Will COP28 Play With Fire?
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has again issued an Emissions Gap Report that underscores the fact that the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the linchpin of the Paris agreement is not…
The Artist in the Age of Anthropocene
Archeologists divide Earth’s history in a geologic time scale into a hierarchical series of smaller blocks of time. These divisions are called ages, epochs, periods, eras and eons based on Earth’s rock lay…
Time to Build Solidarity, not Walls
I thank the Chancellor and President, and the entire family of York University for the great honour being extended to me today. Being born at a time we were at the edge of breaking free from colonialism, the notion of i…
Decolonize our Waters
there isn’t much life under water coated by layers of crude oil and contaminated to outlandish levels above safe limits.…
Decolonizing Our Energy Future
The point is that although 1.5C is given as the best-case scenario in the Paris Agreement, catastrophic impacts of extreme climate events are already being experienced with temperature rise below that threshold. Droughts…
For Justice and Dignity
We have just had elections in Nigeria and by 29th May 2023 new persons will step into the saddle of political leadership. Considering the nature of our political system where the major parties are indistinguishable …
This Hate Does not Define Us
Mangled ballot boxes Bloodied faces Headless goats Mouthy hoodlums in the corridors of power Burning votes define the Last (s)elections Yes the (s)election has come Yet refuses to go You are not us We are n…
Don’t Play Politics with our Environment
The focus of this town hall is fundamental for our survival and to living in dignity. Without a safe environment the enjoyment of human rights is impossible.…
Waking from the Fossil Nightmare
The Niger Delta is a territory under siege. This siege did not begin today. It didn’t begin yesterday. The siege has been on prominent from before the 15th Century. The siege has disrupted our ways of living, our communi…
Learning for Change
The wise is a knowledge holder and keeper. Learning is a lifelong process. In other words, we never graduate from the schools of life as long as we are still on planet earth. We learn to walk, to speak intelligibly…
Reject Seed Colonialism in Africa
It has often been said that one of the ways to colonize a people is by dismantling or subverting their culture. This pathway is also effective for building dependency and disrupting the systems that organically secures t…
What After Oil
Good morning, distinguished participants in this Public Forum. I have the privilege of welcoming us all to this event which is organized by the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation in partnership with Health of …
Politics of Turbulent Waters
The fact that Africa can be completely circumnavigated has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that the continent can be accessed by sea from any direction. This means that the seas can be a ready tool…
Coastal Communities Under Threat
Climate change and variability in Nigeria is starkly illustrated in the northern and southern regions of Nigeria by desertification and coastal erosion respectively. This is so because attention is often focussed on thes…
Stilt Roots and Power
The vital place of the narrative strategy is in awakening memories and building consciousness for action. Over the past months we have experienced an evolving of our understanding of critical storytelling. We have seen t…
