Ken Saro-Wiwa and His Family in the Fight for the Rights of the Ogoni People (Based on Personal Sources)

The article is dedicated to the movement for the rights of the Ogoni people, initiated in the first half of the 1990s by the Nigerian journalist and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941—1995), who was imprisoned on trumped-up charges and executed in 1995. The object of the study are two books belonging to the non-fiction genre: “In the Shadow of the Saint: A Son’s Journey to Understand His Father’s Legacy” (2000) by journalist Ken Wiwa (1968—2016) and “Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria” by famous writer Noo Saro-Wiwa, the “queen” of modern travelogues. The author of the article focuses on the obvious continuity in the activities of the father and his children, aimed, on the one hand, at reducing oil production in the Niger Delta region and protecting natural resources, and on the other, at reviving traditions and preserving historical and cultural memory. The literature of memories is engaged in Nigeria, which is considered to be the “land of stories”. Ken Saro-Wiwa's children continued their father's deeds. They consciously sought to tell the truth about the past, present and experiences, about the tragic fate and death of their father and his transformation into a national hero, an idol of many generations of Nigerians, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation. At the heart of their memories, directly related and not directly related to the problems of Ogoniland, is the ethical principle: “never again”, which became the foundation of a new memorial culture based on recording what was previously hushed up. Political and economic, social and intellectual, personal and everyday history intertwined. The authors accumulate and retransmit the history of their ethnic group, region, state and continent, using the experience of their ancestors and their own experience, appealing to their identity and roots. It becomes obvious that “where Ken Saro-Wiwa ends”, Ken, Noo, etc. begin, and their voices sound in unison. Through manifestations of transnational, “travelling”, “anticipatory” memory, the Ken Wiwa and Noo Saro-Wiwa made their history global, expanding the boundaries of family, personal, ethnic history and contributed to the struggle for the rights of the Ogoni. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Africa — and Nigeria in particular — is preserved in the somatic features of fathers and children, multiplying in the name, determining communication models and interactions with the world around it, strengthening the connection with the cultural and historical heritage and retransmitting its uniqueness.