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ITODE AKARI
The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation has insisted that Shell Petroleum Development Company and Renaissance Africa Energy remain persona non grata in Ogoniland, dismissing as fabricated the claims of a so-called restorative reconciliation and collaboration in the region.
In a statement signed by Dr. Owens Wiwa on behalf of the Foundation, the family denounced the report as a calculated ruse aimed at misleading the public.
He stated that the tree-planting event cited in the report was never authorised by the Foundation, adding that Zina Saro-Wiwa was misled into attending by the facilitator, who has now been dismissed for orchestrating the incident.
He clarified that the tree-planting exercise at the centre of the propaganda was never authorised, and that Zina Saro-Wiwa was deceived into attending by the facilitator of the event, who has since been relieved of his duties for orchestrating the act.
Wiwa said the foundation has already uprooted the trees planted during the staged event.
Dr. Wiwa stressed that neither the Ken Saro-Wiwa family nor the Foundation has engaged in any form of reconciliation with Shell or its rebranded entity, Renaissance.
He reiterated that Shell/Renaissance must take full responsibility for the devastation in Ogoni, including the environmental destruction and the killings perpetrated by Nigerian Army officers led by the late Major Paul Okuntimo, whose operations were allegedly funded to suppress the Ogoni people and enable renewed oil drilling.
Dr Wiwa, while acknowledging the ongoing work of HYPREP in cleaning up contaminated land and waterways, noted that the remediation alone is insufficient and called for an urgent political dialogue on the creation of Bori State, arguing that meaningful autonomy is essential for Ogonis to participate in the control and management of their resources.
According to the foundation, reconciliation cannot begin until the Nigerian government initiates this conversation and establishes a clear pathway to autonomy for the Ogoni people.
It maintained that no amount of staged photography or propaganda by Shell’s agents or security operatives will mislead the Ogoni people, who remain resolute in resisting manipulation and attempts to rewrite history.
The foundation stated, “For the avoidance of doubt, the Ken Saro-Wiwa family and the Foundation have not had any sort of reconciliation with Shell or its new name (Renaissance). Both entities remain persona non grata in Ogoni.
“Shell, now renamed Renaissance, must clean up the Ogoni environment completely and must be held accountable for the killings that took place in Ogoni by the officers of the Nigerian army led by the late Major Okuntimo whom they paid to kill and pacify the Ogonis so oil drilling could recommence.
“The effort by HYPREP (Hydrocarbon Remediation Program) to clean up the land and rivers is a good first step. This must be complemented by a political discussion to create a Bori State for the Ogonis.
“It is only when the Nigerian government starts this discussion that the process of healing can start.
“The Nigerian State at a minimum owes the Ogoni people a pathway to autonomy so that Ogonis can participate in the control of their resources.”
