The Ogoni People’s Assembly (OPA) has called on the Ogoni people to embrace unity, transformation, and purposeful action as they commemorate three decades of survival, struggle, and sacrifice since the height of the Ogoni struggle.
In a statement signed by the Leader of the OPA, Reverend Probel Williams, and its Scribe, Dr. (Dr.) Evidence Ep-aabari Enoch, the group described the past 30 years as a period marked by “agitation, advocacy, and deprivation,” emphasizing that it is now time to move from mere survival to sustainable progress.
“Fellow survivors of Ogoni, it’s been 30 years of struggle, 30 years of agitation, and 30 years of advocacy,” the statement read. “We have had enough of complaints, protests, demonstrations, and engagements. It is time to transform from survival to sustainability, from a movement to a destination, from suffering to self-discovery.”
Reflecting on the long history of political and social turbulence, the OPA said the Ogoni people had endured “draconian, dictatorial, and despotic regimes” but had managed to survive “brute force, genocide, and the impunity of democratic disguise.”
The group drew parallels between the Ogoni struggle and South Africa’s post-apartheid transformation, urging Ogonis to learn from how South Africans moved from mass mobilization to political participation and nation-building.
OPA also lamented the state of the Ogoni nation, citing threats to its language, disunity among its people, and the neglect of its rich natural resources. “Our language is threatened, our unity at crossroads, our pride of place compromised, and our heritage continuously exploited,” the statement said.
Calling for a shift in mindset, Reverend Williams urged Ogonis to “shun divisiveness and embrace diversity, leave competition and embrace collaboration,” stressing the need for collective reasoning, political alignment, and intentional action toward the region’s development.
As part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Ogoni martyrs, OPA called on all Ogonis to observe a national fast until noon and at the stroke of 12 p.m. to declare “Jubilee! Jubilee!! Jubilee!!!” symbolizing freedom and renewal.
The group further urged for “genuine conversations around oil resumption, environmental restoration, political recovery, and economic emancipation,” saying only through such collective commitment would “the deaths of our heroes past not be in vain.”
“Long live Ogoni, long live Ogoni heroes, long live OPA,” the statement concluded.
