By Dianabasi Effiong
The Democratic Front (TDF) says the approval of a university in Ogoniland is a statement of intent by the Federal Government to the people to heal long-standing grievances against the government.
The group made this known in a statement on Sunday by its Chairman, Malam Danjuma Muhammad.
The statement added that the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni would be a reminder of efforts to solve environmental issues in the area.
It said: “We recall that the Ogoni people for years, had to go through the agony of environmental pollution and degradation caused by oil spillage and other activities of oil prospecting companies in the region.
“Years of neglect had also enabled a degeneration of the Ogoni environmental issues into an ethno-political crisis that is still lingering since the late Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) were executed in 1995.
“It is against this backdrop that we commend President Bola Tinubu for the wisdom in institutionalizing a permanent solution through meeting key Ogoni stakeholders.”
The group stated that the university would also be a symbolic monument to the tragic environmental history of the people of Ogoni and a precursor for deterrence against the misgovernance that triggered it.
“We commend the President for his depth of knowledge of history, and his thoughtful decision.
“We also urged people of the Ogoni community and, indeed, all oil-producing communities in the country, to see this gesture as an opportunity to pursue academic excellence, with particular emphasis on the protection of their economic environment,” it stated.
It added that the decision underscored the commitment of the Tinubu administration to pursue environmentally friendly policies.
