Yesterday, 9th June 2009, fourteen years after the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa at Port Harcourt prisons, I was jolted, excited and cried when I heard in the CNN that Shell has agreed to settle the Ogoni Nine with $15.5m for aiding and abetting that horror. I remember that after the hanging of Ken, one Sam Amadi, who was part of the legal team from Gani Fawihinmi’s chambers, cross-examined his late client, Ken Saro-Wiwa, purporting that Ken has no legacy as far as the Ogoni struggle was concerned.
As at then, Amadi got reactions from many people who even questioned and doubted Amadi’s integrity and commitment as a counsel to Ken during the trial. Today, Amadi’s integrity has been further rubbished by this self indictment by Shell. My objective reply to Amadi on the question of Ken’s legacy is that it goes beyond the struggle for Ogoni’s self determination.
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Ken has a legacy as the Administrator of Bonny in about 1966. Ken has a legacy in Rivers State as one of the founding fathers of the old Rivers State that gave birth to Bayelsa State. Ken has a legacy for been the Secretary of the movement for the creation of old Rivers State in the early 1960s. He has solid legacy having established, as the then Commissioner of Information in the old Rivers State, the Nigerian Tide in 1971. Ken has a legacy having sponsored Rivers children under the Rivers State scholarship scheme as the then Commissioner of Education in the early 1970s.
Killing Ken in Port Harcourt was a huge disrespect and insult to the true people of Rivers State. We shall forever remember Ken for exposing the crude evils perpetrated by Shell and other international oil companies in the devastation of our environment and humanity with the tacit support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, lawyers like Sam Amadi and other Nigerians who will have the blood of their kindred on their right hand and collect transient monetary rewards with their left hand. They all connived with Shell to see to it that Ken was killed and that he must never be remembered. It was Ken’s death that ushered in 13% they enjoy today in the Niger Delta. It was Ken’s message that stopped Shell from drilling crude oil in Ogoni since over ten years now. Ken has raised the consciousness bar among Rivers people for the increasing agitation for self determination (not resource control, cultism, militancy or kidnapping sponsored by all those doubtful children of the Niger Delta.
A true son of the Niger Delta will not kill or kidnap his people and that is why MOSOP did not carry out such despicable and shameful activities that are ruining Niger Delta today). Ken exposed the evils of Nigeria to the international community which declared Nigeria a pariah state in 1995 immediately after the horror of killing Ken.
Sam Amadi and his likes, who drank good beer on the 10th November 1995, should know today that the World recognizes Kenule Saro-Wiwa because Ken’s message was truth. His legacy is neither in the ransom to be paid to the Ogoni Nine nor in the return of Shell to Ogoniland. It is in the untiring fact that Shell accepted to have done what Ken argued Shell should not have done and for which Shell had been denying. This is the ultimate strength, validity and legacy of Ken’s message.
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Today, the true people of Rivers State salute our most loved son, uncle, father and hero, Kenule Saro-Wiwa whose message cannot die. Today we affirm that your legacy lives forever: self determination for our people’s true development for which you were prepared to die. How many Sam Amadis are prepared to die for the cause of common good for their people? Sam Amadi, where is your own legacy?
Okachikwu Dibia
Abuja.
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