Renowned environmental activist and Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nnimmo Bassey, has declared that Nigeria was economically and socially better off before crude oil became the nation’s primary source of revenue.
Speaking on Monday in Port Harcourt during the 2026 Correspondents’ Week organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bassey said the country’s overdependence on petroleum wealth destroyed agriculture, weakened infrastructure development and entrenched economic dependency.
The event, themed “The Imperatives of Comprehensive Cleanup of the Niger Delta Environment: Role of the Media,” was supported by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, operator of the NNPC/Renaissance/TotalEnergies/AENR joint venture, alongside Nigeria LNG Limited, Kebetkache Women Development Centre and HOMEF.
Bassey recalled that Nigeria once had a thriving economy powered largely by agriculture before crude oil earnings became dominant. According to him, oil exploitation only reinforced colonial economic patterns in Africa, where raw materials are exported while local populations remain impoverished.
He urged Nigeria to explore alternative global alliances such as BRICS as a way of countering what he described as Western dominance of the global economy.
The environmental advocate also warned that unless urgent environmental remediation is carried out, the Niger Delta could be abandoned to permanent ecological devastation when the global shift away from fossil fuels eventually intensifies.
Bassey rejected the frequent attribution of oil spills to sabotage and vandalism, insisting that many spills are caused by ageing infrastructure and operational failures. He noted that several pipelines in the Niger Delta are over 50 years old and should have been replaced decades ago.
He further condemned continued gas flaring in oil-producing communities despite multiple court judgments outlawing the practice, adding that affected communities are increasingly forced to seek justice abroad because environmental rulings delivered by Nigerian courts are often ignored.
Bassey charged the media to sustain attention on the environmental crisis in the Niger Delta, stressing that authorities can no longer pretend conditions in the region are normal.
Meanwhile, host communities in the Niger Delta called for a review of the Petroleum Industry Act, arguing that the law unfairly places responsibility for oil theft and pipeline vandalism on local communities.
In his welcome address, Correspondents’ Chapel Chairman, Amaechi Okonkwo, described the gathering as “a solemn call to conscience,” noting that the Niger Delta remains one of the world’s most environmentally degraded regions despite sustaining Nigeria’s economy for decades.
Also speaking, the National Vice President, Zone F, of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Opaka Dokubo, lamented that mangrove forests which once sustained livelihoods in local communities have now been converted into tank farms in the quest for oil extraction.
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