The Democratic Front (TDF) has described the approval of a university in Ogoniland as a statement of intent by the federal government to the people to heal long-standing grievances against the government.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Mallam, Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, the group noted that the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoni will serve as a reminder of efforts to solve environmental issues in the place.
It said: “We recall that the Ogoni people have for years had to go through the agony of environmental pollution and degradation caused by oil spillage and other activities of oil prospecting companies in the region.
“Years of neglect had also enabled a degeneration of the Ogoni environmental issues into an ethno-political crisis that is still lingering since the late Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People ( MOSOP) were executed in 1995.
“It is against this backdrop that we commend President Bola Tinubu for the wisdom in institutionalizing a permanent solution through meeting key Ogoni stakeholders.
“Like many Nigerians, we were pleasantly surprised to learn about the establishment of Nigeria’s first University of Environmental Technology to be located in Ogoniland.
“We believe that the University will serve as a symbolic monument to the tragic environmental history of the Ogoni people and a precursor for deterrence against the misgovernance that triggered it.
“We commend the President for his depth of knowledge of history, and his thoughtful decision while we also called on the people of the Ogoni community and indeed all the oil-producing communities in the country, to see this gesture as an opportunity to pursue academic excellence, with particular emphasis on the protection of their economic environment.”
TDF added that the decision underscores the commitment of the Tinubu administration to pursuing environmentally friendly policies.
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