Celebrated Lecturer to Visit Oberlin

Wiwa to discuss third-world oil exploitation

This afternoon marks the beginning of a conference concerning Environmental-Rights Violations in the Third World. The conference, hosted by the Oberlin Sierra Student Coalition and Abusua, begins at noon Friday, and continues throughout the afternoon and evening. The conference will focus specifically on oil exploration in Nigeria and its links to the environment and human rights.

Junior Rebecca Johnson, College liaison for the Sierra Student Coalition, stated that this conference had been a priority of the Coalition since the beginning of the school year. Johnson explained that the organization wanted to learn more about the present political situation in Nigeria. "We also wanted to know what we as student activists can do to aid the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in re-establishing their way of life after years of military oppression in the Niger Delta," she said.

Johnson explained how the Sierra Student Coalition and Abusua met in an enthusiastic collaboration. Johnson viewed this as a very positive step and explained that the environmental movement carries a reputation for being a very white movement. "I feel that a collaboration between our two organizations is a good step in reinventing environmentalism to serve the activist interests of all people," she said, adding, "This conference also shows the relationship between environmental degradation and many of the other issues that are important to Obies, including corporate responsibility, globalization, U.S. foreign policy and human rights/social injustice."

The schedule of the conference includes keynote speaker Owens Wiwa at noon in the Lewis Center Lecture Hall of the Environmental Studies building. Wiwa is a doctor, a poet and an Ogoni activist from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The afternoon will consist of Wiwa making different classroom visits and participating in discussion. Then at 4:30 p.m. a student/faculty panel with Wiwa as guest speaker will take place in King 306. Finally, the conference will end with a movie showing and question and answer session at 7 p.m. in Mudd 050. This will be an investigative report on Shell's impact on Nigeria and the activist movement. It will provide an opportunity for any further questions that students may have about the struggles of the Ogoni people.

Wiwa is the brother of the late Nigerian environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. Saro-Wiwa was the president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). He was executed on Nov. 10, 1995 by the Nigerian military government.

Since his brother's execution, Owens Wiwa has committed his life to educating others about the oppression of the Ogoni people under the military government as well as the environmental injustices caused by Shell Oil Company and other oil companies in Nigeria. In his speech he will address the recent history of Nigeria, the death of Sani Abacha, the last military dictator, and the rise of power of the new regime. In addition, Wiwa will discuss the reparations MOSOP demands from the Nigerian government and Shell Oil for past environmental and human rights injustices.

Sophomore Abusua organizer for the conference NiJa Whitson hopes that this conference will inspire action. She said, "Owens Wiwa's talk will hopefully shed light on America's continual negligence of Blacks in the entire Diaspora and their negligence to combat racism." She added, "I am excited to bring someone here to talk about the place the world forgets, Africa, and to show that racism there did not end with colonialism."