Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
Name	Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
Formation	1990
Founder	Ken Saro-Wiwa, G. G. Darlington
Type	Nonviolent activist group
Location	Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria
Key people	Ken Saro-Wiwa, Billie Tannamun, G. G. Darlington
Focus	Environmental justice, Human rights, Resource control

Contents

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People was a nonviolent grassroots organization formed in 1990 in Ogoni, Rivers State, Nigeria. It mobilized Ogoni communities against environmental degradation attributed to Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corporation, and other oil companies operating in the Niger Delta. The movement connected local activism with global networks including Amnesty International, Greenpeace, United Nations, and Human Rights Watch.

Background and Origins

The movement emerged amid longstanding tensions between Royal Dutch Shell, Mobil Oil, Chevron Corporation, Texaco, and the Ogoni people over oil exploration in Niger Delta wetlands such as Bodo, Gokana, Kporghor and Gbaran. Leaders cited contamination from pipeline spills, gas flaring linked to International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, and loss of fishing and agriculture livelihoods. The founding drew from Ogoni clans including Khana and Gokana and was influenced by activists associated with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Movement for Change, and figures like Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa who had links to Nigerian literature and Nigerian journalism. The organization adopted principles resonant with campaigns from Global Witness, Friends of the Earth, Environmental Rights Action, and Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People-adjacent groups in Cross River State.

The movement's public face was Ken Saro-Wiwa, a writer and broadcaster who mobilized support alongside community leaders such as G. G. Darlington and local youth organizers connected to the Ogoni National Council. Structures included local committees in Khana and Bori and liaison with international NGOs like Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, and the World Council of Churches. The leadership coordinated protests, oil spill documentation, and media outreach through networks involving BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, and Time (magazine). Relations with national actors such as Shehu Shagari-era politicians, Sani Abacha, and Ibrahim Babangida influenced organizational strategy.

The movement documented oil-related impacts in sites including Bomu, Soku, K-dere, and Ogale, collaborating with scientific teams from University of Port Harcourt, University of Lagos, Imperial College London, and University of Oxford to analyze soil and water contamination. Campaigns invoked international instruments like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and complaints to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The group worked with activists from Niger Delta Avengers-linked communities, allied with organizations such as Environmental Rights Action, Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth International, Network for the Protection of Oil Producing Communities, and Global Witness to push for Corporate accountability, community compensation, and an end to gas flaring. Media campaigns engaged celebrities and institutions like Peter Gabriel, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and Amnesty International to highlight alleged violations by Shell.

Tensions escalated between the movement, Royal Dutch Shell, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and the military regimes of Sani Abacha and Ibrahim Babangida. Incidents included clashes in Bori and accusations of sabotage and violence that drew in Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigerian Police Force, and paramilitary units linked to the Niger Delta. The movement alleged collusion between corporations and state security forces, prompting inquiries by institutions such as the United Nations Environment Programme, European Parliament, US Congress, and House Committee on International Relations. Corporate responses included litigation in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, public relations efforts with Hill+Knowlton Strategies, and investigations by the UK Department for International Development and UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Arrests in 1994 of leaders including Ken Saro-Wiwa led to the widely publicized trial by a special tribunal under military rule, prosecuted by Nigerian authorities linked to the Sani Abacha government. The executions in November 1995 of Saro-Wiwa and colleagues provoked condemnation from United Nations, European Union, United States, Commonwealth of Nations, and global NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Aftermath actions included sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury, litigation against Royal Dutch Shell plc in U.S. courts by victims' families, and inquiries such as the Shell Nigeria Public Inquiry and investigations by corporate watchdogs like Global Witness and BankTrack. Domestic repercussions influenced later Niger Delta activism, shaping groups like Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and prompting legislative interest in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation reform.

International responses included advocacy by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth International, and investigation by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Legal actions invoked the Alien Tort Claims Act in United States courts and civil suits in the United Kingdom alleging complicity by Royal Dutch Shell. Outcomes featured settlements, such as the 2009 settlement between Shell and plaintiffs, scrutiny by the UK Serious Fraud Office, and recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme's assessment of Ogoniland that called for remediation and funding by Shell and Nigerian authorities. Continued litigation and advocacy involve institutions like the European Court of Human Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, International Criminal Court, World Bank, and NGOs pursuing environmental remediation and reparations.