Ken Saro-Wiwa as Symbol of Environmental Activisn in Niger Delta Poetry
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Date
2022
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Publisher
International Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics
Abstract
Since the martyrdom of prominent Nigerian
writer and environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa by the then
military government of Nigeria, the slain activist has attained the
status of a symbol of activism in literary works. This paper seeks
to explore how selected Nigerian poets engage the name and
actions of Ken Saro-Wiwa in representing resistance and in
sensitising and rallying the people to demand their rights to basic
amenities and safer environments to live in. This is the cause for
which Saro-Wiwa lost his life. Three collections of poems have
been purposively selected for a qualitative and sociological
investigation of the deployment of Ken Saro-Wiwa as a symbol of
environmental struggle and of selflessness for the advancement
of the common good. The collections are Ojaide’s Delta Blues
and Homesongs, Ibiwari Ikiriko’s Oily Tears of the Delta, and
Ogaga Ifowodo’s The Oil Lamp. This study finds that while Ken
Saro-Wiwa is deployed as a symbol of environmental activism,
poets extend what his life and name represent to advance the
agitation against the mismanagement of the environment and
people of the Niger-Delta region. The study also reveals that
Saro-Wiwa is an inspiration for writers to critically commit to
advocacy that advances not just the good of society, but their art.
This paper concludes that Ken Saro-Wiwa has become a source
of inspiration for writers’ commitment to the Niger-Delta
environment and a symbol to encourage activism against the
continued despoliation of the region.