BREAKING: Maria Saro-Wiwa: Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Widow Is Dead—-The Genius Media Nigeria reports that Maria Saro-Wiwa, the widow of the environmental activist and poet, Ken Saro-Wiwa is dead.
This was made known by her daughter, Noo Saro-Wiwa via Instagram on Wednesday.
According to Noo, her mother, Maria born in 1949, died in her sleep on Sunday.
She wrote:
“My mother, Maria, passed away last week. It was the end of a life that wouldn’t be believed if it were written as a novel.
“Born in Bane village, she married my father in 1966, and with him began a journey that saw them escape the civil war by canoe. She trained as a teacher in Benin before moving back to Port Harcourt and then starting a new life in England. It was a huge culture change for a woman who had physically helped build her childhood home with adobe and thatch.
“Yet she learned to adapt, creating a stable home life for her children despite all the tumult that came with being the wife of Ken Saro-Wiwa. She raised five children – three boys and two girls. In our younger days she would dance with us to “Ring My Bell”. She was staggeringly beautiful, but in her humility was totally unaware of it.
“She was there for all of us when my youngest brother died in 1993, and when my father was killed by the military regime.
“Over the decades, she became grandmother to three boys, which brought her more joy than anything else. But in the past five years she had to attend the funerals of her two remaining sons, one of her grandsons, plus her two remaining sisters.
“Still, she kept going, powered by her faith in God. She maintained an immaculate home, attended church regularly, supported and socialised with her many friends and patiently supported Zina and I in our missions as artist and writer.
“Right up until the end she was mowing the lawn and moving furniture against mine and her doctor’s orders. Her independence was paramount. But it was hard to watch her anguish over her sons’ deaths.
“My biggest fear was that she would outlive yet another one of her children. So when I found her in bed on Sunday, having passed away in her sleep, there was a sense of relief. She is at peace now.
“I will miss her jollof rice, the smell of her okra soup, the sound of her soft, high-pitched voice, and her cackle when watching shows like The Vicar of Dibley.
“No words can express how much I love her and how grateful I am for all that she has done for our family. Her strength will always be my inspiration. I love you, Nene”.
Saro-Wiwa was killed alongside eight other Ogoni people in 1995 after being tried by a special military tribunal under then head of state Sani Abacha for allegedly masterminding the killing of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-government meeting.
