NOUS INT’L USA, CDHRAC INT’L, USA Call For Review Of HYREP’s Scholarship Scheme In Ogoniland

National Union of Ogoni Students International USA, NUOS INT’L USA and the Center for Democracy Human Rights and Anti-Corruption, CDHRAC INT’L, USA, have rejected the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYREP) Ogoni Student Scholarship Programme and called for the reorganisation of the scheme to achieve its expected aims and objectives.

The two groups stated that they arrived at this after reviewing HYREP’S scholarship program scheme and the 100 million dollars Ogoni Education Trust Fund that was set aside out of the one billion naira for the Ogoniland clean up, which they said was first deposited in London Chartered Bank and later transferred to Switzerland Chartered Bank investment account “to grow the money.”

These were contained in a statement jointly signed by the President of NOUS INT’L, Mr Pius Nwinee and the Coordinator of CDHRAC INT’L, USA, Mr Cornelius Dumerenee, dated Monday November 25, 2024.

The groups then urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his “good office and kindness to investigate the corruption and fraud that have affected the program, and overwhelmed, debased or derailed it from its original intention and objectives.”

“We are respectfully asking that you conduct a forensic probe and investigate the HYREP Ogoni scholarship scheme because the $100m slated for the program has been compromised.

“We are forced to reject this HYREP scholarship scheme because there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Royal Dutch Shell and the BOT Chairman of HYREP are in cahoot to deprive Ogonis of their rights.

“Mr. President, right now, as we write, $10m and its expected accrued dividends is missing and it is believed that it has been misappropriated. So we ask you to investigate this unacceptable conduct immediately.

“We are surprised and disappointed to note that after one and a half years of investigation, correspondents, phone calls and email to HYREP to know the position of the N100m for the educational trust funds for Ogoniland, the Royal Dutch Shell and the HYREP BOT Chairman have surreptitiously attempted to safe their faces by putting forward a program that will not benefit Ogoni or empower the objective of the Ogonis to overcome and cushion the environmental and health emergency in Ogoniland.

“Notably, Mr. President, the 100m dollars that was set aside for Ogoni Educational Scholarship Trust Fund at the inception of the cleaning was first deposited in London Chartered Bank and later transferred to Switzerland Chartered Bank investment account to grow the money and this should be probed and investigated as about $10m appears to be missing with the expected accrued dividends out of the 100m investment amount that the Royal Dutch Shell and the HYREP boss have surreptitiously attempted or refused to account for or answer questions on,” they said.

They added that these people have recently put forward a public announcement “to safe their faces by putting on paper 300 scholarship program scheme, saying that though they know that Ogoniland will not benefit from the program given the fact that Ogonis are so poor that their students would not be able to fill that number.

It was alleged that this will only serve “to cover their fraud, to defeat the purpose and shortchange the Ogonis to nourish and revitalise their uncontrolled appetite.”

“In refusing to account and answer questions on the missing $10m and its expected accrued dividends, the Royal Dutch Shell and the HYREP BOT’s chairmen, past and present are not only aware, but have shown their propensity to overwhelm and debase the program so that Ogoniland will not benefit from the scheme.

“Mr. President, we are privileged to update you and your administration that the remaining $90 million dollars has yielded the sum of $200m, which can jump start a tangible scholarship program that will support Ogoniland and help to ensure that we overcome and cushion environmental and health emergency. So we urge you to investigate the disappearance of the missing $10m and its expected dividends.

“Sir, the Ogonis have been persecuted and have not been fairly or justly treated. It is time the Royal Dutch Shell must not, and should not be allowed to play both sides; either as victims or perpetrators. Nigeria is a sovereign nation and the Royal Dutch Shell cannot and should not be allowed to suggest or dictate what happens to Ogoniland. There is nowhere in the world that a foreign organisation such as the Royal Dutch Shell is allowed to suggest or dictate how its hosts should be treated. Mr. President, you must not and should not allow that to happen to the Ogonis under your presidency.

“It is no news or secret that the Federal Government of Nigeria has in the past or present sponsored many educational scholarship programs in Nigeria and abroad, so it’s our belief that Ogonis livelihood and educational scholarship programs scheme should not be an exception,” the statement read.

It was added that it is not a news or secret that Ogoni is one of the minority tribes in Nigeria that have suffered untold persecution, political marginalization, environmental degradation and domestic colonialism that they said have turned many Ogoni people of all classes into refugees in far away lands.

The groups emphasised that they “would not accept this servitude and programs that attempt to cater only for those at home without given equal opportunity to the refugees and others outside the country and without given equal opportunity to all Ogonis home and abroad.”

They then urged the President to approve graduate programs home and abroad up to masters and Phd levels in London that will impact the Ogonis outside Nigeria.

“We are appreciative of the HYREP scholarship program to Ogoni students, but we remain deeply concerned about its operation. And, therefore, we reject the selective scholarship program that has no direct impact on solving the environmental and health emergency crisis in Ogoniland.

“It was our impression that the scholarship scheme was provided to create a financial and career assistance to interested and qualified secondary schools graduates in Ogoniland, who have indicated interest in the energy sector, engineering, geophysics, science, medicine and law.

“We believe that these scholarship programs will support Ogoni’s objective of help to ensure that Ogoniland has qualified personnel in engineering, geophysics, medicine and law to handle and cushion the environmental, health, and emergencies in Ogoniland.

“We also strongly believe that having qualified personnel in these areas is one of the highest priorities to address these decades of environmental and health emergencies” the groups said.