Education
Bassey: Environmental degradation now a growing national concern – EnviroNews
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The Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr Nnimmo Bassey, says environmental degradation is now a growing national concern.
Bassey said this in an interview on the sidelines of HOMEF’s School of Ecology programme on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in Lagos.
He said the Niger Delta had remained a “poster child” of extreme extraction and environmental degradation.
Bassey said a report sponsored by the Bayelsa Government had described the situation in the region as environmental genocide.
According to him, the expansion of extractive activities across the country is exposing more communities to environmental degradation, displacement and loss of livelihoods.
“It is becoming clearer to everyone in Nigeria that it is not only the Niger Delta that is challenged this way.
“Wherever you allow extraction and exploitation without responsibility, you are likely going to have zones that are sacrificed and people are disposed of as if they don’t matter,” he said.
Bassey said increasing solid mineral mining across the country was contributing to environmental challenges.
He said some mining activities were also linked to violence and instability in affected communities.
The environmentalist said farmers were losing their farmlands, while some communities were losing houses to activities associated with extraction.
Bassey also cited the destruction of hills and rocks in Abuja, saying some features that could have served as cultural assets and tourist attractions were being exploited.
He said the features were being exploited for building materials and other minerals.
“Environmental degradation in Nigeria is something that is uniting everyone, and the sooner people understand the implications, the negative implications, the better,” he said.
Bassey said the School of Ecology was established as a platform for generating, sharing and contesting knowledge on ecological issues.
He said the initiative was conceived after HOMEF observed that many young activists, community members and students tended to accept information given to them.
“We thought it was necessary to have an alternative platform for people to get alternative ideas, to be able to ask questions in a very friendly and open atmosphere, free to share their views and to learn about what’s going around the world concerning issues of ecological matters in particular,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to pay closer attention to environmental activities within their communities, stressing that ecological challenges were not problems occurring only in distant locations.
“Open your eyes, see what is going around you. It’s not a story about what is happening elsewhere. It’s happening right in your backyard,” he said.
Bassey said the ongoing two-day School of Ecology programme had 30 participants attending physically, with about the same number expected online.
He said HOMEF generally had about 300 students participating in its programmes annually, with some attending multiple sessions.
According to him, the current session focuses on “commons, care and extractivism”.
He added that an earlier programme held in May lasted one week and provided participants with a broad examination of ecological issues.
Bassey said the programme also examined what needed to be done to advance environmental justice.
By Fabian Ekeruche
