The leader of the Socio-Political Pressure Group, the Ken Saro Wiwa Associat (KSWA), Chief Gani Topba, has given reasons for his decision to abruptly dissolve the body.
Chief Topba had announced the dissolution of KSWA in an interview with a radio station in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, noting that it was time to develop and empower the people of the area as rancour and acrimony cannot bring development to Ogoni people.
The header maintained that his decision to dissolve the group was motivated by the fact that his principal, Ken Junior, was dead and as a co-founder, there had been allegations levelled against him that he had used the KSWA to endorse a company to drill oil in Ogoni land, adding that in order not to lose focus on ways to better the lives of the people he had to dissolve the group.
He noted that in order to carry the Ogoni people along, there was need for the formation of a new movement to be headed by another coordinator that will canvass for, support for ways that indigenous companies can take over the oil facilities in Ogoni land.
According to him, “That was what the Late Ken Saro Wiwa was fighting for, because he said he would use N10billion to build the new Ogoni and because we were trying to look at what he died for and to make it work, we now said we are going to use N30billion to build that new Ogoni.”
He noted, the group had seen that the problem between Shell and Ogoni can be resolved, thereby ushering in growth and development to the people of the area.
Chief Topba, denied the rumours that KSWA was formed out of selfish interest, stressing that as an Ogoni son, he was also qualified to benefit from everything good coming from the area as other people were benefitting instead of remaining in agitation and underdevelopment. He stated that the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt and even at the Federal levels were almost through with the cleaning of the Late Ken Saro Wiwa’s name, adding that the court had agreed that Late Ken Saro Wiwa was killed wrongly.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana