– Hail legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Environmental activists and stakeholders have called for the development of a new, community-driven model of environmental protection that places indigenous knowledge, local languages and collective action at the centre of efforts to address the ecological crisis in the Niger Delta.
The call formed part of the outcomes of a one-day brainstorming session, tagged “Wisdom Gathering,” organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) at Kaani, in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Highlight of the event was the unveiling of MEEDECOR Ecological Knowledge Centre.
The gathering, which focused on exploring alternative approaches to environmental protection and socio-ecological justice, also celebrated the legacy of the late Ogoni environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, while challenging the younger generation to sustain the struggle for environmental justice.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Rev Nnimmo Bassey, who formally unveiled the centre, stressed the importance of changing the mindset of the people as a means of empowering communities to take greater responsibility for the protection of their environment.
Bassey identified poor leadership as one of the major obstacles to effective environmental protection in Nigeria, arguing that a new approach would require a fundamental rethink of the values and ideas that shape environmental governance.
He urged stakeholders to question established approaches that had failed to adequately protect communities affected by environmental degradation.
“We need to ask ourselves what must we do differently,” Bassey said. “We need to question ideas that keep us subjugated.”
The environmentalist maintained that genuine change would require more than policies and technical interventions, stressing that communities must be equipped with the knowledge and confidence necessary to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their environment and livelihoods.
In his remarks, the Coordinator of MEEDECOR Ecological Knowledge Centre, Celestine Akpobari, said knowledge and action remained critical to achieving meaningful environmental protection and justice.
Akpobari explained that the newly established centre was conceived as a platform for transforming mindsets, preserving knowledge and generating data that would contribute to a deeper understanding of the Ogoni environmental struggle and its wider implications for environmental justice.
According to him, sustainable environmental protection cannot be achieved without a deliberate effort to change the way communities, policymakers and other stakeholders perceive and respond to ecological challenges.
“Mindset change is driven by knowledge and action,” he said.
He noted that the Ogoni environmental struggle had become an important model in the global campaign for environmental justice, stressing that there was a need to cultivate and empower more young people to sustain the quest for an equitable and healthy environment.
Akpobari said the new centre would therefore seek to bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing relevant information and creating opportunities for communities, researchers, activists and young people to engage with the history and continuing realities of environmental degradation in Ogoniland.
The workshop, which had as its theme, “Role of Indigenous Language and Philosophies in Socio-Ecological Justice,” also examined the importance of language as a tool for effective communication, community participation and environmental advocacy.
Speaking on the theme, Chief Magnus Edoo said indigenous languages remained a critical vehicle for conveying information and engaging local communities on issues affecting their environment.
Edoo, who is also the Executive Director of Indigenous Language Cultural Empowerment and Foundation, advocated the greater use of local languages in environmental advocacy, particularly in engagements between oil-producing communities and international oil companies (IOCs).
He argued that environmental agreements and processes would become more meaningful when communities were able to understand them fully in their own languages.
He therefore proposed a model in which Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between communities and oil companies, as well as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), would be translated into and written in indigenous languages where appropriate, alongside the relevant official versions.
According to him, such an approach would promote transparency, improve community understanding and participation, and reduce misunderstandings that often result in disputes and confrontation between host communities and oil prospecting companies.
Edoo maintained that environmental justice could not be achieved where local people were excluded from understanding or shaping decisions that directly affected their land, water, health and livelihoods.
The participants agreed that a more inclusive environmental protection framework should draw substantially from indigenous knowledge systems and philosophies, while empowering communities to play a central role in safeguarding their ecological resources.