ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLOITATION AND INDIGENOUS DEFIANCE: A PETRO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF MBUE’S HOW BEAUTIFUL WE WERE AND HABILA’S OIL ON WATER

Abstract

The Niger Delta has remained one of the most contested regions due to extensive oil extraction and its severe environmental consequences. This study investigates environmental exploitation and indigenous resistance in How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue and Oil on Water by Helon Habila through the theoretical perspective of Petropolitics. The selected novels portray the destructive impact of multinational oil corporations on indigenous communities, emphasizing ecological devastation, socio-economic marginalization, and the political tensions that arise from the control of oil resources. Although a considerable body of scholarship has examined environmental crises and resource conflicts in the Niger Delta, relatively little attention has been given to interpreting these narratives through a petropolitical framework that highlights the relationship between oil wealth, political authority, and indigenous resistance. Using a qualitative and interpretive research approach, this study applies the concept of petropolitics to examine how oil operates not merely as a natural resource but as a central force shaping political structures, economic disparities, and social relations in the region. The analysis demonstrates that the dominance of oil-driven economies leads to environmental degradation, community displacement, and widening socio-economic inequalities among local populations. At the same time, the narratives foreground different modes of resistance, ranging from personal acts of defiance to organized collective struggles, illustrating the resilience and determination of indigenous communities confronting petro-capitalist domination. The study highlights how these literary works reveal the complex dynamics of oil politics and expose the struggles of Niger Delta communities within the broader framework of global energy capitalism.