8 Photos Of Late Ken Saro Wiwa That Bring Back Old Memories

Twenty years after the death of the late Nigerian writer and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa, his memories still stay fresh in the minds of many Nigerians, especially the people of Ogoniland.

Saro-Wiwa, a son of Ogoni chieftain Jim Wiwa, was born in Bori, in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. He was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s. The area suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping.

Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by the operations of the multinational petroleum industry, especially the Royal Dutch Shell company. He was also an outspoken critic of the Nigerian government, which he viewed as reluctant to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum companies operating in the area.

At the peak of his non-violent campaign, he was tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the gruesome murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and hanged in 1995 by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.

His execution provoked international outrage and resulted in Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years.

As the people of Ogoniland remember the murder of their loved ones today, below are 8 photos of the late Ken Sar0-Wiwa:

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