By Kayode Ogunbunmi
April 9 is the anniversary of the transition to glory of an extraordinary man, community leader, environmental justice pioneer, father, husband and dependable friend and ally to many.
Oronto N.Douglas, former special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on research, documentation and strategy; former Commissioner for Information in Bayelsa State and co-founder of leading non-profit group – Environmental Rights Action (ERA), died in the early hours of Thursday, April 9, 2015. He was barely 49.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and battled it for years. At some stage, he was thought to have survived as the cancer went into remission, but he suffered a relapse in 2011.
Douglas, who was born in Nigeria in 1966, was a globally respected campaigner against the environmental destruction and polluting effects of oil production in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. It was not an easy choice at a time when Nigeria was under the jackboots of a predatory military government and oil companies such as Shell wield large than life powers over the runnings of the country.
Like all children of the delta, Douglas grew up to witness first-hand the activities of the oil multinationals and the devastating effect on his local region, with oil spills contaminating drinking water, land, creeks and ecosystems.
The Okoroba, Bayelsa born activist also left school at the most opportuned time. The social awareness campaign of the leadership of MOSOP on the impact of Shell activities on the local community of the Ogoni people motivated him to become one of the leading figures of the anti-Shell campaign.
Following his graduation from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology as a young lawyer, Douglas joined the movement to secure environmental justice for the people of Delta and suffered detention, harrasment and persecution by security agents.
He was a member of the legal team that represented the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists at their trial under Gen. Sani Abacha’s government in 1994-95. The Ogoni Nine, as they were called, were executed in November 1995 in what was described as “judicial murder”.
He later proceeded to De Montfort University, Leicester, England for a Masters degree in law. Incidentally the school, last year, curated some of his works 5o enable researchers understand the motivation and nature of his life’s work.
The collection includes field notebooks recording the lives, circumstances and conversations of villagers from the survey of the Niger Delta, essays dating from Douglas’s studies during his MA, and his work from the trial of fellow activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, for which he acted on the defence team.
After his Master’s, Douglas returned to Nigeria to continue the fight for justice for the people. He had several high level meetings on this with leaders and policy makers around the world, eventually presenting the Niger Delta struggle to US President Bill Clinton during a private meeting.
The DMU Special Collections on Douglas are housed in the Kimberlin Library. More information about how to view his papers in the archives can be found here.
Due to his dynamism, large – heartedness and clear thinking on issues, Douglas was a natural organiser and leader. A completely detribalised man, he could boast of loyal friends and allies from across Nigeria and beyond.
He was also keen on giving back to the community. For years, he ran a school in his Okoroba community that local kids attend free. He also helped raised funds to build community libraries across the Niger Delta and beyond. He saw no reason to accumulate wealth for the sake of it. His belief was that a good education was the only thing he owed his children. They won’t even want to live in the house I built, he would say.
For many years, Douglas put up a good fight against cancer. As much as possible, he worked until his last breathe – determined not to be limited by an implacable for. He left behind a wife, Tari and two sons – Ogiel and Daniel. He left behind brothers and sisters. He also left behind a legacy that is undying in the hearts of friends and associates. Rest on, OND.