News

Land Grabbing, Extractivism, And Climate Change [The Impacts On Communities]

Published

1 year ago

March 20, 2024

By Nnimmo Bassey

The challenges confronting our communities and people generally are interconnected. They are often analyzed and presented as though they operate in silos. The reality is that they operate in intricately connected webs and must be understood as such. Our lands are grabbed for extractive or exploitative purposes. Extractivism in turn drives climate change. Climate change in turn triggers more extraction, soil
degradation as well as land resource issues. The cycle goes on until we take action to break it. The purpose of this conversation is for us to unpack the components of the crises, locate the critical nodes and points of vulnerability, and act to propel transformation using cultural tools.

We will together look at three key things: Land grabbing, extractivism,
and climate change. As already noted, they are interconnected and are not necessarily hierarchical or sequential.

Land grabbing

Ownership of land in Nigeria was historically in the hands of
individuals or communities. Today, through a military decree promulgated on 29th March 1978, communities have been dispossessed of their lands
while ownership has been claimed by the state, euphemistically on behalf of the dispossessed. By virtue of the overbearing control of the military over the county’s governance structure, that Decree was inserted in the 1999 Constitution and barricaded in as inviolable. In other words, there should be no debate over its operations. The forced supremacy of the Land Use Act can be seen in its section 47 (1) which states that the Act is literally an outlaw and shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law including the constitution.

The Land Use Decree or Act was designed in a colonial template of
resource appropriation that deprives the colonized of the fundamental resource and ensures that it is owned and used to meet the utilitarian needs or other means of enjoyment of the colonizers. Those whose lands are grabbed may only be compensated for the loss of economic crops and improvements on the land. In practice, the compensations have been grossly inadequate, if not outrightly insulting. Consider for example a payment of N100 for a mango tree when one mango fruit could go as much and such a tree would bear hundreds of fruit for several years.

Lands may be grabbed by different means, and for diverse purposes. By the Land Use Act, the government can grab any land by declaring that it is required for the public good. The use of such land would invariably change, with dire consequences. A forest could be cleared and replaced with a plantation or cash crops for export. A poor community could be demolished, the people get displaced and then their territory could be replaced with expensive resorts, hotels, or gated estates. Wetlands can be sand-filled and taken up for infrastructural purposes. The list goes on.

The Nigerian government claims ownership of minerals and petroleum resources in the subsoil. So our lands can be grabbed for mining or oil and gas extraction, ostensibly for the common good. Because this often happens without free prior informed consent, when the people are called stakeholders what it means is that while the company and government share the profits, the communities own the pollution. This is also why such pollution is hardly ever cleaned up.

Land can also be directly grabbed through pollution. Two quick examples can show how this happens. A polluted stream by an oil spill becomes the waste dump of the polluter and usage for fishing or potable water is lost. Secondly, dumping of wastes on a parcel of land takes that land out of the control of communities. Often pollution is not an accidental exercise. It is used to dispose communities of their land and creeks and for the exploiter to assume ownership without accountability, responsibility, or a sense of respect for the owners.

Our quest for development without questions also permits lands to be
grabbed for infrastructural development. Often such lands are taken without prior informed consent.

Our culture and language are tied to our land and our liberation is
connected to both. Our culture nourishes and empowers us to stand against the commodification of Nature and of life. It helps us to defend what belongs to us. It draws boundaries that no one must cross. Our culture is our power!

Extractivism

Extractivism as a concept covers a complex of self-reinforcing
practices, mentalities, and power differentials that promote and excuse socio-ecologically destructive modes of organizing life through colonialism, militarization, depletion, and dispossession. It is a mode of capitalist exploitation…

Although extractivism is used mostly in terms of mining and oil
extraction, it is also present in farming, forestry, fishing, and in the
provision of care. According to an entry in Wikipedia, “Extractivism is
the removal of natural resources particularly for export with minimal
processing. This economic model is common throughout the Global South and the Arctic region, but also happens in some sacrifice zones in the Global North in European extractivism.”

Extractivism destroys lands, pollutes the ocean, and destroys water bodies and wetlands. It results and feeds on land grabs, and sea grabs and is aiming at sky grabs with a rise in space enterprises.

Climate change

The fact that climate change is driven by dependence on fossil fuels — oil, gas, and coal — is well known. The main challenge is that the world keeps a blind eye to what communities suffer in the oil fields and focuses mostly on chasing carbon molecules in the atmosphere. This lack of focus on both ends of the pipeline has left communities destitute by damaging their lands and water bodies and thereby destroying their food systems, economies, and cultures.

The gradual agreement to terminate the petroleum civilization, and Yasunize the world, implies that the time to remediate and restore lands damaged by oil and gas extraction has come. This remediation and restoration must be accompanied by reparation.

Our communities have suffered multiple impacts from climate change, extractivism, and land grabbing. Persistent pollution has been the lot of our communities. Studies such as the UNEP assessment of the Ogoni Environment and the recently published Bayelsa Environment and Oil Commission’s report titled Environmental Genocide all show the dire situation. Some communities have their soils contaminated with hydrocarbons to depths exceeding 10 meters. Waters are polluted with
benzene and other carcinogens. The air is grossly polluted with a
cocktail of noxious gases through gas flaring. These pollution do not
readily disappear on their own. They must be consciously tackled and cleaned up. And the time for that is now.

Other impacts of climate change include sea level rise, coastal erosion and salinization of the ocean. These affect local livelihoods and equally, provoke conflicts or displacement of communities.

Cultural resistance

Our lands are healed when extraction and land grabbing are challenged and overcome. A major tool for successful resistance is our happiness. That is the source of our power. A happy community cannot easily be defeated.

Another key tool is our love. Our love for one another and our love for our land and culture. Love reinforces solidarity. Beyond love, we must build stubborn hope as an antidote to despondency. Hope empowers action. It emboldens.

Boldness empowers the telling of truth, including the reportage of
destructive extraction and land grabbing. The oppressed must remain emboldened by the knowledge that while the rich worry about the end of the world, workers and exploited communities worry about the end of the day and have deep stakes in what happens tomorrow.

To resolutely stand against land grabbing and extractivism and also build resilience against climate change our communities need Care and Repair Teams (CARTs) as key agents for overcoming trauma, stressors, and illnesses. These teams can also be agents to press for remediation, restoration, repairing, and reparation. These demands and their attainment require the use of every tool of cultural resistance.

Nnimmo Bassey is a renowned environmental activist and Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)

News

Police Urge Bauchi Residents To Remain Calm Amidst Soldier’s Death In Bauchi

Published

7 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

The Police in Bauchi state has called on all the residents of the state to remain calm after a soldier was shot dead by a police officer in the state.

CSP Ahmed Wakil, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) made the call on behalf of the Commissioner of Police in the state, Sani Omolori-Aliyu.

According to him, Inter-agency security forces have initiated a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident which led to the death of the soldier.

The PPRO recalled how a blogger narrated the incident that a member of the Nigerian Army attached to 33 Artillery Brigade was fatally shot while attempting to intercept a truck suspected of transporting solid minerals from an illegal mining site in Futuk, Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state by a mobile police Inspector on illegal duty.

News

How Becoming Bank Manager At 27 Changed My Life, Tony Elumelu Urges Trust In Africa’s Youths

Published

8 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Prominent African businessman and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, has reflected on the defining moment of his early career when he was appointed a bank branch manager at just 27 years old.

In a post shared on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday, Elumelu recounted how his appointment at AllStates Trust Bank changed the trajectory of his life and shaped his passion for empowering young people.

“When I was 27, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime: I became a branch manager at AllStates Trust Bank, a young bank in Nigeria.

“Banking was beginning to change the country, it was the sector to be in, ripe for transformation, ready for disruption, for democratisation.

“At that time, few believed a 27-year-old could successfully lead a bank branch. But that opportunity changed the entire course of my life.

“It gave me confidence. It gave me a platform. Most importantly, it gave me perspective,” he wrote.

Elumelu, who is the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and chairs Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa, noted that his journey began not with financial capital but with trust.

His post continued, “That’s why today, I am passionate about giving young people the same chance I was given. Because I know what’s possible when someone believes in you early.

“This belief is at the heart of everything we do at The Tony Elumelu Foundation. It’s why we invest in young African entrepreneurs – because someone once invested in me.

“My journey didn’t begin with capital. It began with trust. Let’s keep believing in Africa’s youth. They are ready to lead, grow and transform our continent.”

In a follow-up post on X on Friday, the business leader further highlighted three lessons from his experience as a young bank manager.

“Shared recently on my LinkedIn page how I became a bank manager at just 27. I got a lot of questions. One stood out: How could someone so young handle such responsibility?

“Many doubted a young man could lead a bank branch. That chance changed the entire course of my life,” he wrote.

Outlining the lessons from his journey, Elumelu wrote, “Lesson 1: Age is not a barrier. If you can execute, are hungry to learn, and committed to results — you can lead at any age. Leadership is about clarity of vision and that discipline to execute.

“Lesson 2: The most powerful capital is trust. My journey didn’t start with money — it started with trust. Trust was the seed that propelled everything else. Give young people trust, and they will surprise you. I was trusted, I repaid that trust.”

In the third lesson, Elumelu explained why perspective matters in leadership.

He wrote, “Leadership is not about doing everything yourself. It is about empowering, setting direction, and providing clarity. The sooner you learn this, the faster you grow.

“That’s why today, I am passionate about giving young people the same chance I was given. Cascading luck. Catalysing opportunity.”

Elumelu said these principles continue to drive his commitment to youth empowerment through his foundation.

“It is the reason we invest in Africa’s youths at the #TonyElumeluFDN, because someone once invested in me,” he wrote.

“My story is proof that when we trust in our youths, they are ready to lead, grow, and transform our continent. Let’s keep believing in Africa’s youths,” he concluded.

News

Lawyer Sues Sanwo-Olu For Blocking Him On X

Published

8 hours ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, has filed a lawsuit against Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which was shared by Ogun on Friday via his facebook page, he said the governor’s decision to block him since 2021 was triggered by his “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” over the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.

“In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre,” Ogun wrote.

According to him, being blocked has deprived him of access to vital information.

“Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference,” he said.

In his originating summons cited by The PUNCH, the lawyer asked the court to declare the action unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.

According to the lawsuit, Ogun said he sought “a declaration that, as a democratically-elected public office holder in Nigeria, the Respondent (@jidesanwoolu)’s blocking of the Applicant (@mrfestusogun), a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Lagos State, on X (formerly ‘Twitter’) is wrongful, unconstitutional, arbitrary and constitutes a gross.”

He further prayed the court to compel Sanwo-Olu to unblock him, issue a public apology, and stop targeting critics online.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondent, his agents, privies or any other person or entity acting through or on his behalf, from further blocking the Applicant on X or any other social media platform,” the suit read.

Ogun, who described himself as “haunted, traumatised and emotionally disturbed,” stressed that the matter went beyond his personal grievance. “This suit is not just about me. I have filed this lawsuit in furtherance of public interest and with the hope that it sets a precedent in our digital rights jurisprudence,” he said.

The lawyer also invited the court to take guidance from a 2019 ruling in the United States.

“I invited the Nigerian court to be persuaded by the decision of the US District Court in Knight First Amendment Institute v Trump where President Trump was found to be in violation of the 1st Amendment when he blocked US citizens for criticising him on Twitter,” he stated.

Ogun argued that intolerance to opposing views undermines democracy. “Intolerance to criticism and accountability is unconstitutional and undemocratic. Nigerian authorities continue to crack down on dissents, critics, journalists, bloggers and vocal citizens on social media using arrests, detention, surveillance, collusion with big techs and outright blocking, as weapons. That narrative must stop,” he warned.