Over 30 Years After Military Invasion, 17 Ogoni Communities in Tai Still Struggle Without Basic Amenities
More than three decades after seventeen Ogoni communities in Tai Local Government Area were sacked during the military era, residents say they are still battling hardship, neglect, and the absence of basic social amenities.
Speaking on behalf of the women in Lekuma community, Baridi Deekor recalled the pain and devastation caused by the 1994 military invasion under the regime of late General Sani Abacha. She said she lost both her parents during the invasion and noted that life has never been the same for many families in the affected communities.
Deekor lamented years of displacement, abandonment, and lack of government presence, stressing that the communities have continued to suffer without meaningful intervention.
She also decried the absence of schools and functional healthcare facilities in the area, explaining that pregnant women face severe pain and life-threatening complications during childbirth due to the lack of health centres.
Also speaking on the plight of the seventeen communities, the Paramount Ruler of Tumbee community in Tai Local Government Area, Stevenson Le-aage, called for urgent government intervention.
The traditional ruler appealed to authorities to establish schools and provide other basic amenities to improve living conditions. He further urged the government to rehabilitate indigenes of the affected communities and rebuild homes destroyed during the invasion.
