ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND THE QUEST FOR EQUITABLE RESOURCE CONTROL AND POLITICAL RESTRUCTURING IN NIGERIA: THE OGONI-NIGER DELTA EXPERIENCE

Deezia Burabari Sunday

Abstract


Ken Saro-Wiwa saw the need for the Ogoni-Niger Delta to have much more control over their environment and resources, he took the campaign to the international community. However, the state responded with terrors killing and maiming defenseless Ogoni-Niger Delta people and burning down their homes. In the event, leader of the movement for the survival of Ogoni people (MOSOP) including the write and environmentalist ken SaroWiwa were murdered. This therefore raises the following posers which are the concerns of this paper; is oil a blessing or a curse? Does the killing of the Ogoni Nine (including Ken-Saro-Wiwa) stop the agitation for environmental justice and resource control? Why has there been no meaningful development in the Ogoni-Niger Delta region at least to compensate for the ecological and main time devastation of the region due to oil exploitation? How long shall, the Ogoni-Delta people continue to line in deplorable conditions even when complains are made? The reality of the movement is that of a Nigeria caught up in its own monster. Hence, the essence of this paper as it explores the reasons behind the continuous agitation in the Ogoni Niger Delta, the role Ken SaroWiwa’s philosophy in solving the Nigeria’s dilemma, using the historic philosophical method.

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