Environmental rights activist Nnimmo Bassey has urged a fundamental rethink of land ownership, natural resource extraction, and development models in Nigeria. He argues that extractivism is severing communities from the land and resources that sustain their lives and futures.
Bassey, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), spoke at the foundation’s School of Ecology. The platform focuses on environmental justice, agriculture, resource democracy, and socio-ecological transformation. He explained that the school creates space for young people to question dominant ideas about ownership, development, and the use of natural resources.
“The School of Ecology session that we have is primarily to look at commons, care, and the things that belong to us, and the things that must not be privatized or grabbed by individuals or corporate entities, thereby depriving society of their usage,” Bassey said.
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Extractivism as a Colonial Legacy
Bassey described extractivism as a colonial model designed mainly to remove resources from communities for export rather than for local benefit.
“Extractivism, as we know it, is a very colonial idea.
It’s basically about grabbing resources, not for the interests of those in whose territory those resources are found, but for export,” he said.
He pointed to colonial-era railway networks across Africa as an example. Many were built primarily to move extracted resources to seaports rather than to connect communities or strengthen local economies. This “one-sided” approach, he argued, can alienate people from their land, resources, and livelihoods.
Young people, he stressed, must develop alternatives rooted in solidarity, cooperation, and collective well-being instead of continuing extractivist paths.
Critique of Nigeria’s Land Use Act
Bassey also criticized Nigeria’s land ownership framework, particularly the Land Use Act. He said it conflicts with traditional African concepts of communal ownership and natural justice.
“The Land Use Act in Nigeria is completely contrary to natural justice,” he stated.
In traditional systems, communities historically managed land collectively for shared purposes. Absolute individual ownership of land, he argued, is a foreign concept that can enable privatization, displacement of communities, and loss of livelihoods.
“The land, nobody claiming the ownership of land is an alien idea,” Bassey said, emphasizing that communities should remain connected to the resources that support their lives.
Building Critical Thinking and Reclaiming Knowledge
The School of Ecology is designed not to impose fixed ideas but to foster debate and critical thinking.
“Our schools of ecology are sources of knowledge. It’s here we bring up ideas, we interrogate ideas, we agree and disagree. It’s a learning space,” Bassey explained.
The broader goal is to help young people redefine a good life beyond competition, accumulation, and extractive development—“a life that’s built on solidarity, cooperation, and collective well-being.”
Alienation and Indigenous Knowledge
Ken Henshaw, Executive Director of We the People, also spoke. He examined alienation within the political economy of extractivism, identifying separation from land, natural resources, decision-making, livelihoods, culture, identity, and the value created through extraction. He described alienation as a process through which “extractivism turns living territories into commodities.”
Speakers highlighted the importance of indigenous knowledge, language, and culture in protecting ecological understanding and community identity. Bassey urged young people to reclaim what has been lost: “Be bold to retrieve what has been lost.”
Why This Matters
Bassey’s call comes amid ongoing debates in Nigeria over resource control, community rights, environmental degradation linked to oil and mining, and the impacts of the Land Use Act on customary tenure. Advocates for reform often argue that stronger community control and alternatives to pure extraction could support more sustainable and equitable development. Critics of rapid reform raise concerns about investment certainty and governance capacity. The School of Ecology positions itself as a space to explore these tensions through education and dialogue.
By encouraging critical examination of ownership, extraction, and development, Bassey and fellow speakers aim to equip a new generation to pursue socio-ecological alternatives grounded in care for people and the planet.
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