Today November 10 is the 25th death anniversary of writer and human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa.
In a post shared on her Facebook page this morning, Noo Saro-Wiwa, the daughter of Ken Saro-Wiwa, recounted how her father and eight others were killed for protesting against Oil spillage in Ogoni land in 1993.
Noo said her father’s remain were buried in an unmarked grave for almost a decade and when her family received his remains, they had to reassemble his skeleton so they can give him a befitting burial.
Noo pointed out that to this day, the Nigerian government has not granted him an official pardon. She ended by stating that Black lives will matter outside of Africa only when they matter in Africa itself.
Read her post below
”25 years ago today, my father Ken Saro-Wiwa and his eight colleagues were murdered by Nigeria’s military regime after a sham trial. Their only ‘crime’ was to peacefully pursue human rights for the Ogoni people and to campaign against oil spills in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Their bodies were buried in an unmarked grave for almost a decade.
When our family finally received my father’s remains we had to reassemble his skeleton with our own hands before giving him a dignified burial. To this day the Nigerian government has not granted him an official pardon. It speaks volumes about our so-called democracy.
No government can call itself civilised or claim any moral authority while it refuses to exonerate these innocent men. Black lives will matter outside of Africa only when they matter in Africa itself. #pardonkensarowiwa #pardontheogoni9”
