Niger Delta needs leaders to dismantle environmental injustice, says Bassey

Environmental activist and Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, has called on political leaders and citizens to prioritise environmental justice, accountability and the restoration of degraded communities in the Niger Delta.

Bassey made the call while delivering a lecture titled “Leadership for Environmental Justice in the Niger Delta” at the eighth graduation ceremony and annual leadership lecture of the Kebetkache/Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre-LSD) Leadership School for the 2025/2026 session in Port Harcourt.

He urged voters to reject political candidates without concrete plans to address environmental degradation, remediate polluted communities and restore livelihoods destroyed by oil exploration and extraction.

According to him, the Niger Delta, despite its rich ecological and cultural resources, has endured decades of environmental damage, including oil spills, gas flaring, polluted waterways, declining fish stocks and the destruction of farmlands.

He lamented that the wealth extracted from the region had failed to translate into a life of dignity for many residents, describing the situation as not merely an environmental crisis but also an issue of justice, power and accountability.

Bassey said the unequal distribution of the benefits and consequences of oil extraction had left local communities bearing the burden of pollution while the gains were enjoyed elsewhere.

He called on presidential and governorship candidates to clearly state their positions on environmental protection and demonstrate their commitment to restoring damaged ecosystems.

The activist questioned why politicians seeking public office should receive the support of voters while persistent environmental emergencies remained unaddressed.

He cited the prolonged fire at the Ororo-1 oil well off Awoye community in Ondo State, gas eruptions in Bille community in Rivers State and the crude oil fire at Oil Well 9, OML 18, in Ofiomina-Ama Alakiri community in Rivers State as examples of environmental crises requiring urgent intervention.

Bassey stressed that leadership should not be measured by titles, public office or the ability to command attention but by the willingness to confront injustice and defend the interests of vulnerable communities.

He identified women organising to protect their water sources, young people documenting oil spills, fishermen demanding investigations into pollution and community members resisting environmental destruction as examples of grassroots leadership.

He said meaningful environmental leadership must recognise local communities as active participants in decisions affecting their lands, livelihoods and future.

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The HOMEF executive director particularly emphasised the need to involve women, young people and marginalised groups in environmental decision-making, noting that women often bear a disproportionate burden of environmental destruction through their responsibilities for farming, fishing, water collection, food preparation and family care.

He also warned against extractivism, which he described as a system that treats nature primarily as a commodity, places profit above human wellbeing and regards affected communities as expendable.

Bassey urged community leaders to demand transparency before allowing extractive activities in their territories, asking whether communities had given their consent, whether legal requirements had been met and what benefits and risks such activities would bring.

The environmentalist expressed concern that Nigeria’s emerging critical minerals industry could reproduce the same environmental and social problems associated with crude oil extraction in the Niger Delta.

He recalled the lead poisoning incident linked to artisanal gold mining in Zamfara State, which killed hundreds of children in 2010, as well as fatal mining accidents in Plateau State and the reported deaths of teenagers detained over alleged illegal mining activities in Niger State.

According to him, the incidents point to a significant leadership gap in the country’s management of natural resources.

Bassey warned that changing from fossil fuels to minerals used in green technologies would not guarantee justice if communities continued to lose their lands, water sources and livelihoods without adequate protection, consultation and accountability.

He said the reported $700 billion memorandum of agreement between Nigeria and the United States concerning critical minerals should raise concerns unless strong environmental safeguards and community protections were established.

He maintained that the transition to cleaner energy sources must not become another avenue for exploiting communities and exporting the benefits of natural resources while leaving environmental damage behind.

The activist called for energy systems that prioritise community rights, ecological protection, democratic participation and collective wellbeing.