The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation has kicked against any reconcilliation efforts between the Ogoni people and Shell, now known as Renaissance, in Nigeria.
The group in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dr Owens Wiwa, said it was “totally unaware and uninvolved” in a circulated image portraying a supposed reconciliation, insisting the event was manipulated and executed without authorisation. It described the act as a “stage-managed and fraudulent reconciliation stunt” , warning that no healing can begin without full environmental cleanup, accountability for past killings, and political reforms.
“The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation and the Wiwa family totally disclaim this stage-managed incident,” the statement read. “The tree planting was not authorised, and Zina Saro-Wiwa was tricked into attending the event by the charade’s facilitator.”
It said the individual behind the event had since been dismissed. It added that the trees planted during the photo-op “have since been uprooted,” stressing that no reconciliation of any kind exists between the Ogoni community and Shell or its successor entity, Renaissance.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ken Saro-Wiwa family and the Foundation have not had any sort of reconciliation with Shell or its new name,” it stated. “Both entities remain persona non grata in Ogoni.”
The Foundation insisted that Shell must first address decades of ecological destruction in Ogoniland.
“Shell, now renamed Renaissance, must clean up the Ogoni environment completely and must be held accountable for the killings that took place in Ogoni,” it declared, alleging the company funded military operations that led to the deaths of Ogoni activists.
While acknowledging the ongoing Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, the Foundation argued that cleanup alone is insufficient without political restructuring to give Ogonis greater control over their resources.
“The effort by HYPREP to clean up the land and rivers is a good first step,” Owens Wiwa said. “This must be complemented by a political discussion to create a Bori State for the Ogonis.”
He emphasized that autonomy remains central to any genuine reconciliation effort. “The Nigerian State at a minimum owes the Ogoni people a pathway to autonomy so that Ogonis can participate in the control of their resources,” he said.
The organisation also warned against future attempts to manipulate public perception through orchestrated visuals.
“Stage-managed photography surreptitiously propagated by agents of Shell and security operatives will not deceive the Ogoni people,” it warned. “The Ogoni will not capitulate to their decapitation and obnoxious efforts.”
The statement marks one of the strongest recent pushbacks against attempts to portray progress in the long-standing Ogoni-Shell conflict.
In September, President Bola Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately commence engagement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Ogoni leaders, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for the long-awaited resumption of oil production in Ogoniland.
In June 2025, President Tinubu conferred posthumous honours on the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed by the Abacha regime in 1995.