Ken Saro-Wiwa: Time to stand for something

At 52, I think I’ve served my time and, come to face it, I’ve lived a charmed life. A few more books, maybe, and the opportunity to assist others would be welcome. But, it’s okay — Ken Saro- Wiwa.

The life of Ken Saro-Wiwa keeps resonating in the annals of the history of Nigeria. He had become a renowned name in the environmental and ecological literature across the globe. In my study of Saro-Wiwa, I have come to appreciate a selfless man who gave up a life of comfort to stand for a cause that he believed in and he, alongside eight other persons, paid the ultimate price. Unfortunately, we are currently in a generation where many people do not stand for anything. The cause he stood for brought him international acclaim in the process of his eventual death.

The book, Silence Would Be Treason: Last Writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa, can be divided into three parts namely — Essays on Ken Saro-Wiwa; The letters to Sister Majella and McCarron and his poems. The prolific nature of Saro-Wiwa is no more in doubt because of the number of publications that he penned while he lived. His writings cut across non-fiction, fiction, children’s literature, television and stage plays and poetry. His love for writings made him establish a publishing firm, Saros International Publishers, so that the world can have access to his creative insight.

In the book, the State is used to fight Saro-Wiwa. The state is instigated by an oil and gas company that has polluted Ogoni communities. Interestingly, the third party to the whole crisis eventually agrees that it has, indeed, polluted the Niger-Delta. The State used Saro-Wiwa’s kinsmen against him; a documentary is used to tell a false tale about them; the state incarcerated them as they are considered too powerful.

The State even goes as far as frustrating the lawyers of the Ogoni 9 and counsels are provided for them instead.

Saro-Wiwa says: “Our lawyers have now withdrawn and the Legal Aid Council of Rivers State has provided a lawyer for each of us. They now need to obtain all the proceedings and study them before the trial can recommence. We expect that they will give the proceedings from the Tribunal but we are not giving them any of our own papers. In short, we will not be co-operating with any of the defence counsel. We would like it known that the State are judge, prosecuting and defence counsel all rolled into one so that the true intent of the State is no longer masked.” Pg 133.

In it all, Saro-Wiwa is conscious of the fact that the State wants him dead.

In Page 74, he says, “The Military Administrator, Lt Col. Dauda Musa Komo, has ignored the recommendation which makes me believe that he wants me dead.” Eventually, it all played out till his eventual death.

The state of mind of Ken Saro-Wiwa is that of someone who knows what he is up to and he used all that is within his reach, his finances, network of friends and the media, to fight the State.

He used his international exposure and his writing ability and this gave birth to the piece of work that is being studied.

In the book, he writes about himself and his struggles:

“My preparation for this struggle was a long one and it was made simple by the fact that I do not know that the Divine Hand was preparing me all the time. It is only now that when I look back and begin to put the pieces together that I can see the progression from Administrator for Bonny; Commissioner in Rivers State, businessman (of some success), television producer, publisher, writer to activist as preparation for a task that would have been daunting if I had, for one moment, stopped to think or analyse its implications…”

I am proud to say, I have met Ken Saro- Wiwa on the pages of books and I am excited to have studied him. I appreciate Sir Nnimmo Bassey, who gave me this book.

It is now time to stand for something and stop falling for everything; either we stand or we don’t, we will all die someday, somehow.