Birth of the Ogoni Protest Movement

Abstract

This article suggests that the conflict between Ogoni indigenes and the Nigerian government can be better appreciated within the ambit of a much longer history, beginning with the colonial encounter. It also identifies two main trajectories of colonialism: the first that was imposed by the colonial regime and the second that was pursued by the postcolonial state, often in conjunction with multinational capital. Part of the aim of this article will be to locate the figure(s) of Saro-Wiwa within certain important moments of Ogoni resistance to power. In spite of his sometimes contradictory public persona, this article concludes that Saro-Wiwa ranks alongside figures such as Sub-commandante Insurgente Marcos and Arundhati Roy in directing the energies of crucial social struggles. In addition, the article tracks the evolution of two different modes of production. The first is an economy based on palm oil and supported by a colonial regime. The second is based on a decolonizing economy and is powered by petroleum within the strictures of a postcolonial state in alliance with multinational capital.