A new wave of anger, manifesting in large protests, is sweeping through Nigeria’s Ogoni enclave. Early in the morning of 10 December 2013, over 5,000 children, women, young people and men from Ogoni villages blockaded the Akpajo Junction. Akpajo connects Ogoni territory to the oil hub of Port Harcourt. The town’s petrochemical infrastructure, two oil refineries and seaport were all forced to shut down for the day, as locals used tankers and their bodies to bring the busy junction to a standstill.
The blockade was mobilized by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). ‘The Ogoni people are on the streets over the refusal of the government to implement the UNEP report two years after it was released,’ explained Legborsi Pyagbara, MOSOP’s president. ‘We’ve given the government several opportunities to do the right thing, including publishing an open letter in the national dailies. We also gave the government a 90-day ultimatum which expired on 9 November and no steps were taken.’1
