Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation Exposes “Fake” Ogoni Reconciliation, Accuses Shell Agents Of Manipulation
By Dormene Mbea
The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation has strongly denounced a widely circulated photograph and accompanying media report that claimed a “Record of Restorative Reconciliation and Collaboration in Ogoniland,” describing the materials as fake, misleading, and stage-managed.
In an official statement signed by Dr. Owens Wiwa, the Foundation expressed deep concern over what it called a deliberate attempt to distort the truth and manipulate public perception regarding the long-standing conflict between the Ogoni people and Shell, now operating under the name Renaissance.
According to the Foundation, the tree-planting event portrayed as a symbolic reconciliation was neither authorised nor endorsed by the Saro-Wiwa family.
The organisation revealed that Zina Saro-Wiwa, filmmaker and daughter of the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was misled into participating in the event, which it said was coordinated by a former official dismissed from the Foundation for misconduct.
The Foundation stated that Zina was tricked into attending what she believed would be a simple community engagement, only to find it turned into a staged photo opportunity being circulated as evidence of reconciliation with Shell.
It added that the trees planted during the exercise were quietly uprooted shortly after, further reinforcing the claim that the event was a manufactured charade with no genuine intention of fostering peace.
Responding to the widely shared report suggesting a breakthrough in reconciliation, the Foundation insisted that no form of rapprochement or settlement had been reached between the Saro-Wiwa family and the oil multinational.
It emphasised that Shell and its renamed entity Renaissance remain persona non grata in Ogoniland and described any claims to the contrary as false, mischievous, and aimed at rewriting the painful history of the Ogoni struggle.
The organisation reiterated its long-standing accusations against the company, alleging decades of environmental devastation, human rights abuses, and complicity in the military crackdown that led to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists in 1995.
The Foundation condemned what it described as surreptitious schemes by certain actors, including alleged agents of Shell and unnamed security operatives, to engineer the appearance of peace without addressing the core issues that have plagued Ogoniland for decades.
It warned that the Ogoni people will not capitulate to any attempt to manufacture an image of peace without justice, accountability, and respect for their collective rights.
According to the statement, such attempts undermine the memory of the Ogoni Nine and the sacrifices made during the struggle for environmental and social justice.
While acknowledging progress made by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project HYPREP, the Foundation insisted that technical remediation alone is insufficient for true healing of the Ogoni environment and communities.
It stated that clean-up efforts must be accompanied by political dialogue and firm commitments from the Nigerian government toward the creation of Bori State as a pathway to Ogoni autonomy and a critical step toward genuine reconciliation.
Nearly three decades after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine, the controversy surrounding the alleged reconciliation event underscores the lingering tensions over unresolved issues of environmental justice, political representation, and corporate accountability in Niger Delta oil operations. The Foundation concluded by urging the public, policy makers, and the media to disregard the false narrative circulated in the disputed report and remain vigilant against attempts to erase or distort the historical injustices endured by the Ogoni people.
