My lord,
We all stand before history. I am a man of peace,
of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my
people who live on a richly endowed land,
distressed by their political marginalization and
economic strangulation, angered by the devastation
of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to
preserve their right to life and to a decent living,
and determined to usher to this country as a whole
a fair and just democratic system which protects
everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a
valid claim to human civilization, I have devoted
my intellectual and material resources, my very
life, to a cause in which I have total belief and
from which I cannot be blackmailed or
intimidated. I have no doubt at all about the
ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials
and tribulations which I and those who believe
with me may encounter on our journey. Neither
imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate
victory.
I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my
colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is
here on trial and it is as well that it is represented
by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The
Company has, indeed, ducked this particular trial,
but its day will surely come and the lessons learnt
here may prove useful to it for there is no doubt in
my mind that the ecological war that the Company
has waged in the Delta will be called to question
sooner than later and the crimes of that war be
duly punished. The crime of the Company's dirty
wars against the Ogoni people will also be
punished.
On trial also is the Nigerian nation, its present
rulers and those who assist them. Any nation
which can do to the weak and disadvantaged what
the Nigerian nation has done to the Ogoni, loses a
claim to independence and to freedom from
outside influence. I am not one of those who shy
away from protesting injustice and oppression,
arguing that they are expected in a military
regime. The military do not act alone. They are
supported by a gaggle of politicians, lawyers,
judges, academics and businessmen, all of them
hiding under the claim that they are only doing
their duty, men and women too afraid to wash
their pants of urine.
We all stand on trial, my lord, for by our actions
we have denigrated our Country and jeopardized
the future of our children. As we subscribe to the
sub-normal and accept double standards, as we lie
and cheat openly, as we protect injustice and
oppression, we empty our classrooms, denigrate
our hospitals, fill our stomachs with hunger and
elect to make ourselves the slaves of those who
ascribe to higher standards, pursue the truth, and
honour justice, freedom, and hard work. I predict
that the scene here will be played and replayed by
generations yet unborn. Some have already cast
themselves in the role of villains, some are tragic
victims, some still have a chance to redeem
themselves. The choice is for each individual.
I predict that the denoument of the riddle of the
Niger delta will soon come. The agenda is being set
at this trial. Whether the peaceful ways I have
favoured will prevail depends on what the
oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the
waiting public.
In my innocence of the false charges I face Here, in
my utter conviction, I call upon the Ogoni people,
the peoples of the Niger delta, and the oppressed
ethnic minorities of Nigeria to stand up now and
fight fearlessly and peacefully for their rights.
History is on their side. God is on their side. For
the Holy Quran says in Sura 42, verse 41: "All those
that fight when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah
shall punish the oppressor." Come the day.
Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa
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