As we called for a return to democracy after years of military rule, a fragilely built man was focusing on an issue other activists were neglecting. It concerned the control of natural resources in the Niger Delta, and in particular, the devastation caused by oil-producing companies in Ogoniland.
That man was Ken Saro-Wiwa and he changed and enriched the Nigerian cause for human rights and environmental protection.
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| Nigerian oil spill haunts locals four years on |
In 1995, Nigeria was under the military rule of General Sani Abacha. He was the man behind the arrest of Saro-Wiwa, who by then had become an effective symbol of resistance against the oppression of minority groups.
He was also campaigning to give Nigeria's people control of the country's natural resources, which were being exploited by multinational companies with the government's backing.
Saro-Wiwa and his Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) had adopted an effective non-violent campaign for environmental justice, social equality, a right for self-determination and control of Nigeria's resources. The campaign also highlighted the environmental devastation caused not only in Ogoniland but the Niger Delta as a whole.
The oil produced in the Niger Delta accounted for much of Nigeria's revenue, yet the region suffered extreme poverty and atrocious human rights abuses.
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