Nigeria oil pollution still menaces 20 years after activist’s hanging, Shell

Saro-Wiwa’s son, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., who worked in the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan, thinks that insurgency could have been avoided had the military government responded differently to the community grievances raised by his father.

On November 10, 1995, Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his comrades (the “Ogoni Nine”) were executed by hanging after being found guilty of murder by a specially arranged military tribunal.

“Known on the worldwide stage for his David-and-Goliath struggle with oil giant Shell, Ken Saro-Wiwa remains a figure lionized by activists all over the world, who see his example as a great victory for people power over formidable transnational corporate giants”, said Godwin Uyi Ojo, executive director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Environmental Rights Action.

He always denied involvement and the executions on November 10, 1995 triggered an worldwide outcry and sanctions against Nigeria, including a four-year suspension from the Commonwealth. “Judicial murder”, charged then-British Premier John Major.

The chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bro Felix Obuah says the Ogoni people deserve special commendation for their sacrifice and the role they played in paving way for the nation’s nascent democracy.

It had written on it Mr Saro-Wiwa’s famous phrase: “I accuse the oil companies of committing genocide”.

Last week, Amnesty global and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development accused Shell of making false claims about the extent of its clean-up operations in Nigeria.

In Bori, Mitee described the 20th anniversary as one of “sober reflection”, not only for his colleagues but his own brush with death.

The military executioners didn’t want anyone to remember Ken Saro-Wiwa. “They must prevent further spills, clean up, and provide adequate compensation to people affected by oil pollution in Nigeria”, said Uyi Ojo.

The writer led a peaceful uprising of hundreds of thousands against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniiland. In September, he was appointed head of the Nigerian customs service.

The pollution and poverty in the Niger Delta sparked a violent insurgency that only ended in 2009, when the government started paying militants off as part of an amnesty agreement.

The best way to honor his father’s legacy, Saro-Wiwa Jr. says, is to clean up Ogoniland.

They also wondered why the memorial bus, a sculpture depicting the struggles of late Saro-Wiwa, was withheld by the customs, while every effort aimed at getting the monument released had not yielded meaningful results.

Life is worse, said Ogoni leader Celestine Apko Bari.