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In representing the
Ogoni peoples of Nigeria in a struggle against devastation of
their lands by multinational oil corporations, Ken Saro-Wiwa
spoke for the impoverished many, against the empowered few. For
his efforts, Saro-Wiwa was arrested in May, 1994 in Nigeria,
on what many believe to have been spurious charges. On November
10, 1995, a Nigerian military-appointed tribunal executed nine
Ogoni leaders. Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa was among them. His final
statement, reprinted here, was never heard by the tribunal.
We all stand before
history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating
poverty of my people who live on a richly endowed land, distressed
by their political marginalization and economic strangulation,
angered by the devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage,
anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living,
and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and
just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic
group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I
have devoted my intellectual and material resources, my very
life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which
I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated. I have no doubt at all
about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials
and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter
on our journey. Neither imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate
victory.
I repeat that we all
stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones
on trial. Shell is
here on trial and it is as well that it is represented by counsel
said to be holding a watching brief. The Company has, indeed,
ducked this particular trial, but its day will surely come and
the lessons learnt here may prove useful to it for there is no
doubt in my mind that the ecological war that the Company has
waged in the Delta will be called to question sooner than later
and the crimes of that war be duly punished. The crime of the
Company's dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished.
On trial also is the
Nigerian nation, its present rulers and those who assist them.
Any nation which can do to the weak and disadvantaged what the
Nigerian nation has done to the Ogoni, loses a claim to independence
and to freedom from outside influence. I am not one of those
who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, arguing
that they are expected in a military regime. The military do
not act alone. They are supported by a gaggle of politicians,
lawyers, judges, academics and businessmen, all of them hiding
under the claim that they are only doing their duty, men and
women too afraid to wash their pants of urine.
We all stand on trial,
my lord, for by our actions we have denigrated our Country and
jeopardized the future of our children. As we subscribe to the
sub-normal and accept double standards, as we lie and cheat openly,
as we protect injustice and oppression, we empty our classrooms,
denigrate our hospitals, fill our stomachs with hunger and elect
to make ourselves the slaves of those who ascribe to higher standards,
pursue the truth, and honour justice, freedom, and hard work.
I predict that the scene here will be played and replayed by
generations yet unborn. Some have already cast themselves in
the role of villains, some are tragic victims, some still have
a chance to redeem themselves. The choice is for each individual.
I predict that the
denoument of the riddle of the Niger delta will soon come. The
agenda is being set at this trial. Whether the peaceful ways
I have favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides,
what signals it sends out to the waiting public.
In my innocence of
the false charges I face Here, in my utter conviction, I call
upon the Ogoni people, the peoples of the Niger delta, and the
oppressed ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and fight
fearlessly and peacefully for their rights. History is on their
side. God is on their side. For the Holy Quran says in Sura 42,
verse 41: "All those that fight when oppressed incur no
guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressor." Come the day.
Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa |
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