Tinubu’s remembrance of Saro-Wiwa, eight other Ogoni leaders doesn’t address justice concerns – CSOs

A coalition of leading Nigerian Civil Society Groups has stated that President Bola Tinubu’s remembrance of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders fails to address justice concerns.

President Tinubu’s recent statement, which honoured the memory of Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8, has drawn mixed reactions from civil society organisations.

While the statement acknowledged the sacrifices made by these martyrs of the ecological struggle, the groups argued that it falls short of addressing the lingering concerns of justice and reconciliation.

The statement, released on November 11 by the Presidency, pledged to strive for a future characterised by peace, justice, and sustainable development for all communities, particularly those in the Niger Delta.

However, groups such as Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), We the People, Corporate Accountability, Popular Participation Africa, People’s Advancement Centre, and Kabetkeche Women Development Resource Centre contended that the President’s words must be backed by concrete actions.

It will be recalled that Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders were executed in 1995 for leading the fight against environmental degradation caused by oil extraction in Ogoniland. The Nigerian military junta, headed by General Sani Abacha, authorised the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders. The Ogoni 9 mobilised their community under the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), demanding fair benefits, remediation, and compensation for ecological damage caused by Shell’s activities.

In a statement issued by HOMEF’s Media and Communications Officer, Kome Odhomor, the coalition called for the complete exoneration of the Ogoni 9 and the release of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Bus, confiscated by the Nigeria Customs Service in 2015.

The groups also expressed concerns about the government’s plans to resume oil extraction in Ogoniland despite the ongoing ecological disaster and non-compliance with UNEP’s recommendations.

Instead, the coalition urged the government to prioritise remediation, decommission aged oil infrastructure, replace lost livelihoods, and secure justice for the Ogoni people.

The statement read,”We are equally concerned that the Nigerian government continues to make frantic efforts to resume oil extraction activities in the oil wells located in Ogoni territory after they were shut down in 1993.

“It is worrying that the government will decide to resume oil extraction when the pollution of the last decades is yet to be cleaned, and the recommendations of UNEP are yet to be fully complied with.

“How does one explain the fact that a site supposedly being cleaned up will resume full oil extraction activities with all the pollution that comes with it?”