Literature & Ideas
Peerless
Ken Saro-Wiwa
1941 – 1995
Led the Ogoni against the oil companies, and was hanged for it
Peerless is level 1 of 4 in the Nigeria Hall of Fame: changed the field itself. Tell the country's story without them and the story breaks. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He organised three hundred thousand Ogoni in a peaceful march against what the oil industry had done to their land. Abacha hanged him and eight others after a sham trial in 1995, and the world suspended Nigeria for it.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, television producer and environmental campaigner.
As president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People he led a non-violent campaign against the devastation of Ogoniland's land and water by the oil industry, and by Royal Dutch Shell above all. In 1993 MOSOP brought three hundred thousand Ogoni onto the streets in peaceful protest and declared Shell unwelcome in Ogoniland. He was named a Right Livelihood laureate in 1994.
On 10 November 1995 the military government of Sani Abacha hanged him at Port Harcourt prison along with eight other Ogoni leaders — Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine — after a trial condemned around the world. Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth for more than three years.
As president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People he led a non-violent campaign against the devastation of Ogoniland's land and water by the oil industry, and by Royal Dutch Shell above all. In 1993 MOSOP brought three hundred thousand Ogoni onto the streets in peaceful protest and declared Shell unwelcome in Ogoniland. He was named a Right Livelihood laureate in 1994.
On 10 November 1995 the military government of Sani Abacha hanged him at Port Harcourt prison along with eight other Ogoni leaders — Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine — after a trial condemned around the world. Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth for more than three years.
- Wikipedia — Ken Saro-Wiwa
- Right Livelihood — Petition: exonerate Ken Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni leaders
- African Studies Centre Leiden — Ken Saro-Wiwa
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