IN a world primarily by the dynamics of the globalMarket,where rules are made and broken at the whims ofCorporate gaint, a parallel force is slowly but steadily gainingGround. It is the force of the people - of the indigenouscommmunities and minority groups fighting to assert theirright over their own lands. They are learning to raise theirvoices against the aggressors, be it the stick-weilding stateagencies or the, companies who are destroying theirbackyards. people are now demanding a price for thehabitates they losing.
So the struggles of the Ogoni, a tiny ethnic tribe in Nigeria- comprising barely 6 million people, tucked away in a cor-ner of west-Africa has emerged as the vanguard movementfor ecological self-determination. The traurnatising executionof Ken saro-Wiwa, the man who taught the 0goni to fightagainst the oppressors who were ravaging the Niger delta toextract oil- nine others, has catapulted them to the center stage politics.
Way west of Nigeria, the struggle of the Yanornami,Brazilian Tribals inhabiting lush, biodiversity-rich AmazonRein forest is yet to gain international recognition. But they-V towith the deprived and poverty-strickenn pold that has unleashed,puniders loose on theOd bankiand. International miningPoor pushing the Brazilian governmentdraconian amendment todecw, which enshrines therot to live in demarcatedaeras. Both the Ogoni and the Yanomannhave embarked on a struggle to ensure their survival which is also the path topath to sustainable development.
The transformation of these communities from insignificant minority groupsTo defiant crusader should now jolt theWorld community out of its complacentSlumber. It is time leaders worldwide VM 6W governance alone canequitable sharing of natural resources. The6puld he accountable not to the rulers of thatI w the people. Local communities should be thedMennukers. They should decide up on whethermw dwir natural resources with anyone. And, ofcourse they must have the full authority to set the price ofwhat rightfully belongs to them. The role they should play indecissionmaking must also be clearly and legally defined, leaving no room for debut.
Industry must interact directly with representatives of thelocal communities and consult them about it's every move.This alone can keep the invaders under control.
The involvement of the people is important, not only toensure justice for all, but also for the sustainable developmentof the region. If the 0gom had a role to play in the variousShell operations in the Niger delta, the rape of that land wouldnot have happened.
But there are others, too, who must be made to share theresponsibility of Saro-Wiwa's murder. Today, environmentalactivist groups like Greenpeace may whip up mass frenzy inthe West against oil companies like the Shell, but the blood ofthe slain leader is in their hands too. They could have usedtheir opinion-building powers to mobilise worldwide supportfor the Ogoni before the heinous crime was committed. SaroWiwa was behind bars for an entire year, but Greenpeaceactivists were then busy campaigning against the sinking of anobsolete oil rig in the North Sea. The tafe of the sufferings andthe deprivation of the Ogoni people was perhaps not sensational enough for them, or they clearly cared less and got theirpriorities mixed up.
The global community as of now is spluttering with anger against the Sani Abacha regime in Nigeria, which hanged Saro Wiwa in blatant defiance of international opinion, and is vowing to establish new standards of democracy and human rights. But all this might well turn out to be a passing phase. Once the initial sense of horror and outrage passes, the world leaders may again opt for the easier alter native of hiding their human concerns behind the barrels of oil that the Nigerian rogue regime so boldly flaunts before the rest of the world.
But surely, far more is expected of theleaders who shape the future of the inter-national communities. It is for them torecognise that Saro-Wiwa's messagestrikes home in every country - from theuK to South Africa and India. Today, weneed leaders who recognise that empowering the local communities is the only way to move towards environmental sustainability and social justice. Unless the system of governancechanges, many more Saro-Wiwas will be martyred.
But Saro-Wiwa did not die in vain. His death has helpedhis people to take a giant step forward. From being a neglectedminority, the 0gom have now set the trend in demandingtheir own rights. The international community may not yet beready to give them the attention they deserve. But their voiceswill reverberate across the planet.