Birthday of Ken Saro-Wiwa
Oct. 10, 1941
From Wikipedia-
Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, teacher, television producer, and social rights activist. He was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in the Niger Delta whose homeland, Ogoniland, has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s and has suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Initially as a spokesperson, and then as the president, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by multiple international oil companies, especially the Royal Dutch Shell company.
At the peak of his non-violent campaign, he was tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and was hanged in 1995 by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. His execution triggered international outrage and led to Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for more than three years.
In 2009, Shell agreed to an out-of-court settlement of US $15.5 million to victims' families.
Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, teacher, television producer, and social rights activist. He was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in the Niger Delta whose homeland, Ogoniland, has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s and has suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Initially as a spokesperson, and then as the president, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by multiple international oil companies, especially the Royal Dutch Shell company.
At the peak of his non-violent campaign, he was tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting, and was hanged in 1995 by the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. His execution triggered international outrage and led to Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for more than three years.
In 2009, Shell agreed to an out-of-court settlement of US $15.5 million to victims' families.