The account below is factual and tells the other side of the story. I am Ijaw by tribe, yet I must say things the way they are. My brothers and sisters down South always say the Igbo did this and that, but fail to talk about what the Igbo suffered and have continued to suffer.
Yes, we want reconciliation, but as Mama Annkio Briggs would always say, both regions must forgive each other and discuss the way forward. Let "jubo jubo belema", which means brotherly love, be the template of every dialogue.
Theophilus Chukwuezugo Nnamdi Ejiofor wrote:
The biggest crime committed against the Ogoni people was the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight colleagues.
Their crime was that they mobilized their people against the exploitation of their land. The tribunal was headed by Justice Ibrahim Auta.
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| Exploitation of Ogoni land has devastated the environment. |
Other members of the tribunal were Justice Etowa Eyo Arikpo, Lt Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (the incumbent Comptroller General of Customs), while the government prosecutor was Mr Joseph Bodurin Daudu SAN.
The Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), the highest decision-making body of the Abacha regime that took the decision to kill Saro-Wiwa comprised -
- General Abacha,
- Maj. General Patrick Aziza (Minister of Communications under Abacha);
- Major Gen. Tajudeen Olarenwaju (GOC);
- General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Chief of Defence Staff);
- Lt. General Oladipo Diya (Chief of General Staff);
- Maj. Gen. Victor Malu (GOC);
- Ibrahim Coomasie (Inspector General of Police);
- Mike Akhigbe (Chief of Naval Staff);
- Maj. General Ishaya Bamaiyi (Chief of Army Staff);
- Nsikak Eduok (Chief of Air Staff), and
- Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni (Minister of the Federal Capital Territory).
There was no Igbo man.
It was Chief Emeka Anyaoku, an Igbo man, who as the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, that led a protest that made the Commonwealth of Nations rise to the occasion and warned Abacha not to carry out his wicked act. Although he later did, the Commonwealth under Anyaoku sanctioned Nigeria.
Today, ask an Ogoni man to show you his enemy, he will point at an Igbo man.
An eye opener.
Kenule Saro-Wiwa was a man educated at the famous Government College Umuahia (Fishers) and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He led the federal forces against the Biafrans and for his betrayal was made Administrator of Southeast state. He asked that Igbo properties be declared abandoned properties and be forfeited to them. He personally took over Ojukwu father's property in Port Harcourt which he occupied at a time with a certain Lt. Sani Abacha his friend and killer.
To rub in the humiliation of Igbos whom he hated so much, he wrote "Toad for Supper" which was a mockery of how they made Igbos suffer so much during the war that they fed on toads and lizards. He encouraged the Ikkwerres to deny their Igboness and assisted Elechi Amadi to invent the corruption of Igbo names by adding "r" and "y" to form jargons like Rumuokoro and Oyibo instead of Umuokoro and Obigbo. This they said is Ikkwerre a distinct language and tribe.
It is important to note that Ken Sarowiwa was not killed by his co-travelers for agitating for environmental rights. Environmental rights was one of his pastimes which he used to extort money and exert influence on government and oil companies.
He was killed for the murder of five Ogoni chiefs (Chief Fugbara, Kogbara Kobani et al).
These were men who were opposed to his immoral and outlandish lifestyle and actually wanted a more responsible engagement with government and oil companies. He labelled them vultures. Masterminded and led a mob attack on these men and killed the five of them in a single day.
It was a murder trial and environmental issues was not on the charge sheet. He was found guilty, convicted and hanged. His friend and collaborator in arms, now Gen Sani Abacha was the Head of State. It was not in vain that Ojukwu, (may his soul find peace), made effort to see him at Port Harcourt prison before his execution.
Of course, all effort to save him by the emasculated Igbos had failed. Emeka Anyaoku did his best. God bless him. Ojukwu visited him and greeted him “Good morning" in broad daylight. We can only pity Kenule Saro-Wiwa and his legacy of foolishness.
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I dont blame you because, you are an awkward product of futile efforts to the upbringing of an ideal being, if not you wouldn't have been able to give a public show of your negritude and nonchalance..... A disgrace to your people and a true analogy of your being as an igbo indigene...... You people always like to have the feeling of being greater than everyone Else(using other peoples head), the pple that left there states to go and dominate port Harcourt... Was it there capital, ken looked into the future and did the needful... Meanwhile.. Better make good consultations before you make some shameful statements, did you know any of the murdered cheifd personally.. How did you come to to know the reason for there death...for your information, on the day of the acclaimed murder, ken was restricted from entering ogoni land.... Well.. Igbos are known for defamation and public show of there delibrate ignorance..... Mr writer please i would advice you to look before you leap though(can anything good come out of igbo), even the worst northern states are better than the best igbo state(pple that saw power from independence aera, ehat a shame)..... Ken attended ui not unn, your facts are just product of inductive fallacy... Igbos, stupid set of pple, ojukwu thought he can claim rivers state, since he knew the eastern states have nothing (not even a natural resource to offer to nigeria.... But he's aim was cut short because rivers state had a saviour in the person of ken(he thought no rivers indegene was educated, so he can jst manuever his way-idiocincracy....) my writer you said ken attended his schools in the east, was he trained by an igbo man?, facts without proper reasoning and prove... Well i guess you still have a shallow and immature well of rationalising issues.... Its good to ask(can anything good come out of igbo)?
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