By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday conferred posthumous national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on four late leaders of Ogoni community. The beneficiaries include Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage. They are collectively referred to as the “Ogoni Four.”
The President announced the award at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, where he also received the report of the Ogoni Consultations Committee, with the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara leading the delegation. Recall that nearly three decades ago, the four Ogoni sons were executed in the heat of the Ogoni struggle. Their execution elicited distrust between the people and the Nigerian state. Calling for reconciliation after years of division, Tinubu urged Ogoni communities to seize the opportunity to forge unity and peace.
Tinubu assured that his administration remains committed to peace, environmental remediation, and economic revival in Ogoniland, insisting that steps were underway to facilitate the resumption of oil production in the area. Tinubu noted that in 2022 the previous administration handed operator-ship of the Ogoni oil field to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its partners. He promised the delegation that he will honour and build on that decision.
The President also issued a directive to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to commence immediate engagements with Ogoni leaders, NNPCL, and all stakeholders to finalize modalities for restarting operations. The Minister of Environment was also tasked to embed pollution remediation and clean-up into the broader dialogue framework. Presenting the report earlier, Ribadu explained that the consultations engaged all four Ogoni zones as well as the diaspora, with contributions from community leaders, youth, women, and civil society.
Prof. Don Baridam, who chaired the Dialogue Committee, said the report reflects the “collective will of the Ogoni people,” capturing demands for structured participation in oil production, renewed environmental cleanup, and a framework for sustainable development. He noted that the recommendations provide a blueprint for an inter-agency taskforce involving NNPCL, relevant ministries, and the Ogoni Dialogue Committee to drive implementation.
