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Arts4Resistance: Young Nigerians Call For Environmental Justice In N’Delta Through Artwork

Published

10 months ago

November 3, 2024

The call for a halt to environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region took a new dimension weekend in Benin as some young artists used their artworks to expose the pollution caused by oil exploration and at the same time providing solutions through their artworks.

The young artists – Destiny Osas; Chukwuma Eberechukwu; Emem David; Chidubem Ejiofor; Anita Onyemaechi – and operating under a Non-Governmental Organisation known as Arts Advocates, said they are dedicated to harnessing the power of art for social and environmental change.

At an arts exhibition titled: Arts4Resistance: Exposing the Impacts of Extratives on Communities in the Niger Delta Using Arts and Paintings, the young artists said they are committed advocating justice for communities in the Niger Delta, a region, they said, has been deeply impacted by decades of environmental exploitation from oil extraction.

They added that they are committed to using their artworks to
“bring to life the struggles and resilience of these communities through visual storytelling,” adding “we aim to foster empathy, awareness, and meaningful dialogue around issues of environmental and social justice.”

Throwing more light on the arts exhibition and their purpose of coming together, Coordinator of the group, Destiny Osas said: “We are using our work to depict the injust in the Niger Delta communities and her people. Oil extractions have been going on in the region for decades yet the people have nothing to show for it. Rather, their lives are being endangered by the day.

“Most of my paintings depict the injust and imbalance going on in the communities and in our society at large, of which solutions were given.

“My message in my artwork is, our leaders should try and communicate with the communities and the people before making any decision. They should stop imposing laws and structures that have no input from the people.”

On his part, Chukwuma Eberechukwu, who used his artwork to portray the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, said: “What brought us together are the issues of the Niger Delta caused by the extractive industries. So, this exhibition is a form of awareness; to tell the people things that happen in our everyday lives.

“We are compassionate about the suffering in the Niger Delta. So, our concern is how we can contribute to ease the pains of the Niger Delta people.”

He said their artworks aimed at reducing, if not totally eradicated, the issue of environmental degradation in the region.

Anita Onyemaechi, who used her artworks to portray the level of damage oil exploration has caused in the region, said, “On before now, people have been using all sorts of means including protest, writing to call for justice in the Niger Delta, but this form of protest is a quiet and peaceful means. We decided to use this means that even the illiterate can understand. This is visual arts. So, even if you are illiterate, you can easily be connected to it.

“We want the world to know that art can talk. Art, without much writing, is a language on its own. It speaks. And that is why the exhibition is here. We are advocating through arts, the suffering of the Niger Delta people. We are speaking in a language that is not written yet the most illiterate can understand.”

Related Topics:Niger Delta Oil Oil extraction

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Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

18 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

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IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

18 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

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I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

20 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.