Oil On Water by Helon Haliba Book Review — Tobechukwu Udeigbo
This book revolves around the Niger Delta area, the struggle for control of oil resources and power, the contaminated water, the fleeing Niger-Delta residents and the consequences of greed. Helon Habila takes the reader on an insightful ride that exposes the environmental conditions, poor health, insecurities, and the harsh realities that people in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria are experiencing through the eyes of two journalists — Zaq and Rufus.
Zaq, who was nibbling on his past glory as an accomplished journalist, was on a mission to reclaim his fame and his reputation after a lost love affair, a fall out with his past employer, and a past criminal record smeared his name. He decided to go on a dangerous but newsworthy trip to rescue a British woman who was kidnapped by the militants for a ransom; which, he believed, would resuscitate his glory. Tagging along with him is Rufus, a photojournalist whose goal was to gain some recognition while pursuing this story and to be accorded some respect among his journalist peers, at least to make up for his roots and beginnings.
As these two men began their journey, Helon Habila perfectly describes the effect of the oil spill in the area. There are ferocious fires from gas flaring that engulf villages daily which can be seen through the orange glows. There is also a lack of security in this area. Homegrown militants, who are residents of the area but are against the oil companies who have exploited the lands, are terrorizing people, stealing and threatening anyone who is not in support of their mission — emancipation of the Niger Delta. Their goal is to secure their lands and have a just share of its glorious financial output. The environmental degradation of the area is captured by Helon’s words which informed the readers about the negative economic impact of the oil spill. Rivers, that habited big fishes and crabs and was a source of their livelihood, have degraded because of the pollution. Dead fishes and dead bodies often wash up to the shore, and many residents in the area travel far in other to get quality fishes and crabs to sell.
I did not know much about the Niger Delta area and their struggles, but this book informed me extensively as per what is currently happening in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South geo-political zones. I have unconsciously stereotyped militants as thugs and jobless young people, from a negative perspective; but this book humanized and made me see beyond my single story about the militants. I cannot imagine being a resident in this area and not at a state of unease just by seeing what foreign oil companies are doing to my people and to my land. After reading this book, I developed a new perspective about the Niger Delta militants and actually applaud them for fighting to keep these greedy politicians and expatriates at bay.
I hope a government official reads this book and begins a reconciliatory process about this issue which has/is damaging lives and have rendered thousands homeless. How can a whole village move from their ancestral home because they feel unsafe in their land? How dare the Nigerian government kidnap a chief, who is the most respectable person in a community, from his home and return his dead body to his community because he refused to sign off his ancestral lands to hungry and selfish foreign oil companies CEOs?
I recommend that a sincere apology to be tendered to the Niger Deltans and an even distribution of revenue generated from oil sales. They should be compensated by awarding everyone a monthly stipend, security, free healthcare and quality education at no cost to them. In addition, I would suggest that a member from each community, elected by the people, should be a member of the Executive board in every oil company in the area. This would help prioritize and consider the needs of the Niger Deltans before any decision is made by the board.
I rate this book 9.5/10 and highly recommend it to every young Nigerian especially those who desire to take up leadership roles in the country. Our decisions matter and have ripple effects. So, when we seat at the table, let us be on the right side of history for posterity sake.
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