To: His Excellency,
President Olusegun Obasanjo Head of State
Federal Government of Nigeria
Aso Rock, Abuja, Nigeria.
Copy:
Honorable Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, The President
Federal House of Senate
Abuja, Nigeria
Honorable Alhaji Ghali Umah Na-Abba The Speaker
Federal House of Representatives
Abuja, Nigeria
His Excellency, Obong Victor Attah The Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State
Government House
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
Nigeria
Honorable Chief Nduese Essien Chairman South South Caucus
Federal House of Representatives
Abuja, Nigeria
Honorable Chief Bassey Essien The Speaker
Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
Nigeria
Honorable Members
Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
Nigeria
For the second time in the annals of our oppressed history, our leaders, our government, and our youths have spoken with one voice against
years of institutional oppression and injustice.
The first one occurred in the 1950s when they became the first group in Nigeria to demand for the creation of states (COR
State). Today, they have with one voice put the oppressors on notice. Continuing business as usual can only perpetuate the gradual human extinction that has
been the hallmark in our state.
MARGINALIZATION: Our oppressors do not lack reasons to lock us out and bury us alive. When seeking admission into higher institutions, we are told, in their words, "Akwa Ibom is an educationally advantaged state." Hence, the bar is raised much higher to keep us out. When seeking employment, the excuse becomes, "You do not have qualified people", now a familiar phrase used by Exxon-Mobil, formerly known as Mobil Producing Nigeria.
The double standard orchestrated by Mobil is mind boggling. In an attempt to promote minority participation in the United States, Mobil made Paul L. Caldwell, Jr., an African-American, the Chairman/Managing Director of Mobil Producing in Nigeria. But Mobil's hiring policy in Nigeria, having been immersed in Nigeria's ethnic intrigue is, tragically, a complete reverse.
Therefore, we the people of Akwa Ibom State in the Diaspora wish to state as follows:
That we join our brothers at home in denouncing this systematic injustice and oppression. We, therefore, express our unconditional support to our leaders and the youths by their bold steps meant to finally stamp out this inhumane treatment, starting with the Exxon-Mobil in our own very soil, Akwa Ibom State.
That we join our leaders in calling on Mobil to, as a matter of urgency, to move its administrative headquarters from Lagos to Akwa Ibom where its operational base is located.
That we call on Mobil to review its Statement of General Business Principles, its Environmental Policies, and International Business Practices that govern all the multinational corporations, including Mobil.
That Mobil should establish and implement Corporate Social Responsibility of including "qualified" host community members in its top management structure as she practices in China, Europe, North and South America, and Angola.
RESOURCE CONTROL:
On the control of our resources, onshore and offshore, we take this as the essence and the soul of our existence in a corporate Nigeria. We stand solidly behind our Governor Obong Victor Attah in the pursuit of this goal.
Resource control is an inalienable right as contained in the United Nations Declaration on Rights in the General Assembly Resolution 41/128 of December 1986 which states: "The human right to development also implies the full realization of the right of people to self determination, which includes the exercise of their inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources."
Hence, the scripture has been quite unequivocal when it says, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's."
It should be mentioned here that the on-shore/ off-shore oil dichotomy was abolished by Decree No. 106, now Act of 1992, Section 6 (3) which states: "For the purpose of sub-section (2) of this Section and for the avoidance of any doubt, the distinction hitherto made between On-shore oil and offshore oil mineral revenue for the purpose of revenue sharing and the administration of the fund for the development of the oil mineral producing areas is herebyabolished".
For our "democracy" known to be embedded in ethnic politics to opt for a legal action as a way to "win" rather than opt for negotiation with the indigenous populations is a tragedy at best. This is so because court actions do not necessarily win peace since the judges are also a part of the larger society with individual ethnic affiliations. It was in the realization of this that the president opted not to take the Sharia issue to the Supreme Court for "interpretation".
The veiled threats of war by our brothers of northern extraction over our resources is nothing but blackmail. We realize that this is going to be a "struggle". It may be a moral one or it may be a physical one. But it is going to be a struggle. In the words of Frederick Douglas, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. The limit of oppression is determined by the extent of the endurance of the oppressed." And we strongly believe that that limit has been reached.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
It is an open secret that Nigeria is a country made up of hundreds of ethnic nationalities characterized with insurmountable conflict of interests: religious, cultural, social, ethnic, economic, and what have you. We join all well-meaning Nigerians in calling for a national conference where all the ethnic nationalities can sit down and dialogue on these and other thorny issues affecting them. It is now abundantly clear that we can only continue to ignore and delay this to our peril.
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