‘’Good people do not die. They live forever in the hearts of those whom they have affected’’
- Anonymous
The words rang out, reverberating through the walls of the Port Harcourt Prisons with the same measure of strength of conviction that exemplified the life of the one who uttered them. And it was understandable. After four previous botched attempts by the hangman’s noose to snuff life out of him, he took his case to his creator.
“Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues”
And the man died.
Twenty years on, Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa; famous writer and environmental activist remains a symbolism of the Niger Delta region: one that has been blighted by the worst form of environmental degradation known to mankind. Saro-Wiwa was despicably hanged to death by the Abacha led junta in a rather cavalier way because of his tenacious battle against the incessant environmental decadence in parts of the Niger Delta region.
In life, he stood taller than his executioners. In death, he stands even taller than they could ever wish for. That is why it came as a rude shock to the generality of Nigerians that the memorabilia, a sculptured bus donated to the Ogoni people to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa, was seized at the Lagos Port by the Nigeria Customs Service; an agency of the Nigerian government. The reason for the seizure is the ‘’political value’’ of the inscription on a side of the sculpture. Mother Nature actually does have a rude sense of humour tinged with a little dose of irony. The Nigerian Customs is currently headed by Hameed Ali; same man who was at the centre of the kangaroo court that extra-judicially murdered Saro-Wiwa.
To really appreciate what Saro-Wiwa stood up for, it would be proper to put it in context. Observed aerially, the Niger Delta region presents a pictorial depiction that is anything but picturesque: a shocking sight of gas flares that bear semblance to orange fireballs jutting from emerald dense mangrove forests. On the ground, the natives of this region aptly describe the panorama as a ”never setting sun”. Due to its richness in oil deposits and the enormity of the environmental degradation it suffers as a consequence, the Niger Delta region can pertinently be described as a pathetic paradox: so rich, yet so poor, so endowed yet so mismanaged, with so much potentials, yet so prodigal.
However, the question that is usually raised by a lot of people especially from outside the region, borders around what exactly the leaders of the region have done for it; how the huge federal allocations have been spent; and more recently how the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs have fared in bringing the much needed development to the region. We saw Senator Ali Ndume; the Senate Majority Leader espouse this line of thought only a few weeks ago during the screening process for Ministerial nominees. Valid questions you would be tempted to say, at least on the surface of it. But when you critically analyze it, you are left bemused because for all intents and purposes, it is one of the oldest tricks in the books.
And the Nigerian State has maximally leveraged on this trick to wreak its havoc on the Niger Delta region. It installs a puppet to do its bidding, and when the people grumble, they retort by insisting that ‘’your leaders’’ are appalling. The leadership pool is asphyxiated by purposely giving the bad leaders a free rein while the good ones are hounded, blackmailed into silence or in worst case scenarios, summarily killed. We have seen this time and again. It is the reason why today, a Rotimi Amaechi is seen by ‘’outsiders’’ as the best thing to originate out of the Niger Delta. It is the reason why Peter Odili sits in Abuja and cannot be investigated for his 8-year pillage of Rivers State. It is the same reason why some years back on a cold night in Jos, President Obasanjo preferred a Goodluck Jonathan to a Donald Duke as Yar’Adua’s running mate. Heck, it is the very reason why Saro-Wiwa was killed!
And at some point, you are wont to ask if a nation that perpetuates horrendous acts like these is one that is founded on the principles of justice and equity. At the height of the restiveness in the Niger Delta region, a situation which cascaded from the death of Saro-Wiwa, a Senator of the Federal Republic and of Northern extraction, Senator Kanti Bello had the impudence to canvass to a rather bewildered nation that for peace to reign, the region had to be wiped out. The monstrosity of that audacity exposed to great lengths, the disdain and contempt in which the Niger Delta Region is held by the Nigerian State. This is a nation where injustice is gleefully served like a cuisine and gobbled enthusiastically by those who direct the levers of power; while those who support it hide their exasperating triumphalism under the guise of patriotism. The kind that was exhibited in Port Harcourt on the 10th of November, 1995; which made Saro-Wiwa ask his murderers at some point before he finally submitted to death: “Why are you people treating me like this? Which type of country is this?”
Answers to that very question posed by Saro-Wiwa are readily provided by the fact that even though he died bringing world consciousness to the injustice of the Nigerian State in the Niger Delta region, two decades later, the very same issues he fought for remain largely unresolved. To be certain, the situation is even worse. Sadly, the best shot at finding a lasting solution to these environmental issues were made manifest through a foreign initiative; the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) report of 2011. Four years after the report was handed to the Federal Government, not much has been done with a view to implementing its far reaching recommendations.
Locally, the efforts that have been made can be described as feeble at best and cynical at worst. Gro Harlem Brundtland in her famous and well documented ‘’Our Common Future’’ report to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), posited that the issue of sustainable development has an element of political will which must be exerted by governments. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was a Special Purpose Vehicle meant to test the will of the Nigerian Government to bring reprieve to the Niger Delta region. The bill continues to gather dust; enough to give an asthmatic patient a panic attack, in the National Assembly based on reasons ranging from the ludicrous to the downright puerile. But just like Saro-Wiwa pointed out, the struggle must go on. It is the reality of the Niger Delta people.
In Christendom, it is not unusual to hear mourners poke their fingers into the eyes of providence and solemnly ask: oh death, where is thy sting? On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest men to ever come out of the Niger Delta, l have taken the liberty to modify that question.
It simply is, oh Nigeria, where is thy shame?
Charles Ohia is an Environmental Management Consultant and his tweet prints can be found via @9jaBloke
