The Republic
The Republic is a narrative podcast series that explores pivotal Nigerian and broader African historical events and figures. In its second season, host Wale Lawal traces the life and legacy of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who led a non-violent movement against oil pollution in the Niger Delta's Ogoniland. The Nigerian government responded by arresting and executing Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists, an event that reshaped Nigeria's trajectory.
Episodes
‘We All Stand Before History’
In 2006, Nigerian-British sculptor, Sokari Douglas-Camp, was commissioned by human and environment rights organization, Platform, to create a work of art in honour of the memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa. Douglas-Camp created a life-sized replica of a Nigerian steel bus, called ‘Battle Bus: Living Memorial for Ken Saro-Wiwa’. It was an artistic symbol of movement and change. In 2015, 20 years after the exe
The Execution
On 22 May 1995, the final phase of the Ogoni Nine trial began. The Ogoni Nine had been in detention since May 1994. Ken Saro-Wiwa’s health was declining, and had taken a turn for the worse. Still, the Special Military Tribunal resumed trial. With their lawyers, Femi Falana and Gani Fawehinmi having retired (due to being frustrated by the government), the Ogoni Nine were left without legal represen
The Ogoni 8
In our last episode, we discussed the murder of four Ogoni chiefs, Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage, at Giokoo on 21 May 1994. We also discussed how their deaths emboldened the General Sani Abacha regime to arrest various Ogonis, especially those who were members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
Following the murders of the Ogoni chiefs,
The Kangaroo Court
On 19 January 1994, General Abacha, who had been Nigeria’s head of state for just two months, sent a federal ministerial committee to Ogoniland to meet with Ken Saro-Wiwa in Saro-Wiwa's hometown of Bori. The primary mission of the committee was to investigate the oil crisis in the Niger Delta region and make a report on how to solve the crisis. The committee consisted of Alex Ibru, the federal
The Ogoni Crisis
The Ogonis are a prominent ethnic group in the Niger Delta. And in the 1950s, the oil wealth found in Ogoniland promised a future of prosperity. It meant that the small agriculture and fishery community could be potentially transformed into an industrial hub. But this dream soon became a nightmare as the government and the oil companies had other plans. The Ogonis never saw the promised prosperity
The Political Rise of Ken Saro-Wiwa: Part II
1973 began with Ken Saro-Wiwa being more publicly critical than ever of the Nigerian government he was a part of. Increasingly, he served two masters: he was a government commissioner and he was also advocating for the autonomy of the Ogoni people over their political and economic affairs. Fresh out of a civil war, Nigeria’s authorities were intolerant of any form of agitation or activism, especia
The Political Rise of Ken Saro-Wiwa: Part I
In photos of the January 4 1993 Ogoni rally, Ken Saro-Wiwa stands out. You can sense his passion, his energy but more curiously his pull. These are very dangerous times to be protesting. Only days before, the Babangida military regime had placed a ban on public gatherings. So what was it about the Ogoni movement that made it (to borrow from the American writer, Toni Cade Bambara ) ‘irresistible’ t
Abacha’s Offer
You’re probably wondering why we chose to start this season talking about General Sani Abacha, the despot who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his mysterious death in 1998. The short answer is this: if we really want to understand what Ken Saro-Wiwa, the protagonist of our story this season, was up against, we have to understand Abacha.
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable objec
Looking for Ken Saro-Wiwa
African history is not yet mainstream and we're on a mission to change this. The Republic is a miniseries covering key events and figures in African history. Our second season focuses on the life and legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a writer and one of nine non-violent Ogoni activists the General Sani Abacha military government brutally executed in 1995.
The Ogoni are an ethnic group situated in the Nige
June 12: The Rest Is History
IBB had just stepped down from the presidential seat and handed the responsibility over to the technocrat, Ernest Shonekan. Despite being unpopular (at least compared to MKO Abiola), Shonekan promised to serve Nigeria with all his heart and to be faithful, loyal and honest. Unfortunately for him, he was handed a country in turmoil.
The Shonekan administration might have been ineffectual, but it ga
June 12: Hope Deferred
It was June 15 1993, three days after the June 12 election and the National Electoral Commission had released results from 14 states, including the Federal Capital Territory. From the results, MKO Abiola was in the clear lead. It seemed like MKO had won the election. All around Nigeria, people were hopeful and eager for a democratic future with a leader they had chosen.
But on June 16, the Abuja
June 12: Freest and Fairest of Them All
After eight years of anticipation, and eight years of promises from General Ibrahim Babangida’s junta, Nigerians were finally about to have their say at the ballot box. In this week’s episode, we head to the polls!
What tilted the scales in favour of SDP’s MKO Abiola over NRC’s Bashir Tofa? How did local and international observers feel the June 12 election went? Was June 12 truly free and fair?
SDP and NRC: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Ahead of the June 12 1993 election, the Babangida regime created a two-party system, in which only the National Republican Convention party (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) were allowed to run for office. NRC was meant to represent right-wing views while SDP was meant to represent left-wing views.
However, critics have argued that both parties were actually similar, lacked ideological diff
MKO: The Man Nigeria Waited to See
During the June 12 1993 election, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale ‘MKO’ Abiola was the widely preferred presidential candidate. Until then, he had been perhaps the most popular of IBB’s private-sector associates.
MKO’s legacy in Nigeria is a complex one: it is a tapestry of luck, hope, discipline, betrayal and destiny but underneath that tapestry lies a number of questions. Starting with how did a poor
IBB: The ‘Evil Genius’
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida or ‘IBB’ became the military president of Nigeria in 1985, after overthrowing General Muhammadu Buhari (yes, we know what you’re thinking and you’re right) in a military coup. On becoming president, IBB sold himself as the military leader who would usher in Nigeria’s democracy; but what continues to puzzle historians is why he repeatedly delayed the democratic tr
Introducing ‘The Republic’
African history is not yet mainstream and we're on a mission to change this. The Republic is a miniseries covering key events and figures in African history. Our first season focuses on 'June 12', the most controversial election in Nigeria's history.
In June 1993, after a keenly contested election, presidential candidate, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale ‘M. K. O.’ Abiola, secured popula
