COURAGE, CONSCIENCE, THE FIGHT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN OGONILAND: THE PROGRESS UNDER PROF ZABBEY

This evening, I have a few words of advice for younger comrades who insist on private briefings for their respective groups, seemingly placing group interests and personal pride above the broader responsibility we all share. While everyone has the right to demand accountability and question the leadership of the Ogoni clean-up programme, such rights must be exercised with knowledge, sincerity, maturity, and a genuine commitment to the collective interest of our people.

I also address our comrades and members of the public who may not fully understand the true state of affairs in Ogoni but have, perhaps unknowingly, lent their support to campaigns whose intentions and broader implications deserve closer scrutiny. In matters as critical as the recovery of our polluted environment and the future of our people, we must be careful not to allow ignorance, emotions, personal grievances, or external interests to overshadow facts, undermine genuine progress, or weaken the collective responsibility we owe to present and future generations.

I write as a comrade, a youth and community development advocate, a volunteer patriotic voice, a Pan-African development researcher, and a nation-building stakeholder. My concern is not to discourage legitimate questions or the demand for accountability, but to caution against manipulative forces and divisive tendencies that, consciously or otherwise, may undermine the progress, peace, and stability of Ogoniland.

Patriots have genuine reasons to be concerned about what appears to be a sponsored campaign of calumny, insincere activism, and vested interests seeking undue control of the process, thereby potentially undermining the successful implementation and long-term sustainability of the UNEP recommendations in Ogoniland for personal gain.

All technical questions and progress reports on the HYPREP programme are published on the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project platform and documented at the Project Coordinating Office.

On Thursday, 8th October 2026, the Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, held a quarterly interactive session with over 500 Ogoni youths in attendance. Progress across the thematic areas was presented on slides, and the youths had the opportunity to engage with the project leadership. These sessions provide a platform for youth presidents, community representatives and other stakeholders to ask questions and seek clarification on the work being done.

My younger comrades attack me because I advise them not to allow themselves to be used against a system that is working. They keep talking about accountability, but genuine patriots must understand that accountability isn't about approaching an issue with a predetermined mindset. We ask questions because we want the system to succeed, not because we have already decided that it must fail.

HYPREP is one of the most transparent systems in Nigeria. It was established through a tripartite arrangement involving the Federal Government, the oil industry, which provides the funding, and the Ogoni people, represented through MOSOP. This arrangement makes the clean-up a collective responsibility, not the personal property of any individual or group.

The programme is designed for continuous stakeholder engagement, including regular interactions with host communities. Its reported achievements should be examined alongside the evidence and feedback from those who participate in these engagements and from project site visits.

Those who genuinely want answers should endeavour to attend these interactive sessions as pro-development campaigners, ask their questions and examine the records presented. Why insist that the Project Coordinating Office must answer only to you and your group when other stakeholders and community representatives are also engaging with the project? That is pride and an impossible demand.

Accountability belongs to the people of Ogoni. It isn't the exclusive privilege of any individual.

Those who want to grow through activism must drop the pride and arrogance. Stay focused and don't sell your conscience. You cannot intimidate the current system, a system seeking to challenge the old order. The Ogoni clean-up is bigger than any one person or group of people.

If you threaten to organise a protest, that is your choice. But note that you are doing so against the tide, as far as the leadership of Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey is concerned. We are comrades, and we should be concerned when protests are not properly guided by a clear understanding of the issues and may, even unintentionally, undermine progress, the interests of our people, and the very objectives we claim to defend. Such an approach is not the kind of genuine comradeship we should be proud of. Genuine comradeship should challenge what is wrong, support what is right, and remain committed to the ultimate interest of our people. We must never allow activism to become an instrument for frustrating progress when our collective objective should be the successful completion of the Ogoni clean-up. Yes, your protests are against your own people and serve the interests of those planning evil and wanting inefficiency to continue. That is the concern: that some people may be encouraging opposition to a working PC for reasons that have little to do with the success of the clean-up, but everything to do with greed and the continuation of corruption.

You can continue with your ill-conceived agenda, but you cannot insult or successfully fight patriots like us who have put our lives on the line for a legacy and a history that will judge our actions and results for the good of the people and nation-building. My record should be judged truthfully, without hatred or jealousy.

My antecedents and pedigree, especially when it comes to the growth, development and empowerment of our young people, have been in the public domain since our days in NANS.

I've spent years standing for the interests of our people, and I won't suddenly abandon those convictions because some younger comrades disagree with me.

The youths of Ogoni must not become tools for underdevelopment. HYPREP wasn't established through the sacrifices of MOSOP and the Ogoni struggle to enrich a few people while the system remains unstable. Comrades across the board must unite to protect the Ogoni clean-up programme and resist any plot to destabilise the progress recorded for selfish interests. And let me remind those who want to challenge this position that, before Abraham, there was God.

The fundamental question we should all be asking is this: before Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey came on board, what concrete achievements were recorded under the previous three administrations? What progress had been made after seven years, before he was appointed? And what can we point to today as evidence of the work done within his three years in office?

Let us compare the records fairly, because we cannot judge the present leadership solely through the weaknesses of the past, even if HYPREP, as presently constituted, cannot be praised in isolation.

The truth of the matter is that HYPREP, under Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, has performed and deserves the continued support and solidarity of stakeholders and the Ogoni community. No one should continue to use the weaknesses of yesterday and the foundational challenges of HYPREP's early years as weapons against the progress being recorded today. Even the National Assembly's reports and other official records must be examined in their proper context. We shouldn't pick out past challenges simply to distract the public from what is happening now. We won't allow that.

Nobody is saying HYPREP should be above scrutiny. The Ogoni clean-up belongs to the people, and we all have a responsibility to ensure its success. But our younger comrades must resist the temptation to become tools for propaganda or to undermine every effort being made to move the process forward.

Consider the legal battles surrounding the release of funds for the Centre of Excellence and the two regional specialist hospitals being developed by HYPREP, as raised by Fabeke Douglas. These are projects that could make a real difference in the lives of our people. If there are concerns, let us raise them and seek answers. But advocates and community leaders must also consider the consequences when actions or disputes delay projects meant to benefit our communities.

You cannot stand in the way of progress and expect patriots and our own people in Ogoni to remain silent. No. We should not be a cork in the wheel of progress if we truly want Ogoni to prosper. Our activism should be genuine and driven by a sincere desire for change.

Where there are gaps, let us identify them, demand answers and seek solutions based on verifiable facts. Better still, let us find ways to work together for effective leadership and delivery.

On the Ogoni water projects, I believe the outstanding work, including our community water project at BuaKaani, will be completed. It should be on record that our project, like many others, was awarded before Prof. Zabbey became PC. Yet, the present leadership is expected to coordinate and deliver projects it did not award. That, to me, is one of the important things about the HYPREP system. Leadership is not only about awarding new contracts. It is also about ensuring that existing projects are completed.

I don't even know the contractor handling the BuaKaani community project. But from my own investigation and confirmation, the work has reached the stage of delivery and will be completed and commissioned soon. Our people should be patient while we continue to ask the right questions and follow up on the progress.

Prof. Zabbey's professional coordination and leadership have earned recognition among stakeholders. He is an environmental scientist with experience in the industry, civil society and academia. He understands the science of environmental restoration and biodiversity, and we should give him the opportunity to deliver on his mandate. We must continue to support him where he is doing well, while remaining ready to ask questions where improvements are needed.

As community watchdogs, our responsibility is to establish the facts. We must also understand that an unfinished project isn't automatically an abandoned project, just as a reported achievement shouldn't be accepted without proper examination. We need evidence, patience and a willingness to work together.

Collaboration and partnership are key in the current phase of the Ogoni struggle. The strategy we adopted 33 years ago may not be the best answer for today. Times have changed, and our strategy must change too. I love my people, and I have a burning passion for the progress, peace and prosperity of the Ogoni community.

Those mobilising online antagonism against us because of our resolve to support good governance and the visionary leadership exemplified by Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey's coordination of HYPREP are free to do so. Not everyone will agree with our position. Before his appointment, no one saw me around the project because I am a man of conviction. My support is spiritual and purposeful, not driven by personal gain at the expense of our people.

Even Ken Saro-Wiwa, our hero, whose sacrifice helped Ogoni gain global recognition and brought international attention to our environmental struggle, faced strong opposition. He lost elections twice in Ogoniland. His experience reminds us that even people who sacrifice for their communities won't always receive the support they deserve. Those who benefit from the old order may resist change, even when change is necessary.

So, we shouldn't assume that everyone will support our position or recognise the good work of Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey in Ogoniland. Despite visible results, people will still resist you. We are aware of that. There will always be disagreements and competing interests. That's why we must judge leadership by its records, performance and the results it delivers.

I support accountability, but I also support fairness, continuity and the protection of the Ogoni clean-up from unnecessary disruption. We cannot claim to love Ogoni and then ignore the consequences of actions that may undermine the restoration process.

Let us ask questions, examine the records and demand improvements where necessary. But let us also recognise genuine progress and give credit where it is due. The goal should not be to pull down a leadership that is making progress. It should be to ensure that the clean-up succeeds and that our people receive the environmental restoration, healthcare, clean water and economic opportunities they deserve.

Ledogo Amabu

Chairman, LOCECE Foundation

Nation-Building Coach, Author and Community Development Advocate