An Eco-Critical Analysis of Wellington Nwogu’s Paradise of Thorns

Abstract

The Niger Delta environmental problem has become a global issue. This is due to the ongoing environmental pollution caused by oil drilling and exploitation in that region for decades now, thereby leading to high cost of living, extreme poverty, health hazard, destruction of roads, loss of lives and other hardships. This paper aims to assess the Niger Delta environmental degradation through the use of ecocriticism, which sees literature as an integral part of the environment. Hence, an ecocritical reading of Wellington Nwogu’s Paradise of Thorns. This study illustrates the quintessence of Nwogu in his attempt to employ his creative art as weapons against environmental pollution. His poems depict the beauty of the environment as well as their thematic concerns. The study, therefore, reveals that the government and its multi-nationals are responsible for the despicable conditions of the Niger Delta, which does not only affect man but the lands and seas. The paper equally takes a look at attempts made by the Niger Delta people to resolve the environmental degradation and to inculcate development that will culminate in a better living for the people of the region. The study recommends a collective responsibility and peace to resist the capitalist exploitations from multinational oil corporations.