and we are grateful to Your Excellency.

“Also, there has been a call in unison to Reposition the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP…in a manner that synchronises with the dialogue process.

“Overall, Your Excellency, the dialogue process has rekindled hope in Ogoniland. It has turned the page on decades of silence and cynicism. But hope, as we know, is fragile if not matched by sustained action. Therefore, the report proffered some progressive recommendations…”

Now, my dear Vanguard readers, we all know that Nigeria is profoundly dysfunctional and that nothing in this country goes as smoothly as it could or should. I am a member of the Dialogue Committee; and I can tell you that some of the greedier Ogoni Leaders are already displaying a penchant for mago-mago around issues like recruitment for the new Federal University of Environmental Technology.

But I am a great fan of the NSA, who treated me respectfully when some of my so-called brethren did not; and I think that he and Mr President deserve praise on this occasion.

I do not often speak well of Mr President, but I want to thank him for trying to resolve tensions and provide Ogoniland with a brighter future.

Oil exploration in Ogoniland has been suspended since 1993 following protests against environmental degradation, culminating in the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in 1995.

Victims of the Ogoni Nine are still smarting from the wounds that were inflicted on them and their assassinated patriarchs (the Ogoni Four).

I have always been firmly in the Ogoni Four camp and I have written many articles and done countless broadcasts in which I have stridently and sorrowfully supported the Kobani, Badey and Orage families.

But even I am now ready to bury the hatchet and let bygones be bygones…as long as those in the Ogoni Nine camp behave appropriately and don’t go around stirring up trouble by insisting on exoneration for Ken…who has already been given a national honour.

I fervently pray that we can all let sleeping dogs lie and stand by the President and NSA within this context.  It is time for reconciliation.

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