Environmentalist laments decline of life expectancy in N’Delta to 41 years

Environmentalist and Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Nnimmo Bassey, yesterday, decried the decreasing life expectancy for people living in the Niger Delta region, lamenting that it had fallen, 41 years.

Bassey spoke during a training of Ogoni youths on the ‘Use of Video Documentary as a Tool for Advocacy’ at the Ken Saro-Wiwa’s memorial park at Bane community in Khana Council of Rivers State.

He noted that life expectancy in the region was on the downward slide because of the direct implication of oil exploration, which pollute the environment.

He stressed the need for people to focus more on the use of motion and steel graphics, written words, especially poetry and prose in showcasing the dangers of oil exploration, adding that it is a viable tool for non-violent agitation.

He said: “The Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places on earth and it is ranked amongst the top ten most polluted places.

“And here we have all the conditions that cut life short, which are oil spills, oil pollution, gas flare, oil well blowout, floating platform, and storage offloading facility blowout.

“Everything we are saying is happening in our waters, in communities which add to contaminate our environment. The soil, water, and air are contaminated. The Niger Delta people cannot leave to the fullest, which nature and God have blessed them to live because of these contaminations.”

The environmental activist, however, insisted that people must have language that would change the world and every situation around them, especially with the use of poems, knowing that it speaks truth to power and reviews corruption.