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OPINION: Saro Wiwa, Eight Ogoni Posthumous Pardon, And The New Drill Dream

Published

6 hours ago

July 2, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

There is an old Greek tale—the story of King Priam, who welcomed a majestic wooden horse into the city of Troy, not knowing it hid the enemy. A gift, yes—but a deadly one. That tale birthed the phrase “beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” a timeless warning against generosity that masks darker motives. Today, Nigeria may confront its own version of this tale in the posthumous pardon granted to Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine.

In 1995, Nigeria etched its name into the black book of global conscience by executing Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists. Their crime? Daring to challenge environmental exploitation and demand accountability from multinational oil companies and the Nigerian state. Their voices, though silenced by death, became louder in memory. The world mourned. The nation retreated into silence. For nearly thirty years, the injustice of their execution remained a scar on Nigeria’s soul.

Now, in what appears to be an act of national atonement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has granted a posthumous state pardon. But one must ask—what exactly is being pardoned? And who benefits from this symbolism?

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: NNPCL, Abiku, And The National Rip-off

Pardons, by nature, imply mercy extended to the guilty. But the Ogoni Nine were not criminals. They were environmental defenders whose only offence was demanding justice. To pardon them without acknowledging the wrongful convictions that led to their deaths is to miss the point entirely. It is to offer a flower where fire is needed. It is to gift-wrap amnesia.

But context is everything. Beyond the moral theatre lies a quiet but consequential move by the Federal Government: the renewed push to recommence oil exploration in Ogoniland. Recent reports have hinted at behind-the-scenes negotiations and administrative groundwork to revive oil drilling in this land that has seen more spills than dividends. Suddenly, the pardon begins to resemble less a national apology and more a strategic peace offering—a political anesthetic before economic surgery.

Could this be Nigeria’s Trojan Horse?

The Niger Delta, and particularly Ogoniland, remains a powder keg of environmental trauma and distrust. The land that birthed Ken Saro-Wiwa remains largely untouched by justice. The UNEP report of 2011, which mapped out a detailed path for environmental restoration, has been slow-walked, politicized, and underfunded. Communities still breathe toxins, drink poisoned water, and watch their children grow up in a landscape of death. If the pardon was meant to heal, it missed its mark. It touched memory but ignored reality.

This is why the concept of a “Greek gift” is dangerously relevant. When a government offers mercy without accountability, when it performs reconciliation without restitution, it risks turning tragedy into theatre. What Nigeria owes the Ogoni Nine is not a pardon—it is exoneration. It is an unreserved admission of judicial murder. It is structural reform to ensure such abuses never reoccur. It is aggressive cleanup, healthcare restoration, educational intervention, and full community reintegration. Anything less is performance.

The suspicion now is that this performance sets the stage for re-entry—not just into Ogoniland, but into its oil. The pardon may be the lubricant for exploration. The government knows that in a region where memories are long and grievances deep, you cannot drill without first disarming resistance. And what better way to lower the guards of a traumatized people than to offer posthumous forgiveness for state-sanctioned executions?

But justice cannot be bought with symbolic gestures. We must ask: Why now? What has changed? Where is Shell in all this? Where is the justice for the decades of extraction and devastation? Where is the legislation that protects environmental defenders today? The pardon, if not matched with real reparative justice, becomes a Trojan Horse—invited into our national conscience but bearing within it the same inertia, the same betrayal.

We must look deeper. Because if all we do is pardon the dead while abandoning the living, then we have not learned from Troy.

We have only invited the horse in again.

Israel Adebiyi is a senior journalist, and Head of News, Super FM, Benin City.

Israeladebiyi28@gmail.com
07034950917

News

Lagos Suspends BRT Lane Enforcement On Eko Bridge, Odo Iya-Alaro

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has temporarily suspended enforcement of the Bus Rapid Transit lane along the Eko Bridge and Odo Iya-Alaro corridor to ease growing traffic congestion.

This gridlock is a result of the ongoing structural rehabilitation on the Ogudu-Ifako Bridge expansion joint.

Special Adviser to the Lagos Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa announced the suspension on Wednesday, describing it as a strategic move to tackle gridlock in affected parts of the city.

“This remedial measure, conceived as a palliative response to mitigate commuter hardship, aligns with the Lagos State Government’s forward-thinking and adaptive transportation strategy under the THEMES Plus Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, particularly within the framework of sustainable traffic management and infrastructure modernisation,” Giwa said.

He explained that the temporary suspension is a transitional and conditional measure aimed at absorbing the anticipated vehicular overflow caused by the partial closure of the Ifako-bound carriageway of the Third Mainland corridor.

“We are fully cognizant of the immense strain currently imposed on key ingress routes into the Lagos Mainland. Consequently, this tactical suspension of BRT lane enforcement is a calculated response designed to deliver immediate relief, reduce commuting time, and preserve the fluidity of vehicular movement throughout the duration of the bridge repairs,” he added.

According to him, the directive takes immediate effect and allows general vehicular access to previously restricted BRT corridors on Eko Bridge and Odo Iya-Alaro, particularly during peak travel periods.

He said this move is expected to expand available road capacity and ease traffic along critical routes.

Giwa, however, stressed that commercial buses and articulated vehicles must remain in compliance with existing safety rules and loading guidelines to avoid worsening traffic conditions or compromising public safety.

He also disclosed that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has been mobilised to strengthen its presence along the affected corridors.

“Enhanced personnel deployment and traffic equipment are now in place to ensure orderly conduct, prevent exploitation of the temporary suspension, and respond promptly to any emergent traffic disturbances,” Giwa stated.

News

Lagos Opens Teacher Recruitment Portal For Two Weeks

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced the reactivation of its teaching job recruitment portal to allow qualified individuals to apply for entry-level teaching positions.

In a notice issued by the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission on Tuesday, the portal will be open for applications from Tuesday, July 1 to Monday, July 14, 2025.

“The Lagos State Teaching Service Commission is set to reactivate its Recruitment Portal as a bold step towards improving access to employment opportunities, equity, and fairness.

“The job portal, which will be accessible for two weeks (Tuesday, July 1st 2025, to Monday, July 14th, 2025), is intended to provide a centralised platform where individuals can apply for State Teaching jobs at the entry level (GL 08) in their relevant fields,” the notice read.

The move, according to the Commission, is aimed at improving access to employment opportunities in the education sector while ensuring equity and fairness.

TESCOM urged interested applicants with a degree in Education or other relevant qualifications to visit the official portal https://tescomjobs.lagosstate.gov.ng and apply for teaching roles at Grade Level 08.

The notice was signed by the Chairman of the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission.

News

FG Unveils N50m Grant To Boost Student Innovation, Entrepreneurship

Published

4 hours ago

July 2, 2025

Editor

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced a N50m Student Grant Venture Capital Initiative to support scaling student-led enterprises in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Alausa said the initiative aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry by turning homegrown research into commercially viable products and services.

The minister made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja when he inaugurated the Research and Innovation Commercialisation Committee.

He said the scheme, which will be anchored by TETFund in partnership with the Bank of India, targets undergraduate students in 300-level and above with viable business models and innovations ready for market expansion.

According to the minister, the development is aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of transitioning Nigeria from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-driven one.

“We have hundreds of thousands of young geniuses across our institutions. This fund is designed to unlock their potential and help them build globally competitive enterprises,” the minister said.

On her part, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, described the inauguration as a landmark moment in Nigeria’s education and innovation history.

“For too long, research in our tertiary institutions has been reduced to tools for promotion rather than solutions for development. This must change,” she said.

In his response, the Committee Chairman, Dr. Tayo Aduloju, described the RICC as “a matter of national urgency”, noting that Nigeria’s research investment as a percentage of GDP is among the lowest when compared to peer nations.