Simeon B. Kpoturu

OGONI: The Struggle for Justice Simeon B. Kpoturu

How Ogoni rebelled nonviolently against the threats of extinction

In 1958, in the eastern part of Nigeria's coastline, lies a community where the inhabitants are known as the Ogonis. A tribe of peaceful happy people who enjoyed their little paradise. Children running and playing, women congregating together exchanging stories.

Ogoniland was lush with vegetation, birds singing in the trees. Fishermen reeling in their latest catch. BOOM! The earth shakes and the children ran screaming! BOOM, frightening screams as the earth quakes.

The exploration of oil in Ogoniland by Shell BP caused an uproar after the land was devastated. The Ogoni people cried out for redress spearheaded by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP). Met with backlash, many activists and families were either murdered, raped, or fled as refugees. Human Rights abuses, as well as the severe damage caused to the flora and fauna habitats of the Ogoni environment, came to international acclaim as Human Rights bodies, Environmentalists and the UN became involved. Ogoni will always be remembered in the chronicles of history.

This is the story of Ogoni, an indigenous tribe at the brink of annihilation. The once silenced minority have found their voice. What will be their fate after their land is destroyed and lives lost? How will they face the mysterious deaths of four of their chiefs and the unfair trial and execution of nine of its leading activists? This book provides a first-hand account of pre and post oil exploration in Ogoniland, Nigeria and the Ogoni people's struggle and demand for justice.