[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the first things Governor Nyesom Wike did on assumption of office was to accord Ken Saro-Wiwa, the recognition and honour he deserves from his own state, Rivers.
The Bori Polytechnic was renamed after the globally respected environmental rights activist as a mark of honour and in recognition of his work and sacrifice for the entire Niger Delta.
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The name Ken Saro-Wiwa has become synonymous with the sufferings of the Niger Delta people and indeed ethnic minorities across Nigeria.
| Martin LeSanto-Smith
The refusal of the Buhari led government to allow entry into the country of the Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Bus designed in London is a further effort by the Nigerian State to silence the legitimate agitations for better living conditions by the Niger Delta people.
It is also very worrying, that the same man who sat on the extra-judiciary military tribunal that sentence Saro-Wiwa to death, in cold blood, is today the very person at the helm of the Nigerian Customs Service who is still refusing the monument of salvation entry into our country.
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The memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa will not be obliterated.
The Niger Delta will not be conquered.
We live in a democracy and our right to expression is fundamental.
It is not subject to or dependent on the whims and caprices of Buhari’s thinking.
Oraye St. Franklyn, a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
