President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday conferred national honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger posthumously on the popular four late Ogoni leaders- Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage, popularly remembered as the Ogoni Four.
Tinubu, who announced the conferment when he received the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, appealed to the people of Ogoniland to embrace reconciliation and unity after decades of division.
“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,” Tinubu said.
The meeting comes 16 months after the President, in May 2024, promised to “pursue diligently and honourably” the Ogoni cleanup and increase the number of its indigenes benefitting from its empowerment programmes.
Tinubu also pledged his commitment to unlocking the human and natural resource potential of Ogoniland while ensuring the environmental and economic security of Nigerian communities.
At the meeting, the President assured stakeholders that his administration would support the journey of Ogoniland towards peace, environmental remediation, and economic revival, while also facilitating the return of oil exploration to the area.
“I am encouraged by the overwhelming consensus of the Ogoni communities to welcome the resumption of oil production The government will deploy every resource to support your people in this march towards shared prosperity.”
While citing developments in 2022 when the Buhari administration transferred the operations of the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its joint venture partners, Tinubu said his administration would honour and build on Buhari’s decision.
In his closing remarks, Tinubu called on the people to seize the moment, saying, “Let us together turn pain into purpose, conflict into cooperation, and transform the wealth beneath Ogoni soil into a blessing for the people and for Nigeria.”
