Ken
Saro Wiwa was born in 1941 in the town of Bori, Rivers State. He was a
well-known Nigerian author and television producer, environmental
activist and winner of the Right Livelihood Award presented annually in
the Swedish Parliament by the Right Livelihood Foundation and the
Goldman Environmental Prize.
Saro Wiwa became the most outspoken environmental activist in the Niger Delta, decrying the devastation of the land, air and water at the hands of rich corporations and complicit governmental authorities. He chose to
fight using non violent resistance techniques such as poetry, prose, and peaceful protest.
He was able to mobilize the people of the Niger Delta to push for
adequate representation and the preservation of their homeland, which
continued to be destroyed by oil exploitation.
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 Gen. Sani Abacha. All charges against him were 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 more than three years.
Saro Wiwa became the most outspoken environmental activist in the Niger Delta, decrying the devastation of the land, air and water at the hands of rich corporations and complicit governmental authorities. He chose to
fight using non violent resistance techniques such as poetry, prose, and peaceful protest.
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 Gen. Sani Abacha. All charges against him were 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 more than three years.
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