29/04/2025
✊🏾 OGONI SPEAKS AT THE UNITED NATIONS! 🌍
“The fight for Ogoni rights is a fight for existence.”
These were the stirring words of our Founder and Chairperson, Nwanam Gold Sorbari, who stood tall yesterday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, addressing the global gathering at the 24th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).
Gold didn’t just speak—she carried the voice, pain, and hope of the Ogoni people, a people who have long endured the bitter consequences of oil exploitation on their ancestral lands.
“Pollution has contaminated our rivers and farmyards, undermined our livelihoods, and robbed us of our dignity. We demanded accountability… but the devastation remains. Now, the government wants to reopen these wounds with another round of exploitation and empty promises.”
Her words were not rehearsed. They came from the heart of a young woman born into a land still reeling from decades of environmental destruction.
A land where rivers no longer run clean, where the soil no longer yields freely, and where voices for justice have been met with violence and silence.
Gold didn’t stop at painting a picture of suffering. She called the world to action:
🟣 To invest in the restoration and cleanup of Ogoni land
🟣 To protect the rights and safety of Indigenous human rights defenders—especially women and youth
🟣 To recognize and respect our right to self-determination, our sacred connection to land, and our cultural identity.
“I am here not just as an advocate but as a daughter of Ogoni. Young women like me are rising—not with weapons, but with our voices, our stories, and our truth. We deserve a seat at the table.”
Gold’s presence at the Forum is historic—not just for OYACAS, but for all Indigenous youth who continue to raise their voices in the face of oppression, neglect, and danger.
This moment is not about recognition alone.
It’s about renewed commitment, about global solidarity, and most of all, about dignity.
We are immensely proud of our Chairperson and the courage she displayed on that world stage.
Her words echo far beyond the UN halls—they echo through the mangroves of Ogoni, across the polluted creeks, and in the hearts of every young person who dares to dream of justice.
This is OYACAS. This is Ogoni. This is the fight for survival, identity, and hope.
🕊️ Together, we rise.