Twenty years ago, an illustrious son from the Niger Delta, an Ogoni in particular, Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the military government of Nigeria headed by the brutal late Sani Abacha. What was Ken's crime? He stood his ground that Shell petroleum company pay for the extensive oil spillage its exploration and production activities has caused the Ogoni people. The enormous ecological damage Shell caused in the land of Ogoni is still in place today.

All my life I've respected and almost revered people who stood true to their highest ideals even in the face of mortal danger. I have a strong affinity for men of courage, conviction, tenacity and honour.

By all means Ken wasn't a poor man during his time. He had all it took to lead a peaceful and prosperous life. He was a former commissioner of Rivers state. So, he was doing very great. But his passion for his people and their future wellbeing was too great for him to have looked the other side. A great man is one who thinks more about the wellbeing of his tribe than he thinks about himself. Ken was such a man. He saw the wellbeing of his people as something that was more important than his very life.

He was able to use his friends from such environmental NGOs as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, etc, to champion his noble cause. He faced threats even before his eventual death. His family was rumoured to have attempted prevailing on him to jettison his struggle for his own personal safety reasons but he courageously told them he was willing to face the wrath of the brutal Nigeria military. He did honour his word. He knew his end from the moment he chose the path of war against tyranny and injustice. He knew his end from the moment he started opposing the activities of the Shell company which was making huge revenues for the military government of Nigeria. We believe Shell must have played no little in his execution.

The purpose of this message is to extol the values of a man that died for a noble and enduring cause. It's written to appreciate a man that died for the wellbeing of his own tribe. It's written to honour a man that trekked the often lonely path of courage, passion, mortal risk and death for a noble cause. Only a few men have summoned such courage in the face of death- especially death by hanging.

The path to greatness is a challenging one. Billions of people have come to the earth and returned unknown. But some others have their names yet to be forgotten because they lived by values they saw greater than their lives. History has such men written down. The world doesn't forget those who voiced against oppression and injustice. The world doesn't remember cowards and selfish folks. It doesn't recall timid and greedy folks.

Greatness has a huge price. To be great is to be ridiculed. It's to be lonely sometimes. It's to be misunderstood. It can even lead to being ostracised and being killed. To be great is to be true to one's ideals though they be weird to others.

If you follow through with your ideals and passions, the world will never forget you. Great men never die; their lives will continue to guide and inspire many to walk the same way they did. Society is designed to force you into conformity and validation. Society was designed to make you blend in rather than stand out. Do you have the courage to be different? That's the only way you can live forever in the hearts of men. To live without a purpose is to have come here to simply procreate and pay bills.

Ken shall continue to be in my heart. He shall continue to be my role model when the time comes to challenge evil, call out oppression and risk my very existence for the wellbeing of my tribe. To this I will remain ever true.

Lalasticalala, please help me do the needful.

Ken Saro Wiwa: loved by some, hated by some.
But a true hero of the Ogoni's. The scales fell off his eyes late. And alas, before he went before the gaulag he knew his real friends and those who pretended to be. The wolves never loved him for whom he was, but for what came forth from his land 'oyel'.

The purpose of this message is to extol the values of a man that died for a noble and enduring cause.

@bolded, this is where the present youths of Nigeria will stop. To die in Nigeria for any cause is synonymous to being non existent. In this country, heroes are not celebrated and history is untold. Truly, great men do what they must not because of any reward but because of whatever cause they are fighting for.

In saner climes, heroes are role models and whoever steps out to identify an error is regarded with respect. The same cannot be said for Nigeria where you risk getting arrested for reporting a crime or even worse, risk being labelled a f00l for doing the right thing.

This had better make front page because the last time I checked, Anini was there and I no see wetin the guy do wey warrant such exaltation.

i so much love this man. The day i first heard of him and i tried wikipedia to get to know who he is, after reading the whole story i felt sad...

How i wish all this 21st century politician also take the path he took, fighting and defending their people and not for their own personal interest.



Continue to rest in peace Great KEN

lalasticlala . . . . put this where it needs to be.

Saro wiwa will always be a great hero for challenging the monsters which is FGN and MNOC who have made Ogoni land to be the worst place to be in. He took on them with his pen and he demanded for justice. The conspiracy of the system took his life and Ogoni land is still being promised cllean up by the irresponsible FGN and MNOCs.

We need to learn from Saro wiwa that we should never give up inspite of the difficulties we will face in our task of making the lives of our people better. Saro wiwa was a victim of the same Oligarchs who pulled the strings from behind in far away northern hilltop and mansions.

yussuf739:
i so much love this man. The day i first heard of him and i tried wikipedia to get to know who he is, after reading the whole story i felt sad...

How i wish all this 21st century politician also take the path he took, fighting and defending their people and not for their own personal interest.



Continue to rest in peace Great KEN

Thanks for the encouraging words. He was a rare and courageous man. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

hahn:


@bolded, this is where the present youths of Nigeria will stop. To die in Nigeria for any cause is synonymous to being non existent. In this country, heroes are not celebrated and history is untold. Truly, great men do what they must not because of any reward but because of whatever cause they are fighting for.

In saner climes, heroes are role models and whoever steps out to identify an error is regarded with respect. The same cannot be said for Nigeria where you risk getting arrested for reporting a crime or even worse, risk being labelled a f00l for doing the right thing.

This had better make front page because the last time I checked, Anini was there and I no see wetin the guy do wey warrant such exaltation.

That's the way it is. We don't seem to appreciate great men here but the same isn't with me. I have a great place for the courageous ones.

Lalasticalala.

dearpreye:


Thanks for the encouraging words. He was a rare and courageous man. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

amen

dearpreye:


That's the way it is. We don't seem to appreciate great men here but the same isn't with me. I have a great place for the courageous ones.

Lalasticalala.

Nigeria have a lot of skeleton in its cupboard.
And Truth is a Treason in this country.

Ogoni pior-pior. Lol

As a boy who raised by Ogoni girls, I feel terribly touched whenever I remember their plight. The ogonis are the true face of the Niger Delta struggle. For a tribe to chase an IOC straight out of their land even as far back as the 90s and never look back is a quality Sub Saharan African's should emulate with vigor.
I will always remember the fight between the Ogoni's and Shell. It should be written in history books!

Unfortunately, the mind of the average Niger Deltan today is wrapped in slavery and delusion. The Niger delta would lose over 200 billion dollars and a clean environment in the next 10 years. I feel terrible whenever I see people like Barcanista talk about the Niger Delta struggle or resource control and whatever. They sound lost and delusional. They should read about the Ogoni struggle and emancipate themselves from the slavery of the Nigerian state.

I wish Nigeria and the Niger Delta good luck. Goodbye. . .

So I was banned for insulting an idiott called edogirl?

No wahala. . .

I wish Saro Wiwa is still alive to teach some of our brothers what the real Nigeria as it is portends. He paid the price for exposing the evil called One Nigeria . No matter his mistakes, the blood he shed will never be in vain. Rip Ken

This man is Ken saro wiwa, His full name is Kenule Saro nwinwa. (He denied the Igbo roots of his fore-fathers by twisting his name).He sided and sabotaged the biafran struggle during the civil war so much so that till death he lived in one of d "abandoned" properties of biafran Igbos which they confiscated. So was his loyalty that he was compensated with juicy appointments after d war. He was to soon realise his folly and that of his ilk and went into activism against same people he supported in conquering his father's land.(the hausa-fulani). They killed him for daring to challenge his masters. (Ojukwu replied him with the great "Good morning" for waking up in d evening) Such was the greatness of the man "we" celebrate. From his sabotage to his activism and till today, what has changed? As we reflect on his life, I enjoin my brothers from delta area of south east, (south-south is a tautology of housa-fulani divide and rule) that today is still "Good Morning".

Let me just read and pass...

Zuria:
Let me just read and pass...

how is igumale dis evening

Omololu007:
how is igumale dis evening

clown, peaceful

Zuria:

clown, peaceful

joker ...where in Nigeria is igumale located

Omololu007:
joker ...where in Nigeria is igumale located

it's your new geography assignment

Zuria:


it's your new geography assignment

igumale nah very strong name o

Omololu007:
igumale nah very strong name o

so you can't answer this simple geography question? Your reaction to exam question papers would really be hilarious if the questions look "strong"