Nnimmo Bassey is the Executive Director and founder of Environmental Rights Action eraction.org, established in 1993 to respond to rampant human rights abuses associated with the oil industry in Nigeria. In addition to his role with Environmental Rights Action, Nnimmo is the chair of Oilwatch Africa oilwatch.org, he works as a newspaper columnist, cartoonist and essayist, and he is a principal partner in a local architectural firm. Finally, he has been a member of the Greengrants West Africa Advisory Board since 2003.
How did you come to start Environmental Rights Action?
I have been working for human rights in Nigeria since the late 1980’s. Gradually I came to realize that most of the human rights abuses in my country stemmed from the environmental situation—caused by the “unholy wedlock” of the large extractive industries and the government. In 1993, I got together with three other activists—Godwin Ojo, Oronto Douglas, and Nick Ashton-Jones—and set up Environmental Rights Action.
What are the key issues for the organization?
We work on the social and environmental impacts of extractive industries, commercial forestry, and fisheries. We also work to mobilize community voices, and to give the people the opportunity to express themselves.
Two specific issues we are working on now are the practice of natural gas “flaring” and the proposed West African natural gas pipeline.
Natural gas flaring is an enormous problem. In Nigeria roughly 90% of the natural gas that is produced during oil drilling is simply burned off, a process which has been officially illegal since 1984. This is a total of 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas, with an estimated market value of $2.5 billion.
The gas flaring, which takes place in some cases at ground level, causes widespread health problems. According to the World Bank, it is responsible for 50 deaths and 5,000 respiratory illnesses each year in one province alone. The gas flaring also produces enormous quantities of greenhouse gases, estimated to be greater than that produced in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa combined.
The World Bank says that the proposed West African natural gas pipeline—which will involve Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana—will help this problem. This is just not true—80-90% of the gas for that pipeline will be from new, non-petroleum-related wells. In addition, it has not received a satisfactory environmental impact statement and the affected communities have not been consulted.
How has Greengrants helped to support groups in West Africa?
In many ways. Small groups have obtained grants to start to build their organizations and to begin their programs. New networks have been fostered and existing ones have been strengthened. In addition, organizations that receive funding from Greengrants have been able to use that grant to strengthen their case in applications to other funders. Finally, Greengrants funding processes are less complicated and more people-friendly than those of most funders, which saves small organizations a lot of trouble.
I’ve enjoyed being on the Greengrants Advisory Board. It means we can’t apply for funding from Greengrants for our own organization, but it’s been very useful to make contacts with organizations across West Africa, and it’s been satisfying to be able to support their work.
What do you see as the prospects for your work in the future?
The crude oil economy is heading toward a brick wall. We expect that our work will become more challenging as governments and oil corporations become more determined to squeeze out the last profits from oil resources.
This means we’ll need to work harder and to do more networking. And this in turn will require more support, not only to resist the damages caused by extractive industries but also to set the agenda for the future.