– Insists Shell remains persona non grata
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation has disowned what it described as a “stage-managed and fraudulent reconciliation stunt” purportedly showing renewed collaboration between the Ogoni people and Shell, now renamed Renaissance, warning that no healing can begin without full environmental cleanup, accountability for past killings, and political reforms.
In a strongly worded statement, the Foundation through Dr Owens Wiwa, said it was “totally unaware and uninvolved” in a circulated image portraying a supposed reconciliation, insisting the event was manipulated and executed without authorisation.
“The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation and the Wiwa family totally disclaim this stage-managed incident,” the statement signed by Dr. Owens Wiwa read. “The tree planting was not authorised, and Zina Saro-Wiwa was tricked into attending the event by the charade’s facilitator.”
The Foundation said the individual behind the event had since been dismissed. It added that the trees planted during the photo-op “have since been uprooted.”
For the avoidance of doubt, it stressed that no reconciliation of any kind exists between the Ogoni community and Shell or its successor entity, Renaissance.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ken Saro-Wiwa family and the Foundation have not had any sort of reconciliation with Shell or its new name,” it stated. “Both entities remain persona non grata in Ogoni.”
The Foundation insisted that Shell must first address decades of ecological destruction in Ogoniland.
“Shell, now renamed Renaissance, must clean up the Ogoni environment completely and must be held accountable for the killings that took place in Ogoni,” it declared, alleging the company funded military operations that led to the deaths of Ogoni activists.
While acknowledging the ongoing Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, the Foundation argued that cleanup alone is insufficient without political restructuring to give Ogonis greater control over their resources.
“The effort by HYPREP to clean up the land and rivers is a good first step,” Owens Wiwa said. “This must be complemented by a political discussion to create a Bori State for the Ogonis.”
He emphasized that autonomy remains central to any genuine reconciliation effort. “The Nigerian State at a minimum owes the Ogoni people a pathway to autonomy so that Ogonis can participate in the control of their resources,” he said.
The Foundation also issued a warning against future attempts to manipulate public perception through orchestrated visuals.
“Stage-managed photography surreptitiously propagated by agents of Shell and security operatives will not deceive the Ogoni people,” it warned. “The Ogoni will not capitulate to their decapitation and obnoxious efforts.”
The statement marks one of the strongest recent pushbacks against attempts to portray progress in the long-standing Ogoni-Shell conflict.
