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Dissidence and martyrdom: Oil politics
and Saro-Wiwa
By Felix Akpan
The title of this piece is taken from one
of my previous works on Ken Saro-Wiwa contained in Ken Saro Wiwa: And the Discourse of
Ethnic Minority in Nigeria, edited by Imo Eshiet, Onookome
Okome and my humble self. This book of essays is our attempt to further the
critical discourse of Ken Saro-Wiwa within the ambit of what he himself saw as
an ugly side of Nigeria’s political life. This was what ruled
Saro-Wiwa’s passion, both as a writer and political commentator.
My interest in writing this article is two-fold. The
first is to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of Saro-Wiwa, by Gen
Sanni Abacha of blessed memory. The second is to remind us of Saro-Wiwa’s
prophetic words, shortly before he was unjustly executed. He said these words
to the executioners, ‘you can kill the messenger, but you cannot kill the
message, you cannot kill the message’ (Africa Today, November 9, 1998:9) implying that
his campaign against the fiscal neglect and environmental degradation of his
native Ogoni (and by inference other ethnic minorities in the Niger Delta)
cannot be brought to an end by his execution.
In many ways, Saro-Wiwa’s writings are
primarily the narrative of the unfairness
in the Nigerian federation. Whether in the books of essays, which are
more abashedly partisan or in the creative works of all genus, which are
passionately Ogoni in landscape, hopes and aspirations of Saro-Wiwa is never
far away from instituting the debate about the Nigerian nation which, according
to him, has persistently refused to recognise the importance of a true
federation of ethnic nationalities based on the principle of equality, justice
and fair play.
Saro-Wiwa was eager to change the notion of Nigerian
federation, which encouraged the growth, and proliferation of ethnic
majorities’ subjugation of ethnic minorities and micro-minorities. He
knew this was going to be a difficult task. He recognised this long before the
trumped-up charges were put forward against him. From experience, the Nigerian
ruling elite uses all forms of repression to deal with any person or group of
persons who challenges its control over the nation’s oil resources. For
instance, Isaac Adaka Boro who attempted to secede because he wanted to use the
oil resources for the benefit of his people was not spared. Ken Saro-Wiwa was
not either. Given this scenario, it should be easy to understand why it was not
Saro-Wiwa’s writings that pitched him against the government, but his
political and environmental activism.
Until his final moment, he was sure of a ‘moral
victory’ for his project of emancipating his Ogoni micro-minority, one of
the examples of cheated ethnic minorities on whose land the nation’s oil
wealth is mined. He was articulate about his political conviction. He could not
be blackmailed or browbeaten. He devoted his intellectual and material
resource, and his minorities of the Niger Delta. He was determined to usher to
this country a valid claim to Aso
Rock for every nationality or ethnic group.
Not long after his execution, Saro-Wiwa’s
‘moral victory’ coincided with that of the Niger Delta. The latest in this regard, is the
Niger Delta Volunteer Force of Asari Dokubo. Although, Dokubo might not be the
messiah the Niger Delta people are expects, for now however, he is the leading
vanguard in the struggle amongst those inclined to the violence thesis. Thus,
unlike the pre-Saro-Wiwa era when protests in the Niger Delta over perceived
marginalisation was ‘episodic and spasmodic’, the post-Saro-Wiwa
era saw the emergence of institutional protest movements emphasizing
organisation and strategy based on planned programme of action such as the
Ogoni Bill of Rights and the Kaima Declaration.
Correspondingly, the Niger Delta now witnesses a more
dangerous trend in the struggle for a clean environment and a fair share of oil
revenue. These are related conflicts in the Niger Delta today. As far as the
Niger Delta is concerned, the militant and radical youths are ready and more
determined to redress some of the telling consequences of oil exploration and
exploitation activities through extra-constitutional means. After all, the
Government also uses violence to oppress them. As history teaches us, violence
begets violence.
As empirical evidence clearly demonstrates in
Algeria, Angola, Congo and other flashpoints around the world, violence is the
irrepressible challenge to violence. This is what Dokubo, leader of the Niger
Delta Volunteer Force, ably demonstrated, when he threatened to blow up oil
wells, if the appalling conditions of the Niger Delta are not addressed.
Thus, one cannot simply gloss over the importance of
Saro-Wiwa’s prophetic words above. From the benefit of hindsight, this to
a large extent explains, why
Obasanjo’s Government negotiated with Asari Dokubo. The Government
has suddenly realised, as Saro-Wiwa predicted ,that it couldn’t kill the
message but the messenger. On the contrary, how many of the messengers can the
government kill? It is now obvious
that the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta are now quite prepared to die
fighting for their rights, instead of being treated as second-class citizens in
their own country.
Saro-Wiwa is gone but his prophetic words will remain
so for a long time, well beyond his grave. His writings and utterances will
continue to prick the minds of all those who perpetrate the subjugation of
ethnic minorities and micro-minorities of the Niger Delta. If this happens,
then the spirit of the man who engendered this struggle is alive and kicking.
Aluta continua!
Akpan wrote in from Calabar.
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