By Jason Cegayle, Animator for Manitoba and Thunder Bay
As part of its education and advocacy campaigns, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada is always pleased to welcome solidarity visitors, representatives from partner organizations who come to meet Canadians in person and engage them with the lived social realities of their home countries. These encounters are meaningful experiences that provide Canadians the rare opportunity to learn about the realities of climate change and other adversities; the hope and innovation that our partners sustain; and the need for global solidarity.
The ongoing Reaping our Rights campaign introduces Canadians to the peasants’ rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Peasants and Other People working in Rural areas (UNDROP). To prevent Canadian corporations from abusing these rights, it pushes for the adoption of strong mandatory environmental and human rights due diligence legislation.
Nnimmo Bassey: here to educate, advocate and inspire
To explain why the peasant communities he serves need such a campaign, Nnimmo Bassey, the executive director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), visited Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and Ottawa from September 26 to October 8, 2024. He spoke to Canadians about the realities of oil pollution in Nigeria and the importance for legislation and dialogue as precursors to social change.
To kick off his solidarity visit, Bassey met undergraduate and graduate students in the social justice studies program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont. On Friday, September 27. In the audience was Daniel Kofi, a Lakehead alumnus and our youth representative for northwestern Ontario. Having roots in Ghana where extractive industries are very prevalent, Koffi felt that Bassey’s presentation hit very close to home. He said:
“Nnimmo inspired me amidst the heightened youth demonstrations in Ghana against illegal mining and water pollution, as his advocacy for environmental justice and community rights mirrors the struggles Ghanaians face today”
With its tradition of inviting distinguished achievers to address students, the University of Manitoba was the natural setting for the next presentation by Bassey, who counts the Wallenberg Medal among his many distinctions.
He delivered a hybrid online and in-person presentation entitled Profit Over People: Examining the Consequences of Resource Exploitation in Nigeria at the university’s Arthur V. Mauro Institute for Peace and Justice at St. Paul’s College on October 2. Bassey highlighted the harsh realities that Nigeria faces as the lack of international corporate accountability exacerbates the environmental and human rights violations wreaking havoc in his country. Jennifer Amadi, a Nigerian student pursuing a master’s degree peacebuilding and conflict resolution, said:
“It is important for us to deepen solidarity and our collective consciousness of the Niger Delta’s struggle for a clean environment and accountability for our current ecological realities. This presentation has inspired me to advocate for and co-design alternatives to colonial extractivism in my academic and professional work.”
Linking research and activism
Bassey is passionate about research and advocacy. He stresses the importance of providing research opportunities for students so that they can effectively advocate for social change and innovation.
With Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s support, his organization, HOMEF, works very closely with and mobilizes many young researchers who, sometimes risking their lives, collect data on pollution from the agricultural fields saturated in oil and rivers whose waters are now poisoned and undrinkable. Around 80 per cent of HOMEF staff and all its volunteer researchers are young people.
“Action research is essential as the output builds the foundation for strong advocacy,” Bassey explains, adding, “Young people dig to the roots of problems and stand a good chance to learn and propose solutions when they take part in research about such matters.”
Speaking to people of faith
Bassey’s message resonated not only with students, but also the faithful, who are passionate about the stewardship of Creation.
The Diocese of Thunder Bay hosted the national campaign launch webinar as part of its campaign training workshop on September 28, 2024. Bassey served as a panelists alongside Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability and Celeste Smith of the National Farmers Union of Canada.
At St. Ignatius Parish in Winnipeg, Bassey participated in an event entitled For Better and For Earth on October 1. He addressed parishioners from the Archdioceses of St. Boniface and Winnipeg; the general public; and Manitoban environmental groups including such as Seniors for Climate and Manitoba’s Climate Action Team. His presentation highlighted actions that HOMEF is taking to respond to climate change and mobilize communities against the adverse affects of pollution.
Bassey was also the keynote speaker at the Western Conference for Social Justice, which was held at the St. Charles Retreat Centre in Winnipeg from October 4 to 6. His presentation was in keeping with the concerns of the 19 lay and pastoral workers from archdioceses and dioceses across Western Canada who had gathered to pray, network, discuss pressing social justice issues and plan potential responses to local, national and international crises.
Ikike: hard to translate, powerful to feel
Everyone who witnessed and listened to Bassey left feeling enriched. They absorbed some of HOMEF’s central guiding philosophy of Ikike, a Nigerian word replete with deep meaning. In the Ibibo language, Ikike signifies listening, reasoning and having common sense and intellect. In Igbo, it pertains to rights and capability. In experiencing Ikike, participants were empowered to create spaces for learning about other peoples’ realities, fostering conversation and taking meaningful action.
Their motivation will help us sustain the campaign with HOMEF through the fall period and mobilize Canadians to act in solidarity with peasant communities and advocate for stronger corporate accountability laws.
Underlining the universal significance of this work, Bassey said, “Much of the socio-ecological challenges in the world can be traced to the intransigence of corporations. Your corporate accountability work should be intensified as we need a world where justice reigns, bearing in mind that environmental crimes often have global implications.”
