Saro-Wiwa, Ken (1941–1995)

Noted Nigerian novelist and television producer Kenule (Ken) Beeson Saro-Wiwa was catapulted to [Page 1265]international notoriety as a founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), imprisoned in 1994 by Nigerian military dictator Sani Abacha.

Born in the southern Nigerian coastal town of Bori, Saro-Wiwa taught at Government College and at the University of Lagos before becoming the civilian administrator for the port of Bonny in the Niger Delta. He also served as Regional Commissioner for Education in the Rivers State Cabinet of the early 1970s, before being dismissed because of his support for Ogoni political power and autonomy. By the 1980s, Saro-Wiwa had shifted his emphasis to writing, and was the primary figure behind Basi and Company, a television series that ran for 15 seasons and was reportedly the most watched television program in all of Africa before being cancelled in 1992 by the dictatorship. His bestselling novel, Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English of 1985, told the semiautobiographical story of a young soldier in the Biafran war, and his process of politicization. Saro-Wiwa went on to write numerous other novels, children's books, and essay collections, including seven books published in one year at the height of his creative output.

As a political activist, Saro-Wiwa spoke out primarily against the pillage and corruption taking place throughout the Nigerian countryside at the hands of Shell Oil and British Petroleum. MOSOP's mission was to halt the environmental damage being done to Ogoniland, and to seek reparations from those companies for the damage done to the people and to the land. A coauthor of the Ogoni Bill of Rights, he asserted that it was intolerable that one of the most mineral rich parts of the world be subjected to abject poverty and destitution due to the greed of the transnationals. Gaining the support of ecological groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, MOSOP organized international petition drives, mass demonstration—including one of more than 300,000 participants—and educational activities.

Despite a long history of peaceful protest, MOSOP and Saro-Wiwa were held responsible by the Nigerian government for several riots that took place late in 1994. Along with eight others, Saro-Wiwa was arrested and accused of incitement to murder. The so-called Ogoni Nine were sentenced to death by a specially convened tribunal, leading to widespread criticism, protest, and appeals for clemency from human rights groups around the world. Executed by hanging on November 10, 1995, Saro-Wiwa's murder received extensive international press, leading to the immediate suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of Nations. Then South African President Nelson Mandela, in a move uncharacteristic and unprecedented for African leaders, implied direct intervention in a statement that declared that Abacha was sitting on a volcano that Mandela would explode from under him. Nevertheless, the military strongman remained in power till his death by heart attack in 1998.

Though the legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa continues to inspire many, the oil mining of the Niger Delta, and conflict between the people and the government of that region, also still continues.

...