An attempt to immortalise late Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni environmental activist who was hanged in 1995 by the military regime of Sani Abacha, was on Thursday blocked at the senate.
The proposal came through a motion sponsored by Lee Maeba (PDP River state) which sought the senate’s consent to name a prominent national monument and major road in Abuja after the late Saro-Wiwa. Mr. Maeba was also seeking that the senate declare 11th November of every year to be named and recognised as ‘Ken Saro-Wiwa Day’ in Nigeria.
However, all his pleas were turned down by his colleagues at the senate...
The senators argued that if the motion was accepted, it will contradict the state action which carried out the execution of Mr. Saro-Wiwa and that it will only attract unwanted public attention that can’t be afforded now.
Human rights groups had condemned the military tribunal that found Mr Saro Wiwa and other Ogoni activists guilty,
saying it was closed to the public and did not meet global standards of fairness.
But some of the senators who opposed the motion to honour the man argued that it excluded several other late pro-democracy fighters such as Moshood Abiola and Shehu Yar’Adua who lost their lives to military governments. Incidentally, an earlier motion to honour Mr Abiola was also rejected by the lawmakers.
No silence in senate
But while leading the debate on the motion, Mr. Maeba argued that the late Saro-Wiwa, who was the founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, dedicated himself to solving the problems of oil rich region through a non-violent movement for social and ecological justice.
He said the late Saro-Wiwa was a strong advocate of the actualisation of the rights of the Ogoni people as articulated in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.
“Saro-Wiwa’s devotion of his life to human rights and environmental struggle in the Niger Delta lead to his unjust imprisonment for several months without trial and his execution for trumped-up charges along with eight others,” Mr. Maeba said.
However, not even his prayer that a minute silence be held in his honour was admitted by the senate.
