Photo Blog: Environmental Justice in Nigeria

In January 2019, Grassroots International attended Nigeria’s National Summit on Water as a Human Right: From Resistance to Real Solutions Against Corporate Control. Solidarity Program Officer Mina Remy and graduate fellow Nicholas Johnson also tacked on a few days to learn more about the deep history of environmental justice activism in Nigeria.

The photo blog below, the second of the two-part series on our recent trip to Nigeria, focuses on the site visits. Mina and Nick visited the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), the Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Center, and the Ogoni land in the Niger Delta.

The environmental crisis is deadly. Thanks to the contamination by oil production, life expectancy has dropped to 41 years and birth complications for pregnant women have increased. Not only has the water been dirtied, killing fish, but the air has been polluted and the soil poisoned.

We hope these photos adequately capture the resilience of the Nigerian people in their struggle against corporate contamination of the environment for profit. We extend our gratitude to our graduate fellow, Nicholas Johnson, for accompanying us and sharing his gift of photography.