Living in/as Waste: Developmentalism, ‘Slow’ Death and Hope in Macaulay Mowarin’s Veiled Currents

Macaulay Mowarin’s novel Veiled Currents (2024) illustrates the psychological consequences of extractivism and oil industrialisation in Nigeria, underlining how corruption, militancy, and structural disparities undermine the nation’s social and cultural fabric. The story points to the entrenched, corrupt environment stemming from the capitalist and imperialist mindset of government officials and the ruling elites, exacerbating the factors contributing to environmental violence, neocolonial injustices, and fragmentation in society. My study examines how Mowarin’s narrative portrays the harsh and degraded realities of existence within the framework of extractive capitalism, and examines how diverse developmental initiatives, manifested as infrastructural transformation, lead to severe existential crises. This pervasive vicious cycle, I argue, perpetuates the conditions of ‘slow death’ – where Nigeria’s institutionally vulnerable populations, particularly impoverished indigenous communities, are driven into extreme poverty, depletion, and deterioration. However, the novel I posit not only depicts a squandered culture but, more importantly, it suggests the potential for shared life, solidarity, and healing. In so doing, my contention is that Mowarin’s story exemplifies the narratorial potential of optimism and ‘slow hope’ for cultures dominated by brutal capitalism and disposability.