Fictionalizing the Niger Delta gory infiltration

By Etimbuk Antia. Jan, 2024

Nigerian author Helon Habila’s critically acclaimed novel Oil on Water (2010) is categorized as an exceptional work that fictionalizes the gory infiltration of the Niger Delta through the lens of two journalists — one renowned reporter Zaq and an emerging voice named Rufus — on their daring mission to rescue the kidnapped wife of a British expatriate (Isabel Floode) and also interview the militant leader (Professor) responsible for the orchestration of her unlawful restriction due for want of a share in the petrodollar epidemic that gripped the delta at the time.

Written in two parts of twenty-one chapters, Habila’s Oil on Water interrogates themes of oil pollution and its ecological, societal, and political repercussions in the Deltascape.

Similar to its themes, the novel takes a serious tone and takes its course mainly on the waterways of the Delta, with stopovers in places like Port Harcourt, Lagos, Irikefe Island, and other unnamed riverbanks.

The narrative technique adopted in the realization of this story is the flashback and first person point of view, and its language is scenic, in that when the narrator Rufus retells unfolding events and describes the degrading environment and polluted water, it creates and leaves images in the mind’s eyes of the readers. For instance, this excerpt:

“The atmosphere grew heavy with the suspended stench of dead matter. We followed a bend in the river, and in front of us we saw dead birds draped over tree branches, their outstretched wings black and slick with oil; dead fish bobbed white-bellied between tree roots.”(9)

not only provides graphic visuals of a polluted river but draws readers into its page and evokes a strong empathy for nature in them.

Oil on Water is a novel that showcases the Niger Delta denizens, their environment and their collective predicament. It reveals the environmental destruction meted out on its land, sea, and occupants since the discovery and drilling of oil in the region, leading to aquatic endangerment and eventual extinction, violence and death.

The novel also emphasizes journalism’s role in exposing truths and bringing awareness in the face of societal problems. Additionally, it addresses human interest and emotions, such as greed, sadness, vengeance, love, and the loss of it, as instigators of violence. Oil On Water will benefit scholars of petroculture, ecocide and Nigerian Literature.

First published August 1, 2010, by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Literary awards:  Orion Book Award Nominee (2012), PEN Open Book Award Nominee (2012)
Deutscher Krimi Preis for 2. Platz International (2013)