Renowned and rentless environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey, craves a world where nature is nutured and man’s incessant cruel waste disposal becomes a thing of the past in Nigeria. The Akwa Ibom native is in constant ecological battles with entities’ activities and biodegradable products dumped just about anywhere. He believes it is indeed a time to stand together to demand justice in all circumstances, to call for an end to ecocide, to build solidarity and not walls.
Nigeria is one of the top oil producing countries on the continent, the ecological system of the country is very much diverse with many making their livelihood off the waters. These actions and more are placing strains on the ecosystem and Bassey is having none of it. He is a Nigerian on a mission to make Nigeria and the world at large better.
The environmental activist has witnessed communities sacked or crushed, oil spills and routine gas flaring pumping cocktails of noxious elements and gases into the environment, birthing cancers, birth defects, and breathing diseases, cutting life expectancy to mere whispers. The Architect love for a sustainable nature is really unquenchable.
Bassey is a champion of sustainability and an environmental justice, nurtured by a deep-rooted commitment to the environment, his journey has been centered around relentless advocacy, insightful scholarship, and tireless actions. Bassey has mobilized and amplified the voices of communities often marginalized, pursued industrial and economic interests on a continent navigating the brunt of colonialism and unchecked industrial-scale extraction of minerals.
1993, he co-founded the NGO known as Environmental Rights Action (Friends of the Earth Nigeria) in order to advocate and educate about environmental human rights issues in Nigeria. Since 1996, Bassey and Environmental Rights Action led the resistance ‘Oilwatch Africa’ and early 2006, led the Global South Network, ‘Oilwatch International’ striving to mobilize communities against the expansion of fossil fuels extraction.
The resistance has African countries like Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Congo Democratic Republic, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Togo, Kenya, Swaziland, Mozambique, Mali, Sudan, South Sudan and the international arm includes South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and North America countries. He champions oil-devasted communities globally coming together to share experiences to the world.
By 2011, Bassey founded the Health of Mother Earth Foundation promoting environmental/climate justice and food sovereignty in Nigeria and Africa. He, alongside the many organisations etching their DNA in the ecological battles, trains people on environmental monitoring and gives legal support to communities affected by environmental damage.
Nnimmo Bassey was named Time Magazine’s Hero of the Environment [2009]; Co-recipient of the Right Livelihood Award also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” [2010]; Rafto Human Rights Award [2012].
