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A Month and a Day
This is the extraordinary and moving account of Ken Saro-Wiwa's period of detention in 1993, and is also a personal history of the man who gave voice to the campaign for basic human and political rights for the Ogoni people. It was fear of his success that made Saro-Wiwa the target of the despotic Nigerian military regime. Arrested on 21 June 1993, ostensibly for his part in election-day disturbances, he describes in harrowing detail the conditions under which he was held. He writes of his involvement with the Ogoni cause and his instrumental role in the setting up of the movement for the survival of the Ogoni people.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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736 people want to read
About the author
Ken Saro-Wiwa
39 books84 followersKenule "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.
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.
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September 17, 2013
This memoir, by writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, is an account of his one month and a day in detention (21 June – 22 July 1993) during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Ironically, after Babangida seized power from a coup in 1985, he appointed Saro-Wiwa in 1987 (who had then returned to the political scene) to assist in aiding the country’s transition to democracy. When Saro-Wiwa realized the sham of Babangida’s policies and foresaw that he had no actual intention of actually relieving his rule and handing back democratic power to a civilian government, he resigned this post and eventually became an outspoken critic of the self-appointed military ruler.
MOSOP
Saro-Wiwa started and championed the cause of MOSOP: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People which fought for the rights of the Ogoni, an ethnic minority in the Rivers Delta region of Nigeria. The case being that the petroleum company Shell was devastating the lands and environment of the Ogoni, where a bulk of oil reserves were located in the Niger Delta, without adequate care for its people, their livelihood or the environment.
I should stress that Shell either completely and deliberately misunderstands my intentions, or puts a wrong construction on them for its own mischievous purposes. Let me state here, for the avoidance of all doubt, that my overall concern is for the fragile ecosystem of the Niger Delta – one of the richest areas on earth. I am appalled that this rich company, with the abundance of knowledge and material resources available to it, should treat the area with such callous indifference. I consider the loss of the Niger Delta a loss to all mankind and therefore regard Shell’s despoliation of the area as a crime to all humanity.
You can read more about Saro-Wiwa and his struggles on behalf of MOSOP in my review of Genocide in Nigeria.
A Detention Diary
This book provides insight to Saro-Wiwa’s thoughts and observations on how and why he was detained. But the memoir is not a day to day journal of being in captivity or exclusively about being in prison. Instead, we see how Saro-Wiwa’s human rights activities, his writings and petitions, and his criticism of the military rule landed him inevitably in prison after all his connections and contacts were exhausted. We also see, albeit a little, the inner workings of the Babangida regime’s coy tactics and dirty politics where the law is subverted and the police are used as dispensable pawns to uphold the reign of terror on citizens.
Those few chapters devoted to when Saro-Wiwa was in jail provide a sketch of his ailing health, the mistreatment imposed on him by Babangida’s cronies and the abject prison he is held in. One cannot but feel pity for a person placed in such cruel circumstances. Yet throughout his ordeal Saro-Wiwa never gives up – neither in fighting for his health nor for his beliefs. A month and a day later, he is released from captivity.
The Text
The book itself suffers from sloppy copyediting and could have used an editor applying more cohesion to the narrative. Saro-Wiwa moves back and forth between events and between his present dire situations and his recollections. This back and forth in what would have been better organized as a chronologically event-based text did make it difficult to keep tabs on the unfolding events and their setting.
There is a foreword by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and at the end of the book, there is a collection of letters Ken Saro-Wiwa wrote while in prison, a collection of poems and tribute by distinguished writers such as Chinua Achebe and Salman Rushdie, and letters written by Ken Wiwa (Saro-Wiwa’s son) – one addressing his father five years after his death and the other, ten years thereafter. All in all, quite a collection of material.
The Sad End
Although not part of this memoir, was his arrest again shortly thereafter by the even more brutal military junta of Sani Abacha. Saro-Wiwa was tried by a military tribunal and after a year in prison was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging along with eight other Ogoni activists. On 10 November 1995, they were hung by military personnel. International pleas and threat of world wide economic sanctions fell on deaf ears.
Ultimately, oil was more important than human life or environmental degradation, and the revenues derived therefrom were more important to Abacha than the well being of an ethnic minority.
MOSOP
Saro-Wiwa started and championed the cause of MOSOP: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People which fought for the rights of the Ogoni, an ethnic minority in the Rivers Delta region of Nigeria. The case being that the petroleum company Shell was devastating the lands and environment of the Ogoni, where a bulk of oil reserves were located in the Niger Delta, without adequate care for its people, their livelihood or the environment.
I should stress that Shell either completely and deliberately misunderstands my intentions, or puts a wrong construction on them for its own mischievous purposes. Let me state here, for the avoidance of all doubt, that my overall concern is for the fragile ecosystem of the Niger Delta – one of the richest areas on earth. I am appalled that this rich company, with the abundance of knowledge and material resources available to it, should treat the area with such callous indifference. I consider the loss of the Niger Delta a loss to all mankind and therefore regard Shell’s despoliation of the area as a crime to all humanity.
You can read more about Saro-Wiwa and his struggles on behalf of MOSOP in my review of Genocide in Nigeria.
A Detention Diary
This book provides insight to Saro-Wiwa’s thoughts and observations on how and why he was detained. But the memoir is not a day to day journal of being in captivity or exclusively about being in prison. Instead, we see how Saro-Wiwa’s human rights activities, his writings and petitions, and his criticism of the military rule landed him inevitably in prison after all his connections and contacts were exhausted. We also see, albeit a little, the inner workings of the Babangida regime’s coy tactics and dirty politics where the law is subverted and the police are used as dispensable pawns to uphold the reign of terror on citizens.
Those few chapters devoted to when Saro-Wiwa was in jail provide a sketch of his ailing health, the mistreatment imposed on him by Babangida’s cronies and the abject prison he is held in. One cannot but feel pity for a person placed in such cruel circumstances. Yet throughout his ordeal Saro-Wiwa never gives up – neither in fighting for his health nor for his beliefs. A month and a day later, he is released from captivity.
It is not the leaking roof
Nor the singing mosquitos
In the damp wretched cell.
It is not the clank of the key
As the warder locks you in.
It is not the measly rations
Unfit for man or beast
Nor yet the emptiness of day
Dipping into the blankness of night
It is not
It is not
It is not
It is the lies that have been drummed
Into your ears for one generation.
It is the security agent running amok
Executing callous calamitous orders
In exchange for a wretched meal a day
The magistrate writing in her book
Punishment she knows is undeserved
The moral decreptitude
Mental ineptitude
Lending dictatorship spurious legitimacy
Cowardice masking as obedience
Lurking in our denigrated souls.
It is fear damping trousers
We dare not wash off our urine
It is this
It is this
It is this
Dear friend, turns our free world
Into a dreary prison
- The True Prison by Ken Saro-Wiwa
The Text
The book itself suffers from sloppy copyediting and could have used an editor applying more cohesion to the narrative. Saro-Wiwa moves back and forth between events and between his present dire situations and his recollections. This back and forth in what would have been better organized as a chronologically event-based text did make it difficult to keep tabs on the unfolding events and their setting.
There is a foreword by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and at the end of the book, there is a collection of letters Ken Saro-Wiwa wrote while in prison, a collection of poems and tribute by distinguished writers such as Chinua Achebe and Salman Rushdie, and letters written by Ken Wiwa (Saro-Wiwa’s son) – one addressing his father five years after his death and the other, ten years thereafter. All in all, quite a collection of material.
Being prepared for the worst is always one thing; confronting its stark actualization is another … how does one erase the image of a friend and comrade, suspended in the immense loneliness of a prison yard?
Wole Soyinka
The Sad End
Although not part of this memoir, was his arrest again shortly thereafter by the even more brutal military junta of Sani Abacha. Saro-Wiwa was tried by a military tribunal and after a year in prison was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging along with eight other Ogoni activists. On 10 November 1995, they were hung by military personnel. International pleas and threat of world wide economic sanctions fell on deaf ears.
Ultimately, oil was more important than human life or environmental degradation, and the revenues derived therefrom were more important to Abacha than the well being of an ethnic minority.
November 25, 2016
Reading is a great way to remember what we would prefer to forget. As a Nigerian, reading this book written by Ken Saro-Wiwa, about his cause for the Ogoni, and a portion of the trials he suffered, made me so sad. It made me so sad to know that we all inflict suffering on each other, in whatever form it takes. Selfishness and greed have been revealed in history through slavery, colonialism, and even the style that many African governments have taken. The Ogoni problem and the problem of all groups was not only caused by the people who drew the map of Africa along crooked, silly lines- it was also caused by the selfish leaders who only considered power at the expense of lives and society's wellbeing; the people who didn't think to redraw the lines or change the rules to make more sense for the country and its people. It was also caused by the greed of corporations- the faceless entities that have so much power to do good but don't always choose to.
Reading this book was painful. It was also the height of dramatic irony- because I knew the fate of the writer. Spoiler alert- he is killed for a worthy cause. There were several portions that were chilling to read. Like this part: "I began to think my life was seriously at risk. I was however ready for such a development, and wrote my will and informed my family, that they should prepare for the worst. Nor did I ever fail, in my public speeches to the ogoni people to warn them to expect unsavoury developments from the Nigerian government. Later events were to prove me dead right".
Ken wrote about the "efficiency of evil" and that's a big thing I've taken away from this book- how motivated people can be by greed and selfishness, and how often we choose to do evil when we can do good. But the main thing I take away is utter respect for this man- who had everything (education, wealth, talent, status, family) and dropped it all to pick up the mantel of his cause. It is so sad that nothing changed for the better, and Nigeria still has most of those evils. If only we could stop taking things- even political systems- as they are given to us, and innovate for greatness. If only we could all take everyone along on our journey to betterment. If only we listened to the words of people wiser than us. People like Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Reading this book was painful. It was also the height of dramatic irony- because I knew the fate of the writer. Spoiler alert- he is killed for a worthy cause. There were several portions that were chilling to read. Like this part: "I began to think my life was seriously at risk. I was however ready for such a development, and wrote my will and informed my family, that they should prepare for the worst. Nor did I ever fail, in my public speeches to the ogoni people to warn them to expect unsavoury developments from the Nigerian government. Later events were to prove me dead right".
Ken wrote about the "efficiency of evil" and that's a big thing I've taken away from this book- how motivated people can be by greed and selfishness, and how often we choose to do evil when we can do good. But the main thing I take away is utter respect for this man- who had everything (education, wealth, talent, status, family) and dropped it all to pick up the mantel of his cause. It is so sad that nothing changed for the better, and Nigeria still has most of those evils. If only we could stop taking things- even political systems- as they are given to us, and innovate for greatness. If only we could all take everyone along on our journey to betterment. If only we listened to the words of people wiser than us. People like Ken Saro-Wiwa.
June 22, 2010
More a scrapbook of a movement (speeches, letters, etc.) than a detention diary. The last line, how he couldn't write about the last year's events because he was back in jail and was worried about further repression, how he would write that tale in his next book, "if I live to write it." Saro-Wiwa was executed soon after, for a murder in a town on a day when the government had prevented him from even going near the area. More to say, but rushed for time to say. I want to read his novels.
May 6, 2025
Tämä oli paljolti enemmän poliittisen aktivismin muistelmateos kuin vankilapäiväkirja. Tästä kirja ei minusta kärsinyt. Käännös oli mielestäni vähän tönkkö, ja lukemani painos oli huolimaton. Yksi sivu puuttui kokonaan, sen tilalla oli yksi sivu painettuna kahteen kertaan, ja muutenkin rivit seilasivat välillä miten sattuu. Siitä on toki syyttäminen kustantamoa, ei Saro-Wiwaa. Mutta valitettavasti vaikutti lukukokemukseen.
October 5, 2009
Three stars are mainly for the content, not the prose. The wrtiting is pretty bad, however, it is such a complete and utter blow-by-blow of Saro-Wiwa's arrests, detentions and involvement in the Niger Delta liberation efforts that I couldn't help but be generous. Additionally, given that the diary was written under such duress, the power of the book is undeniable.
December 16, 2016
Ken Saro-Wiwa, a member himself of the Ogoni community he dedicated his life to defending, was a Nigerian activist, author, college professor, successful tv writer / producer. Additionally, he held various Nigerian government positions at one time or another, such as Commissioner of the Land / Transport / Education Departments. He turned to writing professionally in the 1980s.
Regarding his activism, Saro-Wiwa was outspoken critic of the Nigerian military (at least of those in charge of it anyway). He also protested the foreign oil companies, primarily Shell, whose search for oil across Ogoni lands ended up ruining the lush landscape that once was -- waterways polluted, acid rain polluted crops, oil spills not being cleaned up. Saro-Wiwa states that since 1958, when the first oil companies started drilling on Ogoni lands, an estimated 30 BILLION dollars in oil has been pulled from the ground, yet Ogoni people were given NOTHING in return. At the time of Saro-Wiwa writing this, much of the area was still without electricity or modern plumbing. The Ogoni people were given no representation in Nigerian government, little to no job opportunities or government assistance, no educational opportunities or health coverage, and even Shell was declining to hire locals! The Ogoni people were suffering food and land shortages because the oil companies were snatching it all up for oil drilling, so the community struggled to find ways to keep their families fed. Desperate for help, the Ogoni people attempted to get outside assistance. The response? Greenpeace flat out told them no, basically saying that what they needed didn't fall under Greenpeace's wheelhouse... and Amnesty International said they could only help if someone was in prison or citizens were being massacred.
Wiwa served as president of the organization MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People). When four men were killed during a political rally Saro-Wiwa was known to be against, he along with eight others were charged with the crime. Though there was a mountain of evidence proclaiming his innocence, he was still sentenced to death and hanged in 1995.
Saro-Wiwa mentions in his foreword, dated July 1994 (he would be executed the following November), that he had completed the manuscript for this book shortly before being arrested the final time (he later points out in the diary's pages that between 1993-94, he was arrested a total of four times in three months). He had someone sneak the manuscript into him while he was imprisoned, working feverishly to complete the final edit. In these pages you read what his activism work entailed and why he believed he was being targeted. Describing the arrest he opens his story with, he mentions that it didn't take him long to suspect that something fishy was going on, but he feared that if he attempted an escape his actions might bring down more unnecessary violence onto the Ogoni people, what it might mean for the people who relied on his protection... so for their safety, he chose to go along with it all and allow himself to be placed in prison.
I have to put my hat in with the other reviews I've read that say the strength in this book lies in the message / topic, not so much in the writing style itself. While I feel like I learned a lot about this time period and at times definitely felt incensed over what the Ogoni people were put through, Saro-Wiwa's writing itself left something to be desired. Admittedly, he was under some hardcore duress, so I don't want to rate him too harshly... yet I'm not going to pad my rating simply due to circumstance. I'm sticking with my honest opinion here -- his story is an important one but the writing itself is just okay. The early pages of the diary read like a police incident report more than anything, but I will say as the story goes on, I noticed the tone got a little more relaxed and I started to get a bit better sense of Saro-Wiwa as an individual and the passion for his work began to shine through a bit better.
Regarding his activism, Saro-Wiwa was outspoken critic of the Nigerian military (at least of those in charge of it anyway). He also protested the foreign oil companies, primarily Shell, whose search for oil across Ogoni lands ended up ruining the lush landscape that once was -- waterways polluted, acid rain polluted crops, oil spills not being cleaned up. Saro-Wiwa states that since 1958, when the first oil companies started drilling on Ogoni lands, an estimated 30 BILLION dollars in oil has been pulled from the ground, yet Ogoni people were given NOTHING in return. At the time of Saro-Wiwa writing this, much of the area was still without electricity or modern plumbing. The Ogoni people were given no representation in Nigerian government, little to no job opportunities or government assistance, no educational opportunities or health coverage, and even Shell was declining to hire locals! The Ogoni people were suffering food and land shortages because the oil companies were snatching it all up for oil drilling, so the community struggled to find ways to keep their families fed. Desperate for help, the Ogoni people attempted to get outside assistance. The response? Greenpeace flat out told them no, basically saying that what they needed didn't fall under Greenpeace's wheelhouse... and Amnesty International said they could only help if someone was in prison or citizens were being massacred.
Wiwa served as president of the organization MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People). When four men were killed during a political rally Saro-Wiwa was known to be against, he along with eight others were charged with the crime. Though there was a mountain of evidence proclaiming his innocence, he was still sentenced to death and hanged in 1995.
Saro-Wiwa mentions in his foreword, dated July 1994 (he would be executed the following November), that he had completed the manuscript for this book shortly before being arrested the final time (he later points out in the diary's pages that between 1993-94, he was arrested a total of four times in three months). He had someone sneak the manuscript into him while he was imprisoned, working feverishly to complete the final edit. In these pages you read what his activism work entailed and why he believed he was being targeted. Describing the arrest he opens his story with, he mentions that it didn't take him long to suspect that something fishy was going on, but he feared that if he attempted an escape his actions might bring down more unnecessary violence onto the Ogoni people, what it might mean for the people who relied on his protection... so for their safety, he chose to go along with it all and allow himself to be placed in prison.
I have to put my hat in with the other reviews I've read that say the strength in this book lies in the message / topic, not so much in the writing style itself. While I feel like I learned a lot about this time period and at times definitely felt incensed over what the Ogoni people were put through, Saro-Wiwa's writing itself left something to be desired. Admittedly, he was under some hardcore duress, so I don't want to rate him too harshly... yet I'm not going to pad my rating simply due to circumstance. I'm sticking with my honest opinion here -- his story is an important one but the writing itself is just okay. The early pages of the diary read like a police incident report more than anything, but I will say as the story goes on, I noticed the tone got a little more relaxed and I started to get a bit better sense of Saro-Wiwa as an individual and the passion for his work began to shine through a bit better.
December 16, 2017
Ken Saro-Wiwa was an altogether remarkable man. He had been a Nigerian businessman, radio and television producer, civil servant, writer, poet, and later activist for his native region of Ogoni in the southern part of the country.
The Ogoni are a small ethnic minority forced into a federation with other small ethnic minorities that has traditionally been ignored and marginalised first by the colonial powers, and later by successive Nigerian dictatorships. It is, and was, these dictatorships that allowed Shell Oil into the Niger Delta, home of the Ogoni, where their land has been despoiled, poisoned, and exploited for more than half a century (This in spite of a PR letter put out by Shell explaining how they had made every effort to protect the environment according to ‘industry standards’, and were even requesting the Nigerian government to increase the profits from oil exploration to the Ogoni from 1.5% to 3%! Like somebody giving you zero then offering to double it out of the goodness of their heart).
While the dictatorships profited handily, the Ogoni saw little of this financial windfall. Saro-Wiwa was unable to remain silent and organised a movement of Ogoni people to protest the presence of Shell and demand financial reparations for the damage they caused. Within 2 years he was able to organise a peaceful protest of over 300,000 Ogoni’s that eventually drove Shell from the area. This would later lead to a period of government harassment of Saro-Wiwa and eventually his imprisonment on trumped up charges that he was attempting to overthrow the government.
His first incarceration is detailed in this prison diary where he tells his story as well as that of the Ogoni people. Reading this, it’s very difficult to feel anything but deep respect for a man who gives up financial comfort and essentially his family, for a cause he believes in. On a personal level as well, Saro-Wiwa certainly could have been bitter but he often comes across as self effacing and well aware of the absurdity of his detainment. Take for example his initial arrest and encounter with the police where Saro-Wiwa asks where he’s being taken:
’Where are we going to?'
'Don't worry. When we get there, you'll know'
'Why do we have to drive at night? Am I safe?'
'Don't worry. At least you know you're in the hands of the police. You're safe.'
What comfort.
What comfort indeed. Saro-Wiwa would eventually be executed along with 8 members of the Ogoni movement by Sani Abacha’s regime. Although he is gone, his life gave voice to a small minority that eventually rose up and fought back against incredible odds. And won. He left this world far too early but as he wrote:
“To die fighting to right the wrong would be the greatest gift of life!”
His spirit lives on in this wonderful book which I would recommend to anyone interested in social justice, the power of community to right wrongs, and a life well lived.
The Ogoni are a small ethnic minority forced into a federation with other small ethnic minorities that has traditionally been ignored and marginalised first by the colonial powers, and later by successive Nigerian dictatorships. It is, and was, these dictatorships that allowed Shell Oil into the Niger Delta, home of the Ogoni, where their land has been despoiled, poisoned, and exploited for more than half a century (This in spite of a PR letter put out by Shell explaining how they had made every effort to protect the environment according to ‘industry standards’, and were even requesting the Nigerian government to increase the profits from oil exploration to the Ogoni from 1.5% to 3%! Like somebody giving you zero then offering to double it out of the goodness of their heart).
While the dictatorships profited handily, the Ogoni saw little of this financial windfall. Saro-Wiwa was unable to remain silent and organised a movement of Ogoni people to protest the presence of Shell and demand financial reparations for the damage they caused. Within 2 years he was able to organise a peaceful protest of over 300,000 Ogoni’s that eventually drove Shell from the area. This would later lead to a period of government harassment of Saro-Wiwa and eventually his imprisonment on trumped up charges that he was attempting to overthrow the government.
His first incarceration is detailed in this prison diary where he tells his story as well as that of the Ogoni people. Reading this, it’s very difficult to feel anything but deep respect for a man who gives up financial comfort and essentially his family, for a cause he believes in. On a personal level as well, Saro-Wiwa certainly could have been bitter but he often comes across as self effacing and well aware of the absurdity of his detainment. Take for example his initial arrest and encounter with the police where Saro-Wiwa asks where he’s being taken:
’Where are we going to?'
'Don't worry. When we get there, you'll know'
'Why do we have to drive at night? Am I safe?'
'Don't worry. At least you know you're in the hands of the police. You're safe.'
What comfort.
What comfort indeed. Saro-Wiwa would eventually be executed along with 8 members of the Ogoni movement by Sani Abacha’s regime. Although he is gone, his life gave voice to a small minority that eventually rose up and fought back against incredible odds. And won. He left this world far too early but as he wrote:
“To die fighting to right the wrong would be the greatest gift of life!”
His spirit lives on in this wonderful book which I would recommend to anyone interested in social justice, the power of community to right wrongs, and a life well lived.
Read
August 7, 2023Herra tuomari, olen rauhan ja aatteen mies
Ja olen vihainen tuhoamisesta
Kansani maan öljy palaa
Vain tämän heille sanoi kerran
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Herra tuomari
Kuinka uskalsi avata suunsa tuo mies
Korjatkoon luunsa tuollaisista puheista
Sähkötuoli tai giljotiini
Tämän jälkeen ei saa elää
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Vankileirien saaristo on vähättelyä, me elämme vankileirien planeetalla. Ei ole sitä kansakuntaa, joka ei olisi sulkenut ihmisiä telkien taakse, kiduttanut ja murhannut. Ken Saro-Wiwan Vankileiripäiväkirja on autenttinen muistiinpano nigerialaisen akitivistin toiminnasta ja kokemuksista vankilassa. Kun piittaamaton ja korruptoitunut diktatuuri ja löytää uuden parhaan kaverin kansainvälisestä öljyjätistä, seuraukset ovat järkyttävät. Luontoa hävitetään melkein tarkoituksella ja öljyalueilla asuvat etniset vähemmistöt oppivat tuntemaan hirmuhallinnon raakuudet. Afrikka on sarvikuonojen maa. Onkin suunnaton sääli, että Vankilapäiväkirja on hutaisten kirjoitettu, varsinkin teoksen ensimmäiset kaksi kolmasosaa on tympeää kehuskelua, jossa kirjoittaja vaikuttaa luulevan olevan itse koko ogoniheimo ja sen puolesta puhujat. Ei ehkä kannata ylpeillä kirjoittavansa seitsemän kirjaa vuodessa, jos jälki on tällaista. Vankilapäiväkirja ei tee oikeutta aiheelleen ja on pahimmillaan yksi ehdottomasti huonoimpia kirjoja, joita olen lukenut. Afrikkalaisten yksinvaltiaiden ja monikansallisten yritysten yhteistyöstä on oltava parempiakin kirjoja jo siksikin, että diktatuuri murhasi Saro-Wiwan vuosi Vankilapäiväkirjan ilmestymisen jälkeen. Se on ihmiselämällä ansaittu.
Ja olen vihainen tuhoamisesta
Kansani maan öljy palaa
Vain tämän heille sanoi kerran
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Herra tuomari
Kuinka uskalsi avata suunsa tuo mies
Korjatkoon luunsa tuollaisista puheista
Sähkötuoli tai giljotiini
Tämän jälkeen ei saa elää
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Vankileirien saaristo on vähättelyä, me elämme vankileirien planeetalla. Ei ole sitä kansakuntaa, joka ei olisi sulkenut ihmisiä telkien taakse, kiduttanut ja murhannut. Ken Saro-Wiwan Vankileiripäiväkirja on autenttinen muistiinpano nigerialaisen akitivistin toiminnasta ja kokemuksista vankilassa. Kun piittaamaton ja korruptoitunut diktatuuri ja löytää uuden parhaan kaverin kansainvälisestä öljyjätistä, seuraukset ovat järkyttävät. Luontoa hävitetään melkein tarkoituksella ja öljyalueilla asuvat etniset vähemmistöt oppivat tuntemaan hirmuhallinnon raakuudet. Afrikka on sarvikuonojen maa. Onkin suunnaton sääli, että Vankilapäiväkirja on hutaisten kirjoitettu, varsinkin teoksen ensimmäiset kaksi kolmasosaa on tympeää kehuskelua, jossa kirjoittaja vaikuttaa luulevan olevan itse koko ogoniheimo ja sen puolesta puhujat. Ei ehkä kannata ylpeillä kirjoittavansa seitsemän kirjaa vuodessa, jos jälki on tällaista. Vankilapäiväkirja ei tee oikeutta aiheelleen ja on pahimmillaan yksi ehdottomasti huonoimpia kirjoja, joita olen lukenut. Afrikkalaisten yksinvaltiaiden ja monikansallisten yritysten yhteistyöstä on oltava parempiakin kirjoja jo siksikin, että diktatuuri murhasi Saro-Wiwan vuosi Vankilapäiväkirjan ilmestymisen jälkeen. Se on ihmiselämällä ansaittu.
February 11, 2025
there is an eerie composure to saro-wiwa's writing: a refusal to indulge in any sense of melodrama or an arguably deserved self-pity. this compendium of a novel—part prison memoir, part political agenda, part indictment of state-sanctioned neocolonial violence—paints a damning portrait of a contemporary nigeria entirely beholden to foreign capital, and entirely negligent of the blatant suffering, loss and indeed ecological genocide of such peoples as the endangered ogoni. it also reads as a last will and testament. saro-wiwa writes as a man with one foot in the grave. colonialism is a malignant tumour. what strikes me is the oscillation between the macro and the micro—the grand and incomprehensible sweep of political devastation sandwiched between the mundane indignities of prison life. the tedium of incarceration, the stagnant crawl of time, the meagre meals and lack of latrine—these moments of private sick and sorrow embellish a wider narrative of civil activism. and of course the rage peeks through. absolutely. it pulses beneath every word committed to the page. it manifests as a fury festering into conviction rather than a loud, performative burst. of course it's there; where did you expect saro-wiwa to put it? he says it like this: 'literature in a critical situation such as nigeria's cannot be divorced from politics.'
January 3, 2021
Ken Saro-Wiwan vankilapäiväkirja kertoo hänen kokemuksistaan, näkökulmistaan, havainnoistaan ja ajatuksistaan ollessaan vangittuna.
Hän oli aktivisti-elämänsä aikana mm. yrittänyt saavuttaa ja saavuttikin maailmanlaajuista huomiota ja herätti keskustelua siitä, miten maaperästä löytyneen öljyn tuottama raha tulisi jakaa, miten öljy-yhtiöiden tulisi huolehtia myös ympäristönsuojelusta ja ottaa alueen alkuperäisväestö myös paremmin huomioon.
Jotkut hänen mielipiteistään tuntuivat nykyaikana luettuna voimakkaan idealistisilta, mustavalkoisilta ja polarisoivilta. Toisaalta, kun ottaa huomioon kirjoitusympäristön (vankilat, sairaalat) ja hänen aikaisemmat kokemuksensa ja maan silloisen poliittisen historian ja senhetkisen tilan, ymmärrystä löytyy myös tällaiselle polarisoidulle, yhdestä näkövinkkelistä asioita esilletuovalle kerronnalle.
Hänet loppujen lopuksi tuomittiin kuolemaan mielipiteidensä takia ja hirtettiin.
Mielenkiintoinen kirja, joka on ajankohtainen monilta aiheiltaan (mm. ympäristökysymykset, luonnonsuojelu, alkuperäiskansojen oikeudet, sananvapaus, ihmisoikeudet, ym) edelleenkin.
Hän oli aktivisti-elämänsä aikana mm. yrittänyt saavuttaa ja saavuttikin maailmanlaajuista huomiota ja herätti keskustelua siitä, miten maaperästä löytyneen öljyn tuottama raha tulisi jakaa, miten öljy-yhtiöiden tulisi huolehtia myös ympäristönsuojelusta ja ottaa alueen alkuperäisväestö myös paremmin huomioon.
Jotkut hänen mielipiteistään tuntuivat nykyaikana luettuna voimakkaan idealistisilta, mustavalkoisilta ja polarisoivilta. Toisaalta, kun ottaa huomioon kirjoitusympäristön (vankilat, sairaalat) ja hänen aikaisemmat kokemuksensa ja maan silloisen poliittisen historian ja senhetkisen tilan, ymmärrystä löytyy myös tällaiselle polarisoidulle, yhdestä näkövinkkelistä asioita esilletuovalle kerronnalle.
Hänet loppujen lopuksi tuomittiin kuolemaan mielipiteidensä takia ja hirtettiin.
Mielenkiintoinen kirja, joka on ajankohtainen monilta aiheiltaan (mm. ympäristökysymykset, luonnonsuojelu, alkuperäiskansojen oikeudet, sananvapaus, ihmisoikeudet, ym) edelleenkin.
April 9, 2025
"Literature in a critical situation such as Nigeria's cannot be divorce from politics. Indeed, literature must serve society by steeping itself in politics, by intervention, and writers must not merely write to amuse or to take a bemused, critical look at society. They must play an interventionist role."
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a voice that was calling to be heard, and was often ignored, yet still shouted till his throat rusted. Not only are Nigerian politics heavily corrupt, and have been for decades, but the history of oppression in the country is one not only painted by shade of color, but power and class. Reading Saro-Wiwa's writings opens ones eyes to his often Socialist and Gandhi inspired acts of resistance, even in the face of an oppression of his soil and people, and urges me to pick my Fathers Liberian-Politick brain as to how our blood (as Liberians) has also been spilled and exploited in our own homeland. Nigeria's history of intellectual dissent and resistance is one in need of wanderlust, I must find copies of Saro-Wiwa's fictions and Other Nigerian greats.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a voice that was calling to be heard, and was often ignored, yet still shouted till his throat rusted. Not only are Nigerian politics heavily corrupt, and have been for decades, but the history of oppression in the country is one not only painted by shade of color, but power and class. Reading Saro-Wiwa's writings opens ones eyes to his often Socialist and Gandhi inspired acts of resistance, even in the face of an oppression of his soil and people, and urges me to pick my Fathers Liberian-Politick brain as to how our blood (as Liberians) has also been spilled and exploited in our own homeland. Nigeria's history of intellectual dissent and resistance is one in need of wanderlust, I must find copies of Saro-Wiwa's fictions and Other Nigerian greats.
August 28, 2022
Having learnt that Ken Saro-Wiwa was killed in 1995 by Abacha's draconian military regime, I became curious to know the intricacies that gave birth to his execution. Luckily enough, Ken was a writer. And this diary by the subject introduced me to his saintly figure to the Ogoni people. He was different man to different people. To the Ogonis, he symbolized "light of hope" that was determined to take them to the Promise Land, while to the inane government of the time, he was a vermin that threatened the territorial integrity of this country, hence his execution by hanging. To the circle of literati, he was a prolific writer that contributed immensely to the development of Nigerian Literature.
December 9, 2022
After studying Saro-Wiwa's acclaimed novel "Sozaboy," I wanted to get more into his nonfiction work--overall, I can say that "Genocide in Nigeria" is a better depiction of the struggle of the Ogoni people (especially the environmental component of that struggle), but this work offers some great insights into the creation of a grassroots movement, and the actions a repressive government will take to silence agitators. This work felt like it was a bit disorganized compared to his other books, and Saro-Wiwa jumps around chronologically quite a lot in here. Still, I felt like I got to know the author much better through reading this book.
June 4, 2019
Nice book makes me remember my hero
January 29, 2021
Read this for my course. I'm learning so much this term it's hard to keep track of it all, but this was certainly enlightening. It's a good thing to have read.
January 20, 2022
R.I.P. Ken Saro-Wiwa
Great book of his last days
Great book of his last days
March 5, 2013
Reading Ken Saro-Wiwa's detention diary, written just two years before he was killed for his political activism, is haunting. This memoir gives the story of his month and a day detention in 1993. The middle chapters step back, however, providing the broader political and economic narrative to understand Ken Saro-Wiwa's political project, including his relationship to literature and western environmentalism. Here Saro-Wiwa narrates the founding of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). The end of the book contains Ken Saro-Wiwa's final statement to the court, the letters that were smuggled into him, and a letter Ken Wiwa wrote to his father on the ten year anniversary of the execution.
"Shell feels affronted that a black man, a black community has dared to chalenge it; and it has shown the world that the company is an environmental threat in Nigeria, but not in Europe or America. For this reason, ti is determined to humliate me publicly and to discredit the Ogoni people. It is, perhaps, a question of time and methods for them. Whatever does happen, I am pleased that the Ogoni people have been able to stand up to their denigration at the hands of Shell" (106).
"At the meeting, I attended a workshop on non-violent struggle. I recall the shock of one of our lecturers, a Palestinian, after hearing the Ogoni story from me. He had not ever thought that any group of people could be worse treated than his own people. I also introduced him to another type of violence: environmental degradation; and I did ask whether there was anything in the books as to how it could be confronted in a non-violent manner. No-one, it appeared, had ever thought of it" (95),
"Shell feels affronted that a black man, a black community has dared to chalenge it; and it has shown the world that the company is an environmental threat in Nigeria, but not in Europe or America. For this reason, ti is determined to humliate me publicly and to discredit the Ogoni people. It is, perhaps, a question of time and methods for them. Whatever does happen, I am pleased that the Ogoni people have been able to stand up to their denigration at the hands of Shell" (106).
"At the meeting, I attended a workshop on non-violent struggle. I recall the shock of one of our lecturers, a Palestinian, after hearing the Ogoni story from me. He had not ever thought that any group of people could be worse treated than his own people. I also introduced him to another type of violence: environmental degradation; and I did ask whether there was anything in the books as to how it could be confronted in a non-violent manner. No-one, it appeared, had ever thought of it" (95),
October 2, 2010
An amazing story. Ken is modern hero; an example of what we should all aspire to be. He was a successful business man, TV producer and writer who spent his lasts days demanding fair treatment of all people and protection of the Earth's fragile ecosystems. A year after writing this book (1995) he was hung along with 8 other Ogoni leaders by the military dictators running the Nigerian government at the time. An attempt to silence their demands for fair treatment of the peoples and environment of the Niger Delta. Shell, the main company extracting oil from the area, is very much to blame for their deaths. This is an important book, I recommend it strongly, especially to anyone who supports the way we run large energy business in developing countries. If we are to reach a sustainable future our corporations must be run ethically. Something that is a long way from reality in the oil industry.
January 31, 2008
ken saro-wiwa was a nigerian human rights activist who was executed by his own government (in 1994) shortly after writing this book. as "a detention diary", a month and a day really does read like ajournal-- albeit one without much introspection and, at times, an over-reliance on manifestos and declarations. but it doesn't seem written for particularly aesthetic pruposes. instead, saro-wiwa provides a clear portrait of the ogoni minority to which he belonged-- how they were marginalized by the nigerian government, and how they fell prey to the irresponsible economic and ecological policies of western oil companies (chevron and shell in particular). accordingly, he captures an often ignored moment in history, and provides a bleak, but necessary, glimpse into the dilemmas faced within postcolonial africa.
December 20, 2011
I was totally moved by this book based on Ken Saro-Wiwa's detention diary, where he was imprisoned unjustly for a month and a day. I learnt a lot from all the flashbacks narrating his achievements as a writer, publisher, presenter of Basi & Co, and the effective role he played in the creation of Rivers State during and after the Nigerian Civil War. His freedom fight for the rights for the Ogoni people from the oppressive hands of Shell and the then dictatorial military government is one I totally admire. He paid a great sacrifice, and is an ideal hero every possible way. The efforts he made in the UN and international organizations in explaining the pitiable Ogoni ordeal is another part I admire in this man's great efforts. It is a book I strongly recommended for everyone needing inspiration to act and rise up against oppression.
December 17, 2015
Not really a good book by conventional measures, being obviously written in haste and being more of an extended political pamphlet rather rather than a detailed memoir of his detention, still gets three stars because this is a document of a brave and reasonable man who was executed by a corrupt and unjust state.
November 16, 2014
I'm sorry Ken Saro-Wiwa, you did a lot of good but your book is immensely boring. I usually try to finish the books I start but this I couldn't. It has 234 pages. It has been next to my bed for two years now and I've gotten to the page 142. Sorry, I give up.
Read
September 28, 2015A wonderful diary written by Wiwa when he was being held captive by the Nigerian government for his activism on behalf of the Ogoni people and his struggle against Shell oil. Important read for post colonial politics.
February 28, 2011
An important book that exposes some unpalatable facts, but it's not very readable.
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