Ken Saro-Wiwa

Kenule Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941- November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author, television producer and environmental activist. He was an Ogoni member and he was also an ethnic minority whose homelands have been targeted for oil withdrawal since the 1950s. Saro-Wiwa was the president of MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogani People); he organized many non-violent campaigns against damages made to the environment related to operations by major oil companies.

Saro-Wiwa was a very prosperous businessman, novelists and television producer. His most famous novel is the story of a naпve village boy recruited by the army during the Nigerian Civil War; Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English. He also kept war diaries and one of his major accomplishments was a soap opera that was the most watched in Africa; Basi & Co. In the late 1970s, he established several retail and real estate businesses. During the 1980s, he was able to focus mainly on his writing, journalism, and television production.

Saro-Wiwa founded the MOSOP in 1990 to support the rights of the Ogani People. This organization wrote the Ogani Bill of Rights which labeled all of the association's demands. In 1992, Saro-Wiwa was arrested and imprisoned without trial for several months by the Nigerian Government. He was arrested once more in 1993 and released after one month. In May 1994, he

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was arrested for the murder of four Ogani elders. Although he denied the charges, Saro-Wiwa was incarcerated for over a year prior to being found guilty and sentenced to death. On November 10, 1995, nine MOSOP leaders including Saro-Wiwa were hanged by the Nigerian Military Government.

Kenule Saro-Wiwa's life is relevant to mine because he was a man who pursues what he firmly believes in. Although Saro-Wiwa went through many struggles in trying to bring equality to the minority, he continued to fight and try