Tinubu’s Remembrance Of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ogoni 8 Didn’t Address Justice Concerns, Rights Groups Say
- Reject Government’s Planned Resumption Of Oil Exploration, Extraction In Ogoniland
- Demand Immediate Cleanup Of Niger Delta, Release Of Saro-Wiwa Memorial Bus
By Edu Abade
Some prominent groups of environmental activists have declared that President Bola Tinubu remembrance of Ogoni leaders including Ken Saro-Wiwa who were killed in 1995 for leading the fight for ecological justice in Ogoni and the Niger Delta failed to address the injustice meted on the victims.
In a statement by his media aide, the President said: “We honour their memory by recognising the sacrifices made and pledging to strive for a future characterised by peace, justice and sustainable development for all communities, particularly those in Ogoni and the Niger Delta.
“The subsequent struggles of Ogoni leaders to protect their environment from harmful oil exploration were met with severe repression, culminating in the tragic execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders in 1995.”
But reacting to President Tinubu’s statement, the groups stated that as frontline civil society organizations focused on environmental justice, they were delighted that the President deemed it appropriate to honour the memory of these martyrs of ecological struggle.
“We are particularly delighted that the President recognizes that they were murdered because they fought to protect their environment from harmful oil extraction activities that had polluted their lands and rivers; and poisoned their people.
“For clarity, it is important to note that the Nigerian military junta headed by General Sani Abacha authorized the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine.
“They were instrumental in mobilizing the Ogoni under the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and had made demands in the Ogoni Bill of Rights, which included calls to the Nigerian government to clean up the Ogoni environment and restore livelihoods of the indigenous people who had suffered decades of reckless oil extraction by Shell.
“MOSOP had called global attention to the poverty, neglect and environmental destruction which decades of oil exploitation had bequeathed the Ogoni people. MOSOP demanded fairer benefits to the Ogoni people from oil, as well as remediation and compensation for the ecological damage caused by the activities of Shell,” the statement reads.
In a statement endorsed by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF); We the People; Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA); People’s Advancement Centre; Kabetkeche Women Development Resource Centre and Lekeh Development Foundation, the groups recalled that the selfless mobilization and campaigning of the Ogoni fighters led to the 1993 expulsion of Shell from Ogoniland.
“The military government responded to this genuine concern with widespread militarization of Ogoniland and the Niger Delta region, mass killings, arson and the eventual executions that left the world outraged. The 9 were murdered after the recommendations of a stage-managed tribunal and denied the opportunity to appeal.
“The President’s statement is the first time since the unfortunate events of 1995 that a government has admitted to the injustice of the killings and repression of the Ogoni. However, it is important that the President goes further in the efforts at reconciliation and justice.
“As civil society organizations, we have consistently demanded an admission that the quasi-judicial process which resulted in the conviction of the Ogoni 9 was a mockery of justice orchestrated by the military government with Shell’s active collaboration to quell community demands for resource and ecological justice.
“What we continue to demand is the complete exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8. This is the only strategy that will bring closure to the thousands of Ogonis who were victims of government-driven repression characterized by murders, rape, torture and forced exile,” they added.
The groups further pointed out that the body language and actions of successive governments in Nigeria have not always indicated the need to reconcile and bring about closure, adding: “In 2015, a memorial artwork in the form of a bus, designed in memory of the executed Ogoni leaders by friends in the United Kingdom was confiscated by the Nigeria Customs Service.
“All appeals to the government to release this memorabilia, including an order by the National Assembly and a judgment by the Federal High Court in Lagos was denied. The bus remains locked up by the Nigeria Customs Service in Lagos for absolutely no reason beyond provocation.
