Summary

Ogoni's Agonies responds to the current crisis of postcolonial Nigeria. The killing of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others by the Nigerian Military regime serves as a watershed for re-examining the roles of multinational companies in contemporary Africa, and the collaborations of military dictatorship in the perpetuation of human and environmental abuses in Nigeria. This book takes on that re-examination in scholarly writing, in interviews and in poetry.The book offers a wide range of perspectives on the crisis. It includes detailed historical analyses of the Ogoni people, of Nigerian Politics, and of the international responses to the Saro-Wiwa execution. It also includes a strong body of critical responses to the work of Ken Saro-Wiwa, and to his importance as a Nigerian intellectual and activist. It also contains a wealth of poems, written directly in response to the crisis in Nigeria, and in sympathy with the Ogoni.Ogoni's Agonies brings together some of the best, and best known, writers and critics of contemporary African literature: Africans and non-Africans, winners of the Commonwealth and the Noma awards, authors and editors of seasoned books and reputable journals. Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah, who writes the preface to this collection, is joined by such eminent writers as Niyi Osundare, Tanure Ojaide, Abiola Irele, Bernth Lindfors, Biodun Jeyifo, Eckhard Breitinger, Ato Quayson, Harry Garuba, Andrew Apter, Franck Schulze-Engler, Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Wumi Raji, Felix Mnthali, Kofi Mensah, Jonathan Hart, Tayo Olafioye, and William Boyd.This collection is thus the first to engage comprehensively with the crisis in postcolonial Nigeria, and to assess the many works of KenSaro-Wiwa-his novel, his television series, his short stories, his critical writings, his work as publisher and cultural manager, and his work as politician and environmental activists. The collection includes a comprehensive bibliography of Saro-Wiwa's writings and criticism on his work.