Ogoni Boils Again

Akanimo Sampson,

Port Harcourt

Ogoni Boils Again As Council Chiefs Battle For Military Barracks

KINSMEN of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the late Ogoni leader and environmental rights activist, who was killed by the Nigerian state on November 10, 19995 along with eight others, are currently uncomfortable with the moves by the authorities to relocate the Port Harcourt Army Barracks to their area.

Tempers are alrerady rising in the area as the move is said to have the backing of the Rivers State Government. But neither the Chibuike Amaechi administration nor any Ogoni legislator has said anything abouit the worrisome move.

Patrick Naagbanton, an Ogoni who co-ordinates the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), a civil society group, told our correspondent in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, on Wednesday: ''I just returned from my trip around Ogoni, to investigate the alleged removal of Bori Camp, the Port Harcourt Army Barracks, to Ogoni homeland.

''In Gokana, I was reliably informed that Victor Giadom, the local government chairman, recently conveyed a meeting of 'stakeholders' and told the chiefs who attended the meeting that his government has taken a decision to give to the Nigerian Army disputed large expanse of land around KPOPIE in the Gokana area, to build their barracks''.

Naagbanton is not yet done. Continuing, he said, ''in Tai, i was told that Barry Mpigi, the chairman of Tai is also lobbying the army authortities to come and use some percels of land around the area for a cantonment. The way things currently stand, the battle now appears to be between Giadom and Mpigi who get the barracks''.

Some other Ogoni are alleging that Governor Amaechi wants the 2 Amphibious Brigade to relocate, because the state government wants to allegedly use the place the army occupy currenntly for their Greater Port Harcourt City project.

The aggrieved Ogoni in the villages are seeing their political leaders as falling ''foolishly'' to the government scheme to remove the army barracks from the Ikwerre axis of Port Harcourt to Ogoni territory .

An obviously angry Ogoni youth had this to say of their political leaders, ''they are just interested in some cash, some of them want to take contracts. Greed.''

The army barracks in Port Harcourt was changed from Bori Camp to its current name during the administration of Dr. Peter Odili.

For those who know better, the military formation was first located in Bori, the headquarters of the Ogoni ethnic nationality in the 1970s According to Naagbanton, ''it was the visionary martyred Ken Saro-Wiwa who used his position then and moved the barracks to Port Harcourt.''

While the Ogoni people are also alleging that Amaechi is busy reducing the number of schools and hospitals and other projecst in their territory, for the military cantonment project, Acting Chief Press Secretary to the Goivernor, Mr. Blessing Wikina, told our correspondent on telephone on Wednesday that he was not aware that there are moves to relocate the army barracks.

Our correspondent sought to hear from him if it was true that the governor was behind the move to relocate the army barracks. At exactly 12.22 pm when Wikina, an Ogoni, spoke, he said, ''i am not aware that the army barracks is to be relocated''.

In the mean time, there are concerns in the Ogoni area as whispers of the army barracks relocation grow.

ENDS

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