Ken Saro-Wiwa (10 Oct 1941 to 10 Nov 1995) was a Nigerian writer and activist for human rights and the environment. He was killed while fighting a non-violent campaign against the extreme environmental damage that indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping caused by foreign companies, especially the Royal Dutch Shell company to his Ogoni people's homeland in the oil-rich Niger Delta. This suffering occurred because his people's land was a key target by oil companies who dug for oil without adequate safety and human rights measures.
He became such a thorn in the side of corrupt government officials and Shell that he was eventually hung on trumped up charges. Needless to say, his execution provoked international outrage, even resulting in the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of nations for 3 years. For a while, his activism placed him in the crosshairs of those who benefited from the corruption. For instance, he was imprisoned for several months without trial by the military police as an attempt to silence him.
The legal, non-spiritual conclusion: Lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell
Human rights cases were brought against Shell for criminal human rights violations, including summary execution, inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention. With an abundance of material wealth, Shell paid this sum easily, albeit grudgingly. However, do not lose sight of that the spirit guiding a company to act this way is hardly likely to truly change. Rather, like any other psychopathic energy, it learns to be more surreptitious. For instance, rather than more easily recognizable tactics like summary execution and other physical warfare, it uses more spiritual forms of warfare like character assassination and gang stalking psyops. In short, it simply continues in this vein whenever opportunities present themselves.
Video by YouTuber NewAfrica 'The Ken Saro-Wiwa Story | Greed, Betrayal and the Battle for Nigeria's Oil Money'
Backstory to tell you about the characteristics of his spirit and mission.
This ancestor had a mission but was unable to complete his mission in his desired way (ie to immediately protect the well being of his people). You decide whether aspects of his characteristics will help or hinder your specific set of circumstances before inviting them into avatar. It is painful to watch Ken Saro-Wiwa's dignified calls for peaceful protests, knowing that greed for money would ultimately motivate the military government to respond by killing him. Essentially, he projected onto Shell and the military government the positive response he would likely have given had the tables been turned. The imagined response was, "We respect your humanity. Let us talk about how we can invest our vast resources to devise a mutually beneficial path." When you call upon the ancestors, they are often those who were unable to complete their mission. Calling upon ancestors who were unable to complete their mission is a matter of not only thanking them for the point to which they brought us but very importantly of volunteering to succeed them in their cause so as to either push their mission further or succeed. Regarding his success. At the very least, Ken Saro-Wiwa's death brought international awareness and roused emotions. Furthermore, the unique legal approach to tackling Shell created a noteworthy precedent.
- He made sacrifices for his people's future. He understood that he was dealing with a war. It is worth also noting that many youths died as they protested. This created tensions among his people, many of whom began to think he should revert to more peaceful, albethey ineffective forms of protests.
- After his peaceful protests and requests were being ignored as his people struggled with the negative impact on their wellbeing, he organized a group of youths to sabotage Shell's infrastructure which successfully forced Shell to pause operations in his people's land for a short while. Unfortunately however, this meant that the military government went from perceiving him as a small nuisance to be ignored to being their single biggest internal threat because a significant part of their income was this operation. In response, the military government responded with ever-increasing violence and thuggery against Ken Saro-Wiwa's activists. The mysterious killing of 4 chiefs of a rival tribe was blamed on him. Not only was he imprisoned without evidence but the court case involved various false witnesses that later admitted to being bribed. Despite the international outcry, he, along with 8 other leading members, together called the 'Ogoni 9' were sentenced to be hanged.
- He organized people.
- In response to the social injustice and environmental degradation of his people, he founded an activist group.
- His dying words (about the fight continuing after his death) were not only prophetic but also a call-to-action, especially to you who have chosen to seek out this type of content.
- He was a peaceful and respectful, yet bold negotiator. Example(s)
- He sent a bill of rights to the government. (A bill of rights is a summary of rights and privileges guaranteed to a people against violations by the government. Common terms include the freedom of speech). This was bold because his group was a micro-minority (accounting for only 1% of the country's population and he had no real bargaining power). From the perspective of the government and Shell, he was too big for his britches and can be brushed aside and ignored without regard for his humanity.
- He was persistent. As anyone understanding the West knows, this characteristic encourages organizations like Shell to consider Ken Saro-Wiwa as a 'trouble maker' to be cut down rather than consider his humanity and that of the many people whose suffering was clear from Shell's irresponsible practices. For instance,
- After being unable to get a response from the government or Shell, he organized 1/3 of his people for a peaceful protest.
Symbols you may use on your altar
- Quotes:
- His words just before being killed were "Lord, take my soul but the struggle continues." These words almost seem like the result of his divine opportunity to give a final call-to-action. Specifically, he said these final words after the executioner's 4th failed attempt but succumbed in the following attempt.
- “I am more dangerous dead than alive"
- “Whether I live or die is immaterial. It is enough to know that there are people who commit time, money and energy to fight this one evil among so many others predominating worldwide. If they do not succeed today, they will succeed tomorrow.”
- “In this country (England], writers write to entertain, they raise questions of individual existence, but for a Nigerian writer in my position, you can’t go into that. Literature has to be combative.”
- A pen / a pen and a (symbolic) sword. He was a writer, as he said, not of stories but activism to save the future of his people.
CONTENT RELATED TO HISTORY TO MEET THE ANCESTOR KEN SARO WIWA
- Series: Meet the Ancestors (an introduction to some noteworthy ancestors that include Marcus Garvey, the Kush Kandake Amanirenas, Ken Saro Wiwa and more)
- Working with the ancestors
- Libations
- Setting up an altar
- Internal links: summary execution (definition);
Notes
Summary execution refers to an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a free and fair trial.
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