Silence Would Be Treason: Last writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa

by Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ide Corley (Editor), Helen Fallon (Editor)

A unique collection of the last writings of Ken Saro-Wiwa that reveals the indomitable mind and spirit of the legendary campaigner for justice in the last months before his execution. The letters and poems collected here are the last writings of a man on trial for his life. They were smuggled out of military detention in food baskets.. Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, facing execution by the military regime on trumped-up charges, corresponded extensively with Irish nun and solidarity worker Majella McCarron during the last 18 months of his life. Clear and direct, these letters and poems are the last expression of a voice the regime was determined to a voice for indigenous rights, environmental survival and democracy, many of whose battles were won despite his death and whose voice comes alive today again in these extraordinary letters. Saro-Wiwa was a leading figure in the world of Nigerian and African letters, as novelist, playwright, non-fiction writer, author of children's books and television writer. He was also a major figure in Nigerian politics, when his support for the autonomy of his own, indigenous Ogoni people led to his removal from office. Following this Saro-Wiwa threw himself into business to provide the financial basis for the movement which from 1990 took the shape of MOSOP, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. MOSOP raised not only the issue of indigenous autonomy but also that of environmental survival in the face of massive oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta and the associated oil leaks, gas flaring and other environmental crises threatening traditional livelihoods in the area. This was a direct challenge to those who benefitted from the the oil and gas multinationals and the Nigerian military government.

Genres: Politics, Poetry, History

198 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Saro-Wiwa 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 and which has suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Initially as spokesperson, and then as 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 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, Saro-Wiwa was arrested, hastily tried by a special military tribunal, and hanged in 1995 by the military government of General Sani Abacha, all on charges widely viewed as entirely politically motivated and completely unfounded. His execution provoked international outrage and resulted in Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations for over three years.

Reviews

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For nearly a century, oil companies have been exploiting the Niger Delta region, leaving ecological disaster and finding ways to avoid taking responsibility for the damage to the densely-populated native tribes. The Nigerian government similarly fails to accept and deal with the devastation. Ken Saro-Wiwa was an Ogoni man who stood up for his homeland and led a movement to rid Nigeria of oil companies and demand a right to live safe from military and ecological exploitation. He was executed in 1995. To this day, hundreds of thousands of people suffer in deadly toxicity caused by water, soil, and air pollution caused by inadequate facilities and cleanup. This book includes letters and poems by Ken Saro-Wiwa as well as a variety of essays and forewords explaining the situation by various experts. This book has been fundamental for my research but is also a moving nonfiction work on its own.

[Anna nanananana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting and heartbreaking but such an interesting read.

[eve is reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am so glad to have been introduced to ken saro-wiwa this year, and that i now have gotten to have read some of his writings. i wasn't expecting this book to be so much more than the last letters we have from saro-wiwa! what a pleasant surprise to also be introduced to sister majella and to learn she became involved in the MOSOP (movement for the survival of the ogoni people). what was striking was how hopeful he remained throughout his imprisonment, even knowing what he was up against. the documentary the drilling fields was mentioned throughout and i found that it added a lot in terms of context and severity of the damage oil drilling has done (and continues to do) to the land and people who live there. ken saro-wiwa's story and MOSOP is one that should be known by more people and this was a great introduction.

[Firoze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important and vital reading

[Khalifa Said]

So I had a very narrow idea of who exactly Ken Saro-Wiwa was before I read this book which includes his last writing-- letters and poems. A must-read book.