Ken Saro-Wiwa: The Victory in Loss | Harvard Reflection paper
The Context — Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine
Ken Saro-Wiwa was brutally killed by General Sani Abacha for his advocacy against the devastation of the Ogoni people’s land by multinational oil corporations. He was arrested in May 1994 and executed on November 10, 1995, along with eight other Ogoni comrades who supported his cause.
The Independent UK reported that it took five attempts to hang Ken Saro-Wiwa before the Nigerian writer spoke his last words and his body went limp. “Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues,” were the anti-government activist’s final words before he died on Friday morning, blindfolded and dangling from a rope.
In his final words, which the tribunal reportedly didn’t hear, Ken summarized the reason for his advocacy, his life’s mission and the fact that history will judge everyone’s action.
The Case — Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Final words
“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 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. Neither 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 learned here may prove useful to it for there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war that the Company has waged in the Delta will be called to question sooner than later and the crimes of that war be 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 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 in 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 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, denigrate our hospitals, fill our stomachs with hunger and elect to make ourselves the slaves of those who ascribe 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 the 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 Surah 42, verse 41: “All those that fight when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressor.” Come the day.”
Analysis of Case — The Empathetic Bridge
- “My lord, we all stand before history”, great use of imagery
- “…no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey, neither imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory”, as part of the empathetic bridge, here Ken acknowledged that there are challenges however he translates to hope to say it can not stop their victory.
- “I am not one of those who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, arguing that they are expected in a military regime…” He could have started crying or spent the whole speech talking about how he’s not guilty, but he was bold all through.
- The military does 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 urine” Here he also calls out others who have supported the military regime that executed him. “Wash their pants of urine” is also great imagery to show their contamination and filth in this case.
- “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, denigrate our hospitals”, he uses the chance to also talk about the general challenges in Nigeria and the corruption in various sectors, when he says “We all stand trial”. A statement that calls for introspection.
- “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.”, again in terms of Agency, Ken doesn’t start telling them what to do. In his speech, he allows them the power to choose. “The choice is for each individual”, also he brings everyone listening into the case (Story of US) — not just Shell and the Military Government.
- To ensure that the struggle doesn’t end with his death and also to break the fear people in the Niger Delta were having at the time, Ken says, “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”. This shows the urgency (which is a key component of the “Story of Now”)… He also qualified “the kind of Fight” he expects them to engage in, which is the type he has used through his advocacy work “fearlessly and peacefully”.
- To assure them of victory in this fight, he goes on to say “History is on their side. God is on their side.” This assures them that their battle is not just physical but spiritual.
- His decision to quote the Holy Quran as opposed to the Christian Holy Bible (which is most likely his religion, seeing that he’s from southern Nigeria which is predominantly Christian) leaves me with a couple of questions though… Did he strategically do this because the military regime at the time was filled with mostly Muslims? Does this mean he knew the Quran so well to remember a particular passage? Perhaps he was practicing to become a Muslim? or maybe was he just open-minded enough to have read both the Quran and the Bible.
- Whatever the reason might be though, the passage he quotes proclaims victory despite the loss, “All those that fight when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressor.” Come the day.”
Leadership Lessons
- Ken Saro-Wiwa remained resolute and confident even in the face of death.
- He used the chance he got to speak to be didactic and to address issues in Nigeria warning about coming chaos — which we currently see everywhere in the country today.
- His use of imagery is great, and the recurring line of “we all stand trial”,
- It is possible to do a Story ofSelf + Us + Now in a very short space of time. Ken did it as you would see the progression through his speech.
- 24 years later, the fight for the Ogoni people and the Niger Delta continues!
__________________
Ebenezar Wikina
Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education | Narrative Ninjas Section
Reflection Paper #5 — Loss Case applying Public Narrative as a Leadership Practice
17th November 2019
