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…
Environmental History of Nigeria 101
Introduction The environmental history of Nigeria unfortunately is not a story filled with the rich biodiverse tropical rainforests of the Niger Delta or the cascading rich vegetation of the Sahel savanna but rather one …
Decolonize our Waters
there isn’t much life under water coated by layers of crude oil and contaminated to outlandish levels above safe limits.…
Halting Ecological Crimes in Africa
The understanding of the Earth as a living entity and not a dead thing warns that rapacious exploitation that disrupts her regenerative powers are acts of cruelty or Ecocide.…
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.…
COP27, the Loss and the Damage at Injury Time
The recently concluded COP27 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, did not rise beyond the low bars set by previous editions. Except for Loss and Damage, the answer to the question as to what was gained at the COP is blowing in the…
Real Climate Solutions Exist
The ravages of climate change on Africa and other vulnerable territories are by now clear to all who care to pay attention except those in sheer denial. Extreme weather events like the reoccurring flooding episodes in th…
Oil Theft Pollutes Our Nation
We have heard sordid tales and seen utterly despoiled environments, but the official declaration that a 4 kilometres pipeline was built in the ocean and illegally operated for 9 years through an offshore platform without…
Seeing Red with the Blue Economy
Without a plan, and a redefinition of development and progress, we may end up in a cemetery of junk technologies and bequeath to our children stranded assets in equally stranded communities. A mindless implementation of …
Biosafety in Shambles
We cannot afford to keep gambling with our biosafety. To do so is to set ourselves up for intergenerational consequences; needless to mention the current crises that are being exacerbated. Genetic modification and other …
The Ikarama Paradox
There are communities in the Niger Delta that would compete to have the dubious notoriety of being the oil spills capital of the world due to the regularity of oil spill incidents they experience. Ikarama community in Ye…
Fiddling while the Planet Burns
The third report to emerge from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the span of eight months has again exposed the folly of humankind on its addiction to dirty energy sources. The report clearly shows…
Oil, Rot and Divestment
The current drive by oil companies such as Shell and ExxonMobil to divest from onshore and shallow water oil fields or even to leave completely brings up very serious issues. If oil companies drilled the Niger Delta with…
