THIS IS THE NIGER DELTA
Went subvertising for the first time in Nigeria this week, along with Friday Nbani of Lekeh Development Foundation and with the help of some local lads we got two billboards up on disused billboard spaces in Ogoniland.
We actually got caught by a government official halfway through putting these up, who arrived with a squad of young tough guys on motorbikes and it got quite heated, but after a discussion in which a sum of money was mentioned, he left and ordered his henchmen to assist us in finishing our work.
In the background to this photo you can see the light of a gas flaring oil refinery, burning gas 24 hours a day for the last 70 years, poisoning the people and creating acid rain so severe that the first rains of December will burn and severely irritate people’s skin. It also erodes metal at a far higher rate than normal rainwater, making holes in the metal roofs of homes.
In such a poverty-stricken country, a former colony and modern neo-colony, it is quite common for a westerner to be asked by local people for help, a small amount of money for food or water. But one thing that stood out to me on this trip is how many people have asked me for money towards a rain jacket. In a country where the rain will eat through your roof and burn your skin, this is such a simple and logical but also heartbreakingly bleak request that it stops me in my tracks. Every time I come here my hatred for Shell multiplies ten fold.
These photos are from the protest march in Bori on the 10th Nov, led by Ogoni women farmers, which I designed banners and placards and hundreds of free t-shirts for.
Thank you so much to everyone who chipped in to the crowdfunder to get all the billboards, t-shirts, banners, and placards printed. I also raised enough that I could put an extra £500 towards transport and subsistence costs for the hundreds of farmers who made the trip to the city for the march.
Also thanks to Amnesty UK for supporting the cost of my flights. Any more funds raised via the crowdfunder from now on will go towards my next visit in which I hope to upgrade the Niger Delta Hell Bus and install a permanent museum exhibition in the Niger Delta about the struggle against Shell.
This board is a commemoration of the Ogoni Nine and Ken Saro-Wiwa, non-violent indigenous environmental activists who were framed and executed by the Nigerian Abacha regime in 1995 on the orders of Shell.
Although one police officer did tell me that he didn’t think my painting was a good likeness of Ken Saro-Wiwa, I rejected his opinion on the basis of him being a cop.
I’m satisfied that comrade Celestine AkpoBari, a much respected leader in the Ogoni struggle who campaigned alongside Ken, said that he loved the painting, and that I couldn’t know what it meant to him to see it on the bumper stickers of a similar design I brought out here, which honestly made my year.
Another reason I was back in the Niger Delta was to film a new documentary about the history of the struggle in the region and Shell’s role in creating the Hell that the people here have endured for 70 years, presented by Ken Henshaw. I hope to finish it early next year. Above you can see some of the gas flaring footage I captured earlier this year.
You can see some more news about my visits to Nigeria this year on my highlighted Instagram stories.
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As a little post-script I’d just like to share the very touching message that Friday Nbani sent me after presenting me with this gift of a big sparkly photograph of my own face at the end of the protest march (just as I felt like I was about to pass out from heat stroke!). It was such a nice gesture and while its not my intention to make any of this about me, it really means so much to know that my work has been at all useful to the people out here on the front lines who continue to suffer greatly while fighting for justice.
ACTUALLY KINDA USEFUL
I brought one of my new paper delivery bags to Nigeria and it actually turned out to be a really useful bag to lug all my various camera equipment bags about. Which is a surprise because I don’t tend to make useful things! They’re really hard-wearing and waterproof anyway, get one while stocks last.
I also have a bunch of other stuff in my shop, the sales of which are the main reason I’m able to do any of this work. So please keep me in mind when you’re looking for xmas presents!
2025 + 2024 + 2023 ZINES
You can also support me on Patreon, and as a thanks to all my backers I send them all an exclusive annual zine documenting all the work their support has helped me make through the year.
I’ll be sending out the 2025 zine in February with everything I’ve made and done this year.
I’m also looking into getting a binder printed so you can store these zines together.
If you’d like a copy, just sign up for £3.50+ a month on my Patreon, and I’ll also send you a copy of my 2024 AND 2023 zine (while stocks last!)
Backing me on Patreon is the only way to get these zines. But there’s no minimum subscription, you can cancel anytime!
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