President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of the late environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, on the death of his eldest son, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jnr.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, October 20, 2016 by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said that Buhari sympathised with the widow of the late activist on Thursday through telephone.
The president assured the widow that her family was not alone in mourning the passage of the illustrious son of Ogoni land.
One of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first appointments was that of naming a member of the extra-judicial panel that sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa to death, Colonel Hamid Ali as head of the Nigeria Customs Service in August 2015.
Colonel Ali was military administrator of Kaduna State from 1996 to 1998 under the despotic regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Reacting to the cold-blooded murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni indigenes, Col. Ali said he had no regrets over his role in the judicial process that led to Saro Wiwa’s execution.
In November 2015, Colonel Ali ordered the impounding of a sculpture created as a memorial to Ken Saro-Wiwa, which had been sent as a gift to mark the 20th anniversary of their execution by the military government.
The president consoled with the widow and her children, and urged them to take solace in the knowledge that the deceased lived to see the beginning of the restoration of the devastated ecosystem of Ogoni land.
“President Buhari urged the widow to remain emotionally strong and resilient at this sad period in the life of the family.’’
He said that Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr did not die in vain, as his earthly exploits will remain evergreen in national consciousness.
The president’s telephone call followed his condolence message on Wednesday, in which he extolled the achievements of the late author and journalist.
Forty-eight-year-old Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr. was a renowned writer, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize.
He was appointed by the former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2006 as his Special Assistant on Peace, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation.
He also served the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as Special Assistant on International Affairs.
Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., son of late environmental activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, died on Tuesday in a London hospital during a brief illness.
Additional reports by NAN
