Owens Wiwa
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (November 2018) |
Monday Owens Wiwa (born 10 October 1957 in
Education
Wiwa graduated from medical school at the University of Calabar in 1985 and completed his internship at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. In 1989, he founded his own private clinic in the Ogoni town of Bori.[citation needed]
Activism
The six kingdoms of the Ogoni—Gokana, Ken-Khana, Nyo-Khana, Eleme, Babbe and Tai—are situated in the southeast corner of Nigeria's
In 1990, Ken Saro-Wiwa, a popular writer, television personality and businessman, founded the
At his clinic in the heart of Ogoniland, Owens witnessed an increase in cases of
As MOSOP's spokesman, Ken brought the plight of the Ogoni people to the world stage. Throughout 1991 and 1992, he spoke at environmental conferences and high-profile world events, most notably addressing the
On 28 April 1993, a US contracting firm accompanied by
Tensions in the delta increased in June 1993 after Saro-Wiwa was arrested and charged with sedition. After extensive pressure by Amnesty International and other groups, he was released a month later on bail. During this period, the government dispatched soldiers to seal off Ogoniland from the outside world, but on 30 July, the police were mysteriously removed from the area.
Five days later, the coastal Ogoni town of Kaa was attacked and destroyed. More than 100 people were killed and 8,000 were left homeless. The military described the incident as an "ethic clash" between the Ogoni and their neighbours, the Andoni. Both tribes denied any involvement or that they even had a dispute. In the autumn of 1993, ten more Ogoni villages were attacked with Kaa community now completely sacked. Seven hundred and fifty people were killed and thirty thousand were left homeless in these military-style assaults. Amnesty International believed the military supported these attacks and MOSOP accused Shell of complicity.
Because of his involvement with MOSOP, Owens was arrested and imprisoned in December 1993 and April 1994, as well as July of that same year.[3]
In early 1994, Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha launched a full assault on Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni. His military's agenda was set forth in a memo drafted by Major Paul Okuntimo stating: "Shell operations still impossible unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for smooth economic activities to commence." The document goes on to ominously recommend "wasting operations coupled with psychological tactics" during MOSOP gatherings.
On 24 May 1994, a massacre occurred at the palace of the Chief of the Gokana. Four Ogoni leaders sympathetic to the government and Shell were set upon by a mob chanting "vulture, vulture." They were beaten to death with clubs and burned. The military accused Ken Saro-Wiwa of inciting the attack even though he had been barred from entering Ogoniland earlier that day at a police roadblock. Nevertheless, Ken was arrested along with 15 others. They were held without charge, clamped in leg irons and tortured.[citation needed]
When Owens learned that Ken had been arrested, he travelled to Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, to confer with Ken's lawyer. When he arrived, he saw that the arrest of Ken Saro-Wiwa had made the front page of every Nigerian newspaper. The papers also listed the names of suspects the police were looking to apprehend for the same crime.
Owens Wiwa was number one on the wanted list. He went underground. Even though he was a fugitive, Wiwa met with human rights groups, environmental groups, church leaders, and western embassies in Nigeria frequently, informing them of the situation and requesting that they put pressure for Ken's release. The response to the campaign was overwhelming. The media reacted with a clamorous condemnation of the Nigerian military. Groups such as PEN International, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and Human Rights Watch turned the arrest of Ken Saro-Wiwa into their cause célèbre. Royal Dutch Shell was vilified and boycotted around the world.
In February 1995, after being imprisoned for nine months without charge, Ken Saro-Wiwa was finally brought to trial. Bypassing normal legal procedures, Abacha set up a special military tribunal to try Ken and the others for the murder of the Ogoni chiefs. The international community condemned the trial as a sham.
On 31 October 1995, Ken and eight other Ogoni activists were sentenced to death. They were hanged less than two weeks later, on 10 November. International reaction to the executions was swift. The Commonwealth suspended Nigeria. More than a dozen countries, including the United States, recalled their ambassadors.
Exile
Owens moved swiftly. With his ex-wife and infant son in tow, he escaped the country with his life. With the help of
Wiwa resides in Toronto, Canada with his wife and three children.
The search for the bones of Ken Saro-Wiwa
Canadian author J. Timothy Hunt's biography of Wiwa entitled The Politics of Bones documented Wiwa's personal battle against the Nigerian government to locate his brother's remains after they were buried in an unmarked mass-grave. Over the torturous course of ten years, Wiwa finally succeeded in locating and properly burying his brother in the summer of 2005.
See also
External links
- The Politics of Bones, by J. Timothy Hunt
- Letter of protest published in the New York Review of Books shortly before Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution
- The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation
- Ethnic conflicts and the defence of the Ogoni
- The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) 1995 Ogoni report
References
- ^ "Remembering My Brother, Ken Saro-Wiwa By Owens Wiwa | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Okenwa, Stan (24 December 2009). "Nigeria: Fashola Signs MoU for Model Solid Waste Management Scheme". Daily Champion (Lagos). Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ Ikerionwu, Ike D. (8 May 2013). "MOVEMENT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE OGONI PEOPLE: A CASE OF NONVIOLENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION". University of Massachusetts, Peace and Conflict Studies Program.