“Government has done little or nothing to assuage the sufferings of the Ogoni people or address their complaints”, said Ledum Mitee, who was Saro-Wiwa’s deputy in the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
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Vigils are being held in Nigeria to mark the 20th anniversary of the execution of the human rights activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa – along with eight others.
But while he is now widely seen as a hero in much of Nigeria and the world, Mr. Saro-Wiwa’s great cause is still unfulfilled.
The main events to commemorate Mr Saro-Wiwa’s death – including a “justice walk” – are taking place in the main oil city, Port Harcourt, reports the BBC’s Chris Ewokor from the capital, Abuja.
He further commended the Ogoni people for their understanding, patience and love for Gov Wike as demonstrated by their massive votes for him in the last general elections.
“Oil companies such as Shell continue to dodge their responsibility”.
On its website, Shell admits that the execution of the nine activists in 1995 brought “international notoriety” to the issue of oil pollution in the delta.
The bus, created by London-based Nigerian artist, Sokari Douglas-Camp, has the words of Saro-Wiwa inscribed: “I accuse the oil companies of practising Genocide against the Ogoni”. “The oil spills have not stopped, and Shell has still not cleaned up this huge environmental degradation”.
“We still believe that while the governing council requires enlargement to incorporate civil society, Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), an administrative unit under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, can not be the institution for the implementation of the UNEP report”. They found soil and water still blackened and contaminated by oil, even though people were living and farming nearby. The executions came two years after protesters forced Shell out of Ogoniland, although its pipelines still carry oil.
“In the 20 years since Saro-Wiwa was executed, thousands of villagers in the Niger Delta have still not been able to drink clean water, nor farm on their land, nor fish in their waters”, he said. “This oil pollution is wrecking lives”.
Within the last decade, the tide turned and it looked as though Saro-Wiwa’s death would not be in vain.
Speaking on behalf of the groups, Executive Director of ERA, Dr. Godwin Ojo, also called on President Buhari to order officials of the customs service to release the seized Kenule Saro-Wiwa memorial bus.
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Nigeria’s port authorities have refused to release a metal bus, shipped from the United Kingdom, which was to have been part of the commemorations because they regarded its message as highly political, our reporter adds.
