Former Rivers governorship candidate and ex-lawmaker, Magnus Abe, has declared that the long-standing division among the people of Ogoniland is over, noting that the community is now focused on unity and progress.
Abe, who contested the 2023 governorship election under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), made this statement during an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Wednesday.
He was reacting to the recent national honours conferred by President Bola Tinubu on four distinguished sons of Ogoni, a move he described as a unifying step for the once-divided ethnic group in Rivers State.
“We are all together now. We don’t want to have that division anymore,” Abe said.
“With the steps the President has taken, we believe the ground is finally set for the takeoff of a new Ogoni.”
Abe noted that for decades, despite the natural resources found in Ogoniland, the people have only experienced pollution, poverty, and pain, rather than progress and development.
“Our effort and prayer is to bring Ogoni together and to enable us begin to reap the fruits of what God has put in our land for the benefit of our people,” he added.
Ogoniland, part of the oil-rich Niger Delta, has for years suffered from environmental degradation, political marginalisation, and internal divisions.
The area gained global attention in the 1990s during the non-violent struggle led by Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), who fought for environmental justice and resource control.
However, in the years that followed, Ogoni leaders often found themselves at odds with one another, leading to a fractured political voice and stalled development efforts.
President Tinubu’s decision to honour prominent Ogoni sons has been widely praised as a gesture that could help heal past wounds and rebuild trust in federal-state relations.
Abe believes this recognition lays a new foundation for unity and cooperation among the Ogoni people.
“It’s time to move forward,” he said. “We must work together to ensure that the suffering of the past gives way to progress.”
