DDR E022 The Ogoni 9

On the 10th of November 1995, 9 activists of the Ogoni people in Nigeria were hanged by the Nigerian military government for their resistance to the Royal Dutch Shell oil and gas company. Their names were Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. Five years later a campaign began in north west Co Mayo, in Ireland, against the same company, who were trying to build an experimental gas pipeline through the rural community. Through Sr. Majella McCarron, an Irish woman and close friend of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the campaigners learnt of the Ogoni people, farmers and fishermen like them, and the common struggle they shared. The Shell To Sea campaign lasted for over a decade, delaying Shell's project and costing them millions. Their campaign has been an inspiration to many grassroots campaigns in the years that followed. This episode is an interview with Maura Harrington of Shell To Sea, reflecting on the campaign and the connections to Ogoniland.