President of the South-South Youth Initiative (SSYI), Comrade Imeabe Oscar, has condemned the widespread public celebration of the demise of Senator Barinada Mpigi, who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Senate.
Imeabe made the condemnation in a statement addressing the reactions of some people in Rivers State, particularly from the Ogoni ethnic nationality, who allegedly took to the streets dancing and singing upon hearing of the passing of the deceased.
The youth leader called on the people of Rivers South-East Senatorial District not to celebrate the death of the senator but to mourn him.
He said, “In as much as people are celebrating the death of Senator Mpigi, I won’t like to join those people. Even though, as an Ogoni son, we’re not happy that the late senator, who was supposed to be a champion of the Ogoni struggle, disappointed us.
“Let me call on the people of Rivers South-East Senatorial District not to celebrate his death but to join us in mourning him. In as much as he was not 100 percent okay or 50 percent good to us, he is our brother.
“The death of Senator Mpigi should be a wakeup call not just to politicians in Rivers State but also to politicians in Ogoni land. Senator Mpigi is one of the illustrious sons of Ogoni, but unfortunately, his style of leadership wasn’t comfortable for some of us.
“Something that was actually meant for the entire Ogoni — the University of Environment, which was supposed to be one government’s compensation for oil exploration, expected from the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu — he diverted it to his own community, even though we’re aware that it was not attracted by him.
“We also know that the project was actually initiated because of Mr. President’s interest in oil resumption in Ogoniland. But Senator Mpigi decided to extend it to his community just to harmonize his relationship with Desmond Akawor. So, it was not a thing of joy for those of us from Ogoni.
“At the same time, the resumption of oil, which was something the Ogonis were against and died for — our Ogoni heroes, Ken Saro-Wiwa and others, laid down their lives for this particular oil issue — Sen. Mpigi was one of those responsible for its resumption in the national assembly.
“We had expected that Senator Mpigi would have agitated that the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa should be compensated and that the purpose for which he (Saro-Wiwa) died should not be abused. But rather, what we saw was an immediate plan or plot for oil resumption because of his governorship ambition for 2027.”
