November 10th 1995 was one day I cannot forget in my life: while Ken Saro-Wiwa was being hanged in Port Harcourt prisons, my uncle was being sworn-in as a high court judge in Port Harcourt. Could the reader kindly put himself or herself in my shoes and tell me how he/she will be feeling at that cross-road?
But I have hope that the two occasions, though they reflect how nasty life can be, can also bring forth good things on the long run. My uncle has been serving the Rivers State Judiciary meritoriously since then. Also, it appears that the world is getting to know that in truth, Ken Saro-Wiwa had no hand in the killing of the Ogoni four and that Shell had in June 2009, admitted complicity in the whole Ogoni sufferings and genocide.
Two unfortunate things about this day: an Ikwerreman was the legal counsel to Shell in this shame. Yes I must preach morality because it is the basis of the law. Also, one of Ken’s counsels, Sam Amadi, who publicly questioned the legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa is now rest assured that history has recorded it for him that he defended Ken with divided interest: while defending Ken as a lawyer in Gani Fawehinmi’s chambers, he was at the same time praying that his client be killed. But the entire Ikwerre people or Igbo people are yet to have any iota of social benefit from either of these lawyers. What can the world remember them for in their absence? We are watching to see how they could be better than Ken in the history of Nigeria.
The social capital of Ken Saro-Wiwa is that his ideas about Nigeria are still relevant today. He insisted that Nigeria must have a development ideology. This ideology must preserve Nigeria’s environment which bears Nigeria’s resources, talents and occupations. These crude items of development must constitute the bedrock from which Nigeria’s development springs. Therefore Nigeria’s development is about Nigerian people, Nigerian education, Nigerian healthcare etc. It does not start and end with the building of infrastructure and unwholesome consumption of foreign goods and ideas enabled by the sharing of federal allocations from Abuja.
We need Nigerian content in world development and this can start by allowing self determination to the peoples of Nigeria. Self determination will usher in the ideology of developmentalism. It insists that the people should develop themselves by themselves based on their environment, talents, resources and occupations (where they have comparative advantages) and contribute to the centre for the sustenance of federal services. For example, Nigeria will be developed when the Igbo in Nkalagu is able to discover limestone, use it to produce cement and other allied products for his well being. The Ogoni is capable of discovering crude oil, exploit it, build his refineries to refine crude oil and use it for his well being. The Ijaw is able to produce fishing hooks, nets and boats with which to produce quality fishes, feed Nigeria and ensure his well being. The Hausa is able to move up cattle rearing to higher levels such that he will have meat factories, milk factories and other factories from cattle business. The Tiv and Igala people are able to have their Universities of Agriculture, produce relevant cereals and fresh foods, build food processing factories and feed Nigeria with organic foods that can sustain life. The Ikwerre is able to have her Universities of Agriculture, produce suitable farm fertilizers and technologies, build her palm oil refineries for increased production, feed Nigeria with quality palm oil and farm products and smiles to the bank. All these people will happily coalesce at the centre as equals to live together forever. Ken Saro-Wiwa’s ideas are still alive and relevant in Nigeria today.
Okachikwu Dibia
Abuja
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