INDIGENOUS PERFORMANCE AND THE ECO-POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF OIL-EXTRACTION IN OHAJI-EGBEMA, IMO STATE NIGERIA
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Abstract
There is no doubt that the Niger Delta region has remained the oil hub of Nigeria since the nation
transited from the agrarian economy to an oil-based economy. It is also clear that oil exploration
from this region has contributed over eighty percent to the nation’s GDP. However, as the nation
boasts of several oil fields and wells, ecological pressures continue to mount in the region
impacting the quality of life, modes of survival, and socio-cultural survival. The oil-sustained
environmental despoliations have been the foundation of several protests between indigenes and
oil-corporations in the region. Beginning from the peaceful protests to the militant approaches, the
indigenes, oil-corporations and government stakeholders have continued to clash over the
despoliations of land, water and air in the region prompting several interventions towards peace in
the region. This study observes that the several approaches to foster peace are not only hierarchical
and exclusive, but are anthropocentric in nature to the exclusion and plunder of environmental
resources that sustain life in the region. Using the theory of embodied learning and relying on the
arts-based approach of the qualitative research method, the study explores how indigenous
performative could render petro-extractive harm visible and subject to public discussions towards
sustainable futures. Sited in Ohaji-Egbema area of Imo State, the performance titled Mezie Obodo
unveils the affordances of embodiment and co-creation creating safe spaces for interaction among
indigenes, oil-corporations and government. The research recommends a more inclusive approach
in eco-political dealings with host communities and indigenous performative structures can be
harnessed to reach this goal especially as environmental pressures continue to mount on the global
scale.
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