MikeDunnAuthor on Nostr: Today in Labor History November 10, 1995: The Nigerian government executed playwright ...
Today in Labor History November 10, 1995: The Nigerian government executed playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight other members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop). Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent movement protesting the despoiling of Ogoniland by Royal Dutch Shell. Beverly Naidoo’s 2000 novel, “The Other Side of Truth,” is based on Saro-Wiwa’s execution, as is Richard North Patterson’s 2009 novel, “Eclipse.” His execution sparked international outrage. And the Commonwealth of Nations briefly expelled Nigeria (for 3 years).
The Ogoniland flood plain, home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, is Africa's largest wetland, with one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. Some have called the environmental destruction of this region ecocide. In the last 10 years, Nigeria has had 9,343 oil spills, and spends $758 million per year for the cleanup. 75% of these costs are borne by local communities, not the government. By comparison, the European Union has had only 10 oil spills in the past 40 years. Some estimate that over 100 million barrels’ worth of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta between 1960 and 1997.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #KenSaroWiwa #ogoni #shell #bigoil #nigeria #repression #deathpenalty #ecology #nonviolence #activism #environmentalism #protest #playwright #novel #books #writer #author #BlackMastadon npub1qv0vgh4kxhj0rt2mky05082kzfenr75y7654nfgs2yt2sxvz65jsfzrtf3 (npub1qv0…rtf3)
The Ogoniland flood plain, home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, is Africa's largest wetland, with one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. Some have called the environmental destruction of this region ecocide. In the last 10 years, Nigeria has had 9,343 oil spills, and spends $758 million per year for the cleanup. 75% of these costs are borne by local communities, not the government. By comparison, the European Union has had only 10 oil spills in the past 40 years. Some estimate that over 100 million barrels’ worth of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta between 1960 and 1997.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #KenSaroWiwa #ogoni #shell #bigoil #nigeria #repression #deathpenalty #ecology #nonviolence #activism #environmentalism #protest #playwright #novel #books #writer #author #BlackMastadon npub1qv0vgh4kxhj0rt2mky05082kzfenr75y7654nfgs2yt2sxvz65jsfzrtf3 (npub1qv0…rtf3)