THE LAST STATEMENT OF KEN SARO WIWA AT THE MILITARY TRIBUNAL IN 1995


My lord, since my arrest on the 21st of May, 1994 I have been subjected to physical and mental torture, held incommunicado and denied food for weeks and medical attention for months. My seventy-four year old mother has been whipped and arrested, my
wife beaten and threatened with detention, the three telephone lines to my office and residence cut and the they remain cut to this day, my office and home have been ransacked on three different occasions and personal and family property, official files and documents taken away without documentation. I have been calumniated in the press and on satellite television before the whole world by a Rivers State government anxious to prejudice the mind of the public and to convince that public of my guilt even before trial. Only recently, before the United Nations Committee for the Eradication of Racism and Discrimination in Geneva, an official delegation of the Federal Government which included the Special Adviser on Legal Affairs to the Head of State, Professor Yazudu, declared me responsible for the murders which are the subject of this Tribunal, even before Tribunal has found against me or anyone else.


The fact that a case of homicide is being charged before a Tribunal set up under Decree No. 2 of 1987 speaks for itself. I am aware of the many strictures laid against the decree and this Tribunal by local and international observers. All the same, I
have followed the proceedings here with keen and detailed interest, not only because I am charged before this Tribunal, but also because, as a writer, I am a custodian of the conscience of society. I regret that the legal counsel I freely chose, Gani Fawhimi, the human rights hero and pride of this country, was forced to withdraw. His withdrawal has denied credibility to this trial.


With the permission of the Tribunal, I would now like to make a filmic representation which will graphically demonstrate all that I have said here and amplify the details thereof.


My lord, we all stand before history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richly-endowed land, distressed by their political marginalization and economic strangulation, angered by the
devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living, and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have
devoted all my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated. I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter
on our journey. Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory.


I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial and it is as well that it is represented by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The company has, indeed, ducked this particular
trial, but its day will surely come and the lessons learnt here may prove useful to it for there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war the company has waged in the delta will be called to question sooner than later and the crimes of that war duly punished. The crime of the company's dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished.

On trial also is the Nigerian nation, its present rulers and all those who assist them. Any nation which can do to the weak and disadvantaged what the Nigerian nation has done to the Ogoni, loses a claim to independence and to freedom from outside
influence. I am not one of those who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, arguing that they are expected from a military regime. The military do not act alone. They are supported by a gaggle of politicians, lawyers, judges, academics and
businessmen, all of them hiding under the claim that they are only doing their duty, men and women too afraid to wash their pants of their urine. We all stand on trial, my lord, for by our actions we have denigrated our country and jeopardized the future of our children. As we subscribe to the sub-normal and accept double standards, as we lie and cheat openly, as we protect injustice and oppression, we empty our classrooms, degrade our hospitals, fill our stomachs with hunger and elect to make ourselves the slaves of those who subscribe to higher standards, pursue the truth, and honour justice, freedom and hard work.

I predict that the scene here will be played and replayed by generations yet unborn. Some have already cast themselves in the role of villains, some are tragic victims, some still have a chance to redeem themselves. The choice is for each individual.

I predict that a denouement of the riddle of the Niger delta will soon come. The agenda is being set at this trial. Whether the peaceful ways I have favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the waiting
public.

In my innocence of the false charges I face here, in my utter conviction, I call upon the Ogoni people, the peoples of the Niger delta, and the oppressed ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and fight fearlessly and peacefully for their rights. History is on their side, God is on their side. For the Holy Quran says in Sura 42, verse 41: "All those who fight, when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressor." Come the day.

Ken Saro-Wiwa
Port Harcourt
21st September, 1995.

Pain, anger and disgust is all I feel from the post.

"I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter
on our journey. Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory"

"I call upon the Ogoni people, the peoples of the Niger delta, and the oppressed ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and fight fearlessly and peacefully for their rights. History is on their side, God is on their side"

rest well soza boy.
rest well the pipe man

I hope no IPOB falls into the trap of coming here to start vilifying Ogoni and her people.

Ogoni people fought for Biafra. Wiwa was a shortsighted young man who couldn't see what Kogbara and other Ogoni leaders were saying.

Too bad.

MinorityOpinion:
Pain, anger and disgust is all I feel from the post.

Yoruba impostor

To thinks that Ken Saro-Wiwa had a cordial relationship with the late Gen.Sanni Abacha when he was a younger officer back then in PH yet was killed under the govt of same was an irony.Anyway dictators are like that-you dont matter when their ego is threatened.

Good morning Ken. Ojukwu tried his best to get you out of prison even though you fought against him during the Biafra war. All his efforts were futile . His word when he was allowed to meet you, is epic and suits you best. Once again, good morning Ken Saro Wiwa.

Racoon:
To thinks that Ken Saro-Wiwa had a cordial relationship with the late Gen.Sanni Abacha when he was a younger officer back then in PH yet was killed under the govt of same was an irony.Anyway dictators are like that-you dont matter when their ego is threatened.

ken was in charge of greater bonny while capt abacha was commander of greater bonny. back then abacha took orders from ken. their friendship grew but they fell apart when ken refused to join abacha's govt as min info. abacha was livid when ken questioned his competence to govern Nigeria.
Ken Saro like Musa Yaradua paid the supreme price for daring to exposé Abacha's lack of functional capacity lead a complex nation like Nigeria

Racoon:
To thinks that Ken Saro-Wiwa had a cordial relationship with the late Gen.Sanni Abacha when he was a younger officer back then in PH yet was killed under the govt of same was an irony.Anyway dictators are like that-you dont matter when their ego is threatened.

Abacha, where are u today?

[s]

MinorityOpinion:
Pain, anger and disgust is all I feel from the post.

[/s]

Any last minute speech from the other Niger Delta saboteur, what's his name? Boro, before his new found lovers also snuffed the life out of him?

Good morning sir,u failed to listen to ojukwu,u think Igbos are your enemies, u have died and your people are still suffering now.

Rest on big man.

edochie12:
Good morning sir,u failed to listen to ojukwu,u think Igbos are your enemies, u have died and your people are still suffering now.

What was Ojukwu's last words please?

Indeed an irony. He was killed by Abacha whom he called a friend and a liberator from Igbo domination - not Ojukwu whom he called enemy of the minorties. Karma is a bitch!

Racoon:
To thinks that Ken Saro-Wiwa had a cordial relationship with the late Gen.Sanni Abacha when he was a younger officer back then in PH yet was killed under the govt of same was an irony.Anyway dictators are like that-you dont matter when their ego is threatened.

The lesson leant here is, once u ar taged minority in nigeria then u ar not suppose to speak or challeng the so called majority 3(hausa, igbo, yoruba). Ken asked question, "why shld u take oil from Ogoni land to developed other places like lagos, abuja,enugu, without any project sited in Ogoni"? 'why do u chosed to give jobs to people outside not even up to 0.2% of the shell workforce were ogonis?. these question could not be answered by any of the useless so called 3 majority groups. instead they resort to blackmail. for those that are ranting ken betrayed biafra, ken goodmorning ,my question is, what stops they igbos from joining ken to fight off what they now say is a common enermy (hausa fulani) if all there is a single common enermy? of couse they would never want minority to lead and they igbos now they followers. Isaac Boro asked the then corrupt eastern government and federal government that same two questions, same faith visited him eastern governmenet lead by their corrupt igbo leaders arrested him. now i ask the question, who stops they igbos from joining the ijaws to fight off this so called commom enermy? no ijaws can lead and they follow. summary of this is that they strugle to free from this greedy corrupt wazobia must continue till total libretion of they minority groups especially in southern nigeria and middle belt.

Noted.

edochie12:
Good morning sir,u failed to listen to ojukwu,u think Igbos are your enemies, u have died and your people are still suffering now.

ignorant Niger Delta youths today still feel Igbos are their major enemy. Igbos agitating for them to have total control of their resources are their enemies while Hausa-Fulanis and their Yoruba allies who believe that crude oil wealth in Niger Delta belongs to all Nigerians, especially to Northern political oligarchs and their supporters from Southwest, it is well with Niger Delta people

tested4sure:
The lesson leant here is, once u ar taged minority in nigeria then u ar not suppose to speak or challeng the so called majority 3(hausa, igbo, yoruba). Ken asked question, "why shld u take oil from Ogoni land to developed other places like lagos, abuja,enugu, without any project sited in Ogoni"? 'why do u chosed to give jobs to people outside not even up to 0.2% of the shell workforce were ogonis?. these question could not be answered by any of the useless so called 3 majority groups. instead they resort to blackmail. for those that are ranting ken betrayed biafra, ken goodmorning ,my question is, what stops they igbos from joining ken to fight off what they now say is a common enermy (hausa fulani) if all there is a single common enermy? of couse they would never want minority to lead and they igbos now they followers. Isaac Boro asked the then corrupt eastern government and federal government that same two questions, same faith visited him eastern governmenet lead by their corrupt igbo leaders arrested him. now i ask the question, who stops they igbos from joining the ijaws to fight off this so called commom enermy? no ijaws can lead and they follow. summary of this is that they strugle to free from this greedy corrupt wazobia must continue till total libretion of they minority groups especially in southern nigeria and middle belt.

Point of correction, Enugu was built with coal resources....

Ibadan with cocoa.


Yes Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna were built with crude oil.


Igbos support the question Niger Delta people are asking: why must the headquarters of oil companies mining crude in Niger Delta be in Lagos, why


Igbos of today are in solidarity with Niger Delta people agitation but because of the foolishness of the so called Niger Delta minority tribes, they always believe Igbos are their problem.

An average Igbo man hate injustice, he can die trying to fight injustice.

An average Igbo man love merit. He wants to compete with others on a fair playing ground not giving things for free.


But the average Niger Delta person believes an Igbo man will take over their crude oil should Nigeria divide. But they forgot that they can push for their own nation alongside Igbos so that there will be multiple regions asking for division of Nigeria which will make the disintegration of Nigeria faster and hence give Niger Delta people the great opportunity to have their freedom and decide how to manage their natural resources.

And if need be, form a regional force with Igbos for robust protection and security from external aggressions that will follow shortly after the division of Nigeria.

Good MORNING SARO WIWA. OJUKWU WARNED YOU.

Stop peddling falsehoods. Boro's protest was against the federal government.

tested4sure:
The lesson leant here is, once u ar taged minority in nigeria then u ar not suppose to speak or challeng the so called majority 3(hausa, igbo, yoruba). Ken asked question, "why shld u take oil from Ogoni land to developed other places like lagos, abuja,enugu, without any project sited in Ogoni"? 'why do u chosed to give jobs to people outside not even up to 0.2% of the shell workforce were ogonis?. these question could not be answered by any of the useless so called 3 majority groups. instead they resort to blackmail. for those that are ranting ken betrayed biafra, ken goodmorning ,my question is, what stops they igbos from joining ken to fight off what they now say is a common enermy (hausa fulani) if all there is a single common enermy? of couse they would never want minority to lead and they igbos now they followers. Isaac Boro asked the then corrupt eastern government and federal government that same two questions, same faith visited him eastern governmenet lead by their corrupt igbo leaders arrested him. now i ask the question, who stops they igbos from joining the ijaws to fight off this so called commom enermy? no ijaws can lead and they follow. summary of this is that they strugle to free from this greedy corrupt wazobia must continue till total libretion of they minority groups especially in southern nigeria and middle belt.

Rest in peace

After all the struggle, the marginalisation, Jonathan finally became president. So what? What happened? Hauser Fulani guys took better care of the region than their own son

those with their normal propaganda writing with assumption that Isaac Boro anger was against the federal government shld go and read Kaima declaration. Lets assumped he was against the federal government, but what stops the igbos lead eastern government not to support the ijaws?

wow. such powerful arrangement of words.

humilitypays:
Point of correction, Enugu was built with coal resources....

Ibadan with cocoa.


Yes Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna were built with crude oil.


Igbos support the question Niger Delta people are asking: why must the headquarters of oil companies mining crude in Niger Delta be in Lagos, why


Igbos of today are in solidarity with Niger Delta people agitation but because of the foolishness of the so called Niger Delta minority tribes, they always believe Igbos are their problem.

An average Igbo man hate injustice, he can die trying to fight injustice.

An average Igbo man love merit. He wants to compete with others on a fair playing ground not giving things for free.


But the average Niger Delta person believes an Igbo man will take over their crude oil should Nigeria divide. But they forgot that they can push for their own nation alongside Igbos so that there will be multiple regions asking for division of Nigeria which will make the disintegration of Nigeria faster and hence give Niger Delta people the great opportunity to have their freedom and decide how to manage their natural resources.

And if need be, form a regional force with Igbos for robust protection and security from external aggressions that will follow shortly after the division of Nigeria.

How dare you come here and insult a tribe that feed you like igbos never got money from niger delta oil

All the salaries, roads schools in igbo land where is the money from
Second niger bridge is it yr second hand car parts business paying for it

Is this how is going to be in Biafra ?
Hmmmmmm

2gbasky22:
THE LAST STATEMENT OF KEN SARO WIWA AT THE MILITARY TRIBUNAL IN 1995


My lord, since my arrest on the 21st of May, 1994 I have been subjected to physical and mental torture, held incommunicado and denied food for weeks and medical attention for months. My seventy-four year old mother has been whipped and arrested, my
wife beaten and threatened with detention, the three telephone lines to my office and residence cut and the they remain cut to this day, my office and home have been ransacked on three different occasions and personal and family property, official files and documents taken away without documentation. I have been calumniated in the press and on satellite television before the whole world by a Rivers State government anxious to prejudice the mind of the public and to convince that public of my guilt even before trial. Only recently, before the United Nations Committee for the Eradication of Racism and Discrimination in Geneva, an official delegation of the Federal Government which included the Special Adviser on Legal Affairs to the Head of State, Professor Yazudu, declared me responsible for the murders which are the subject of this Tribunal, even before Tribunal has found against me or anyone else.


The fact that a case of homicide is being charged before a Tribunal set up under Decree No. 2 of 1987 speaks for itself. I am aware of the many strictures laid against the decree and this Tribunal by local and international observers. All the same, I
have followed the proceedings here with keen and detailed interest, not only because I am charged before this Tribunal, but also because, as a writer, I am a custodian of the conscience of society. I regret that the legal counsel I freely chose, Gani Fawhimi, the human rights hero and pride of this country, was forced to withdraw. His withdrawal has denied credibility to this trial.


With the permission of the Tribunal, I would now like to make a filmic representation which will graphically demonstrate all that I have said here and amplify the details thereof.


My lord, we all stand before history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richly-endowed land, distressed by their political marginalization and economic strangulation, angered by the
devastation of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and to a decent living, and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have
devoted all my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated. I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter
on our journey. Nor imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory.


I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial and it is as well that it is represented by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The company has, indeed, ducked this particular
trial, but its day will surely come and the lessons learnt here may prove useful to it for there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war the company has waged in the delta will be called to question sooner than later and the crimes of that war duly punished. The crime of the company's dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished.

On trial also is the Nigerian nation, its present rulers and all those who assist them. Any nation which can do to the weak and disadvantaged what the Nigerian nation has done to the Ogoni, loses a claim to independence and to freedom from outside
influence. I am not one of those who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, arguing that they are expected from a military regime. The military do not act alone. They are supported by a gaggle of politicians, lawyers, judges, academics and
businessmen, all of them hiding under the claim that they are only doing their duty, men and women too afraid to wash their pants of their urine. We all stand on trial, my lord, for by our actions we have denigrated our country and jeopardized the future of our children. As we subscribe to the sub-normal and accept double standards, as we lie and cheat openly, as we protect injustice and oppression, we empty our classrooms, degrade our hospitals, fill our stomachs with hunger and elect to make ourselves the slaves of those who subscribe to higher standards, pursue the truth, and honour justice, freedom and hard work.

I predict that the scene here will be played and replayed by generations yet unborn. Some have already cast themselves in the role of villains, some are tragic victims, some still have a chance to redeem themselves. The choice is for each individual.

I predict that a denouement of the riddle of the Niger delta will soon come. The agenda is being set at this trial. Whether the peaceful ways I have favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the waiting
public.

In my innocence of the false charges I face here, in my utter conviction, I call upon the Ogoni people, the peoples of the Niger delta, and the oppressed ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and fight fearlessly and peacefully for their rights. History is on their side, God is on their side. For the Holy Quran says in Sura 42, verse 41: "All those who fight, when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressor." Come the day.

Ken Saro-Wiwa
Port Harcourt
21st September, 1995.

u said last statement,I was expecting to see" it is finish". " e no go better 4 Nigeria"" make God punish una".. .etc

limeta:






How dare you come here and insult a tribe that feed you like igbos never got money from niger delta oil

All the salaries, roads schools in igbo land where is the money from
Second niger bridge is it yr second hand car parts business paying for it

Is this how is going to be in Biafra ?
Hmmmmmm

Imo and Abia are oil producing states yet the South East get the least allocation. I am tired of addressing ignorant Niger Deltans on this issue. Our problem is that we keep fighting the wrong enemies. The best solution for us is to align with one of the majorities because the voice of 1 million Ogonis can never be heard where other 199 million are talking but 50 million can go a long way.

limeta:






How dare you come here and insult a tribe that feed you like igbos never got money from niger delta oil

All the salaries, roads schools in igbo land where is the money from
Second niger bridge is it yr second hand car parts business paying for it

Is this how is going to be in Biafra ?
Hmmmmmm

Another "our oyel" dumdum on the loose.

Asaba is what? Egbema is what? Ogwashiukwu is what? Ibusa is what? Okpanam is what? Oshimili is what? Obigbo is what? Ukwa is what? Are they not Igbo oil producing communities?

e-diotic landgrabber trying to claim igboland

An Igbo man curse:



He will fight for someone who is downtrodden, while the person he is fighting for will accuse him of many things while licking the boot of his oppressor.





Ken saro wiwa , good morning.

humilitypays:
Point of correction, Enugu was built with coal resources....

Ibadan with cocoa.


Yes Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna were built with crude oil.


Igbos support the question Niger Delta people are asking: why must the headquarters of oil companies mining crude in Niger Delta be in Lagos, why


Igbos of today are in solidarity with Niger Delta people agitation but because of the foolishness of the so called Niger Delta minority tribes, they always believe Igbos are their problem.

An average Igbo man hate injustice, he can die trying to fight injustice.

An average Igbo man love merit. He wants to compete with others on a fair playing ground not giving things for free.


But the average Niger Delta person believes an Igbo man will take over their crude oil should Nigeria divide. But they forgot that they can push for their own nation alongside Igbos so that there will be multiple regions asking for division of Nigeria which will make the disintegration of Nigeria faster and hence give Niger Delta people the great opportunity to have their freedom and decide how to manage their natural resources.

And if need be, form a regional force with Igbos for robust protection and security from external aggressions that will follow shortly after the division of Nigeria.

indeed, na your papa born you. No need for DNA. Thank you for schooling that weakling