Little Nina and the lost beauty of the Niger Delta E-Book

Chiazo Anyaso

• Herausgeber: BooxAi
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Bodo is a village in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. 
If all variables met their desired expectations, Bodo would have shared a name recall in comparison to places like Dubai.
Its land and waters are rich with oil but since the 1960s, upon its discovery; it has known nothing but plunder and neglect.
This is not a protest book against the Nigerian government and the oil corporations per se.
This book is aimed to shine a light on the plight of the vulnerable and voiceless, at the brutish receiving end of man's vain-glorious pursuit for profit, with total disregard for the environment...and human health.
Told from a girl child's viewpoint and experience-it exposes the greater tragedy beyond that inflicted on the earth. 
The simplicity in rendition and the art is deliberate, aimed to bring issues of our changing world to teeny comprehension and appreciation. And, the narrative is far from fiction. It is a truth presently lived by most ethnic minorities in the global south.

Leseprobe

Chiazo Anyaso

Little Nina and the lost beauty of the Niger Delta

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Chiazo Anyaso.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by BooxAi

ISBN: 978-965-578-460-2

LITTLE NINA AND THE LOST BEAUTY OF THE NIGER DELTA

CLIMATE CHANGE: IN THE LIFE OF AN AFRICAN CHILD

CHIAZO ANYASO

For Uche, you told me to own my stage,

Now, I see a story on every blank page.

BODO - NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Facts about the Niger Delta region:

*The Niger delta is one of the most polluted regions in the world, with more oil spilled across its region each year, than that spilt in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

* Nearly 80% of the indigenes are fishermen or they depend on water for means of livelihood

* Bodo is a coastal village in the creeks of the Niger Delta, located in the southern part of Nigeria

*Between 2008 – 2009, more than 280,000 oil barrels may have spilled into its swampy water, thus upending the locals means of livelihood which are largely subsistent and altering a balance in the ecosystem.

*There is a prevalence of diarrhea because contaminated fish and animals killed by the spill are eaten.

*Massive contamination of water, air and food crops with hydrocarbon and trace elements could have severe effects on humans in a manner that is often not acknowledged.

* Members of the impacted communities ply their trade (Fishing and farming) in the polluted environment, without any protective gadgets

*Bodo is the epicenter of several pipelines that collect oil from nearly 100 wells in the Ogoni district and there have been plenty of minor spills in and around the communities over the years.

PREFACE

Early 1960’s: Before Oil Menace

From the 1960s, upon its discovery in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria; it’s become a staple for conversations: is it a blessing or a curse?

Of what it had given, a greater much it had taken…and still taking.

The pool from its trade has contributed immensely to the national wealth and desired infrastructural developments but, its plunder has known no boundaries: from the irredeemable devastation of the environment, loss and damage to biodiversity, and the lingering toll on human health which is ever evolving.

A view of the Bodo enclave’s present state or any Niger Delta region will blur any resident’s memory of a near paradise it once was (before oil was discovered)

One can still come across rare photographs of the region’s pre-1960s in a few older folks’ keep and a dossier of more vivid testimonials supplied from a reel recount from the indigenes’ collective memory.

* * *

In the 1960’s, good looking natural environment existed in the Niger Delta

The natives testify:

I remember going to pick periwinkles in the swarms, meeting blue-colored water that reflects the blue skies on a hot afternoon.I remember, on a rainy day and especially at night, going to the creek with only calabash and bare hands and coming home with a good catch of fish.I remember not bothering about tap water every morning to bathe for school but jumping into the river as you do in today’s swimming pool, washing myself, and off to school.I remember having my canoe capsize in the sea and I swam to safety without choking on any polluted waters.

And more recently, albeit sadly:

But I remember afterward on Sobiekiri river, there were many canoes with people on its waters and someone mistakenly threw a cigarette stub into the water and it caught fire and so many people were burnt to death, including good swimmers who jumped into the river to see if they could dive past the burning oil on the water.

* * *

Facts about the Niger Delta region:

*Disaggregated figures highlight the various dimensions of poverty.

80% of households are illiterate.

70% lack access to safe drinking water.

85% lack access to healthcare.

The incidence of these deprivations challenges the income focus on poverty and argues for a human focus on poverty and empowerment.

*Oil exploration in the region has greatly affected the course of primary education and the child development.

There is a felt, marked systemic deficiencies in the region.

*Trends show that as many as 75% of the population struggle for survival on less than 50 cents a day.

*Through the years, world firms (Oil, NGO’s) and bodies like the European commission have signed away huge monies committed to the development of the region and improvement of lives but, in most cases, due in part to corruption and lack of goodwill, its effects is only felt in trickles or none at all.

*The poor living condition caused by the pollution has created an observed “Rural-Urban” migratory pattern.

*The average villager drifts to the city (Port Harcourt) where due to his poor education is ill equipped for white collar jobs and is left to do menial jobs, like a gateman (Security) or as an attendant at a restaurant.

1

NINA

As the sun sneaks into view, creeping up the belly of the tropics, its majestic self is already illuminated by the unwavering gas flares in the distance.

From an angle of 60 degrees or less, its view is more wholesome as the once luxuriant native tree canopies are no more; bare, cut, and bulldozed, making way for the unwelcomed, irritating rays from the sun to spread its harlequin band across the rivers, the barren land and across Nina’s house and window.

Nina: I don’t ever look forward to waking up in the morning because of the long, sweet dreams that fill my sleep at night. The dreams are a sharp contrast to my waking reality, every day. But then, I’m forced to wake with the sun’s rays across my eyes.

I’m forced to wake with my father’s pounding footsteps as he makes it home from the village stream where he had gone night fishing. I’m either awakened by his footsteps or his grumblings.