Nature and environmentalism of the poor: eco-poetry from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

What is increasingly known as Niger Deltan poetry is a poetry that distinctly identifies itself with the peoples and environment of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The poetry of Gabriel Okara, Christian Otobotekere, Tanure Ojaide, Ogaga Ifowodo, Nnimmo Bassey, Ebi Yeibo and others seeks to draw attention to the fate of both humans and non-humans in the face of oil exploration and its negative consequences in the region. The ecocritical imagination informing this poetry is two-pronged: a celebration of the flora and fauna of the region before the advent of exploration, and a combative engagement with institutional powers responsible for destroying the rich environment. Deploying Rob Nixon's concept of slow violence and environmentalism of the poor, I analyse selected poems by poets from the Niger Delta which have as their theme the plight of the people and their environment in the wake of oil production, and also demonstrate the consummate activism inherent in poetry from and on the Niger Delta.