Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Nigeria refuses to honour activist Ken Saro-Wiwa on 15th anniversary of death

maybe the refused to honor saro-wiwa will draw attention to the very
govt that refuses to honor him
(i know, i know, there was the "bad" side of s-w, his actions during
the war....)
but we could probably find many honorable people with this or that we
could challenge in their lives.
for saro-wiwa there was a bottom line: he stood up to autocracy,
tyranny if you like, and resisted it. and paid for it.
i still mourn him and honor him, and find it despicable that the
present govt can't find it in themselves to distance themselves from
the worst regime nigeria had known by honoring one of its
victims--indeed, 9 of its victims:
>in memory of
>BARIBOR BERA
>SATURDAY DOBEE
>NORDU EAWO
>DANIEL GBOKOO
>BARINEM KIOBEL
>JOHN KPUINEN
>PAUL LEVURA
>FELIX NUATE
>KEN SARO-WIWA
ken

At 06:21 PM 11/13/2010, you wrote:
>Nigeria refuses to honour activist Ken Saro-Wiwa on 15th anniversary
>of death
>
>Campaigner who drew global attention to Shell's environmental impact
>on Niger Delta was hanged by military regime
>
>David Smith in Johannesburg
>Saturday November 13 2010
>The Guardian
>
>
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/12/nigeria-ken-saro-wiwa
>
>
>Nigeria has rejected a move to honour the writer and activist Ken Saro-
>Wiwa, [http://remembersarowiwa.com" title="] 15 years after he was
>hanged by the country's then military regime.
>
>Proposals for an annual Ken Saro-Wiwa Day, and to name a street and
>national monument after him, were rejected by the Nigerian senate. It
>also declined to hold a minute's silence on the anniversary of his
>death, the country's Next newspaper reported [http://234next.com/csp/
>cms/sites/Next/Home/5641394-146/
>senate_rejects_motion_to_immortalise_saro-wiwa.csp" title="].
>
>Activists and residents attended a church service in memory of the
>late campaigner, who drew worldwide attention to oil giant Shell's
>environmental impact on the Niger delta [http://www.guardian.co.uk/
>business/royaldutchshell" title="].
>
>The Nigerian senate debated a motion entitled Immortalisation of Mr
>Kenule Saro-Wiwa, which could have distanced it from the Sani Abacha
>government's decision to execute Saro-Wiwa and eight others after what
>was widely regarded as a show trial. Shell faced accusations it had
>colluded with the government [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/
>nov/09/shell-pr-saro-wiwa-nigeria" title="] in the activists' deaths,
>which the company strongly denied.
>
>Senator Lee Maeba [http://senatorleemaeba.com" title="] proposed that
>11 November be declared Ken Saro-Wiwa Day and that a prominent
>national monument and major road in the capital, Abuja, be named after
>him, Next reported.
>
>Maeba argued that Saro-Wiwa, a leading figure in the 500,000-strong
>Ogoni community, dedicated himself to solving the problems of the oil-
>rich delta through a non-violent movement for social and ecological
>justice.
>
>"Saro-Wiwa's devotion of his life to human rights and environmental
>struggle in the Niger delta led to his unjust imprisonment for several
>months without trial and his execution for trumped-up charges along
>with eight others," Maeba said.
>
>But the plan was reportedly rejected because senators felt it would
>contradict the state's action at the time and draw unwanted public
>attention. Some also argued it would be unfair to include Saro-Wiwa
>but not other activists who also sacrificed their lives for democracy.
>
>Despite Maeba's plea, the senate refused to hold a minute's silence to
>commemorate the anniversary of Saro-Wiwa's death. The senate did fall
>silent earlier this month, in memory of the independence day bombings
>victims.
>
>Saro-Wiwa, founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni
>People (MOSOP), campaigned for oil companies and the government to
>clean up the environment and pay adequate compensation and royalties
>to the oil-producing regions.
>
>Shell pulled out of Ogoniland in 1993 following protests that also led
>to a military crackdown and left scores dead, according to human
>rights campaigners. In June last year the company paid $15.5m [http://
>www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/08/nigeria-usa" title="] (?9.62m) to
>settle a legal action over the deaths of Saro-Wiwa and the eight
>others in a New York federal court, without admitting liability.
>
>Ogoniland remains impoverished and badly polluted, its creeks and
>rivers coated with oil sheen. Amnesty International [http://
>www.amnesty.org" title="] said this week: "Fifteen years after his
>death, the same environmental and human rights abuses against which
>Ken Saro-Wiwa fought continue. Amnesty International continues to
>campaign for justice in the Niger delta."
>
>
>guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2010
>
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Kenneth W. Harrow
Distinguished Professor of English
Michigan State University
harrow@msu.edu
517 803-8839
fax 517 353 3755

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