Nigerian environmental activist Nnimmo Bassey self organised a filmmaker in Nigeria to give us a gem: on video both an interview and poetry by Nnimmo Bassey. To begin, he recites two of his original poems, ‘I Will Not Dance To Your Beat’ and ‘I Thought It Was Oil, But It Was Blood’.
The short film was originally created for CONTINENT CHOP CHOP transmedia performance by Virtual Migrants. A story told through poetry, music and digital-media connecting legacies of inequality to climate change. It is now released to the public, very worthwhile to watch.
Interview and poetry by Nnimmo Bassey
First off, the poetry:
Along with the above film is a rare interview with Nnimmo, created for the same project, on the subject of The Climate Crisis Needs System Change:
We are very grateful to have this interview and poetry by Nnimmo Bassey and to be able to make this available to our readers.
More about Nnimmo Bassey:
Nnimmo Bassey (b.11 June 58) is director of the ecological think-tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and member steering committee of Oilwatch International. He was chair of Friends of the Earth International (2008-2012) and Executive Director of Nigeria’s Environmental Rights Action (1993-2013). He was a co-recipient of the 2010 Right Livelihood Award also known as the “Alternative Noble Prize.” In 2012 he received the Rafto Human Rights Award. In 2014 he received Nigeria’s national honour as Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) in recognition of his environmental activism. Bassey is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and has authored books on the environment, architecture and poetry. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of York, United Kingdom in July 2019. His books include We Thought it Was Oil, But It was Blood –Poetry (Kraft Books, 2002), I will Not Dance to Your Beat – Poetry (Kraft Books, 2011), To Cook a Continent – Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa (Pambazuka Press, 2012) and Oil Politics – Echoes of Ecological War (Daraja Press, 2016).