Nollywood films and the Niger delta crisis of ecology in Nigeria

Abstract

The discovery of oil in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria in 1956 at Oloibiri, has brought myriads of problems to the region. For  decades, there have been agitations and attendant crises resulting in repeated loss of lives and properties and monumental destruction  of the ecosystem. Several interventions, including from Nollywood, and countless efforts at finding a solution to the conflicts have been  deployed. This paper undertakes an assessment of the progress of actionable measures taken, primarily by the government and oil  companies, in curbing environmental degradation and injustices, thereby bringing the citizens’ agitations to rest. It uses Nollywood films, Blood and Oil (2010), Black November (2012), Oloibiri (2015) as points of departure for analysis and discussion. This paper interrogates  the level of changes attained, if at all, with the production of the aforementioned films. It deployed a qualitative research method,  exploring document observation, media analysis and focused group discussion (FGD) instruments. The study is theoretically undergirded  by the Marxist Film Theory (MFT). Findings showed that, though there have been significant changes since Nollywood’s films in the crises,  there is still much that needs to be done, to lay to rest the issues of agitations and climate change in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. The  paper submits that new interventions from Nollywood are required as events have assumed new dimensions and new dynamics have  arisen.