Eco-social Perspectives and the Limit of Violence in Jeta Amata’s Black November and Curtis Graham’s Oloibiri

Abstract

While Jeta Amata’s Black November (2015) and Curtis Graham’s Oloibiri (2015) have garnered significant scholarly attention since their production, existing ecocritical discourses on them remain predominantly anthropocentric. Most analyses prioritise the human condition, focusing on youth restiveness and militancy as fallout of multinational firms’ neglect and governmental indifference. While these socio-political readings are valid, this study argues for a critical shift that transcends human-centred perspectives. Utilising Sule Egya’s (2020) “socio-ecological” framework and “Activism” category for analysing Nigerian ecocriticism, as well as Cajetan Iheka’s (2018) theorisation on “rethinking postcolonial violence”, this paper interrogates the representation of the environment as a co-victim of conflict. This study critically evaluates the efficacy of violence as a tool for ecological liberation, arguing that militancy fails to resolve the Niger Delta’s ecological and social predicament. By shifting the analytical lens from a predominantly human-centred interpretation that favours armed resistance against perceived agents of ecocide in the Niger Delta cinema, this research contributes to a wider debate and understanding of environmental justice in contemporary Nigerian films.