Wiwa has become one of the most prominent names in the fight for global corporate responsibility.

Most are familiar with Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian writer and environmentalist who protested against the negative effects of Shell’s oil drilling in his country. Saro-Wiwa was tried by a military tribunal on charges of inciting ethnic violence—considered by most observers of Nigeria’s military dictatorship to be trumped up. In November 1995, Saro-Wiwa was hanged after the tribunal found him guilty of the charges.

Today, Ken’s little brother, Dr. Owen Wiwa, continues the crusade. At the University of Toronto last week, Wiwa addressed a political science class about the consequences of globalization and corporate actions in smaller villages around the world.

“You have that paradox whereby an increase in transnational corporations in the south will increase the poverty…and conflict and wars in that country,” said Wiwa.

Speaking about the extent of the power of corporations on a global scale, Wiwa noted that of the top 100 economies in the world, 51 are corporations. While the influence of multinational corporations and supranational bodies like the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization are on the rise, Wiwa said the decrease in power of many national governments means a decrease in their ability to regulate multinational corporations.

“The decisions of governments are no longer for the benefit of the citizens, as it should be, but for corporate profit…. Decisions reflect what corporations want.”

Looking to the future, Wiwa stressed the importance of the decisions that we, as students and consumers, will make. “In the next ten years, you’ll be working for these corporations or the government, and you’ll be responsible for influencing them in one way or another.”

U of T student Christine Tin Sive, who sat in on the class just to hear Wiwa speak, was impressed with the lecture. “I think it was important for the students to get a non-western view of the influence of companies such as Shell in countries such as Africa.”

SHELL AND THE OGONI PEOPLE

A physician and author of the forthcoming bookDance the Guns to Silence, Wiwa spoke specifically about the plight of the Ogoni people, the community his family is part of.

It was in 1958 that Shell first began extracting oil from Ogoni, an oil-rich region of Nigeria measuring only 30 by 40 miles in area. Currently, 10 per cent of Shell’s total production originates in Nigeria.

Despite this, Wiwa charges that over 40 percent of Shell’s spills occur in Nigeria, averaging four spills per week. The two oil refineries in Ogoni also outnumber their one hospital, built in 1993.

Wiwa spoke of both the direct and indirect effects of the oil extraction in his community, from water and air pollution to increased incidence of diseases such as asthma.

“At the end of it, we all see their stock rising, but we don’t see people starving or the destruction of the environment,” said Wiwa.

These concerns led to the founding of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in 1990, in which several Ogoni organizations joined forces to form a pressure group against Shell.

In 1993, MOSOP organized a peaceful protest of over 300,000 Ogoni. “The response of the company was quiet…. What we noticed was military presence on our land immediately. Arrests started,” said Wiwa.

In 1996, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria put forward a proposal to the Ogoni people. As stated on their website, “We offered support for social and economic programmes and also to clean up any oil spills which may have occurred in the area since we withdrew in 1993.”

While admitting Shell no longer “runs to the army when they have a problem with the community,” Wiwa stressed that there are still significant problems in Nigeria.

“The pipelines are still there. They haven’t cleaned up, have not paid compensation and are still a major influence of government policy.”