News
HOMEF’s Nnimmo Bassey Receives Wallenberg Medal for Humanitarian Contributions
HOMEF’s Nnimmo Bassey Receives Wallenberg Medal for Humanitarian Contributions
By: Michael Mike
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has celebrated with her Executive Director, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, on the prestigious honour of the 2024 Wallenberg Medal.
Bassey is the first Nigerian and the fifth African to have received the award. He joins the ranks of other giants like South Africa’s Helen Suzman (1992), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2008), Rwanda’s Paul Rusesabagina (2005), and Congo’s Denis Mukwege (2010). Bassey’s long list of accomplishments is celebrated as he accepted this prestigious recognition.
According to a statement on Wednesday by HOMEF, the award took place on 10 September 2024, at the Ross School of Business Robertson Auditorium, at the University of Michigan. The Wallenberg Medal is a tribute to outstanding humanitarians who have gone above and beyond to protect the vulnerable and oppressed, much like Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II, whom the award was named after.
At the occasion, the Swedish Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Urban Ahlin, extolled the virtues of Raoul Wallenberg and enjoined the audience to dedicate their lives to the cause of humanity so that they may be remembered just as Wallenberg was being recognized. Other speakers included the Chair of the awards committee, Professor Sioban Harlow and the provost of the university, Professor Laurie McCauley.
In his acceptance speech and lecture title: “We Are Relatives,” Dr Nnimmo Bassey stressed “love, humility, dignity, and respect” as core to his vision of a livable future for all beings.”
He stated that as an environmental justice advocate whose work has been based on the understanding the polycrisis confronting us, we have a duty to always seek to uncover the roots of the crises rather than treating the symptoms.
He said: “Seeking out those roots helps us avoid superficial responses and pursue real solutions, some of which may be unattainable in our lifetimes. One of our key struggles has been understanding the mindset that permits inequalities in our societies. The mindset that elevates might over care and love. The mindset that promotes the individual rather than the community. The mindset that refuses to understand that we are relatives. The mindset that grabs, trashes, and feeds on the misery of others. The mindset that permits environmental racism.
“Understanding the roots of polycrisis helps us to see the phenomenon of expanding sacrifice zones in our world today. It also placed on us the duty of standing with the oppressed to halt the expansion of sacrifice zones in Nigeria, in Africa, and elsewhere by seeking to overcome the energy and other hegemonic transitions that sacrifice nature and are driven by colonial extractivism built on embedded geopolitical power imbalances.”
Bassey further stated that: “Climate action and inaction provide pictures that help us see the difficulties we face in trying to build a consensus that the climate crisis is a global crisis and not a national crisis. It also shows that the world is not yet ready to make the hard decisions by accepting that the pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet is a false dream.”
Director of Programmes at Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Joyce Brown, on behalf of the organisation, applauded the executive director for his outstanding performance, stating that Dr. Bassey’s exceptional work and contributions have led to undeniable global recognition. It was also a veritable opportunity to showcase the work that HOMEF does and show the key place that cultural tools like poetry play in healing a hurting world.
Besides being an environmental activist, Bassey’s work includes significant environmental books like To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and The Climate Crisis in Africa (2012), and Oil Politics: Echoes of Ecological War. His poetry, including We Thought It Was Oil But It Was Blood (1998), I Will Not Dance to Your Beat (2010), and the latest I See the Invisible (2024), continue to inspire the spirit of resistance and hope in all who read or listen to him.
HOMEF’s Nnimmo Bassey Receives Wallenberg Medal for Humanitarian Contributions
News
Armed robbery foiled by Bauchi Police, three suspects arrested in Bauchi
Armed robbery foiled by Bauchi Police, three suspects arrested in Bauchi
By: Zagazola Makama
Three persons were arrested following a foiled armed robbery along the Bauchi–Gombe Federal Highway in Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State on Jan. 26.
Sources said the incident occurred at about 12:16 a.m. when armed robbers blocked the road near Kalajanga Hamlet via Bara Village.
Officers on routine patrol responded promptly, engaging the hoodlums and forcing them to abandon their operation and flee into the surrounding bush.
The trail of the robbers led authorities to the house of one Nasiru Ibrahim of Saddiya Hamlet, where two of his children, Isya Nasiru, 20, and Umar Nasiru, 18, were also arrested in connection with the case.
Recovered items included two sticks, a touch light, three bags, a local bullet-proof shirt, face masks, two pairs of shoes, an Oppo android phone, and several local charms.
Sources say Investigations are ongoing.
Armed robbery foiled by Bauchi Police, three suspects arrested in Bauchi
News
Four killed, 15 injured in lone motor accident on Ibadan–Oyo Expressway
Four killed, 15 injured in lone motor accident on Ibadan–Oyo Expressway
By: Zagazola Makama
Four people were killed and fifteen others injured in a lone motor accident involving a Glynlyon truck along the Ibadan–Oyo Expressway on Jan. 26.
Sources said the truck, with registration number LSD 221 YM, was coming from Kebbi State to Ogun State, carrying rocky stones as well as 23 passengers seated on the stones at the back of the vehicle.
The driver, identified as Muhammed Jibril of Adamawa State, reportedly lost control of the vehicle after hitting a pothole in the Fiditi area, causing the truck to overturn.
The heavy stones reportedly fell on the passengers, killing four instantly, while fifteen others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The injured were rushed to General Hospital Oyo for treatment, and the bodies of the deceased were evacuated to the hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
Four killed, 15 injured in lone motor accident on Ibadan–Oyo Expressway
News
Six people abducted by armed bandits in Maru, Zamfara State
Six people abducted by armed bandits in Maru, Zamfara State
By: Zagazola Makama
Suspected armed bandits on Jan. 25 abducted six people at gunpoint in Tauji village, Kanoma District of Maru Local Government Area, Zamfara State, while the victims were observing Isha’i prayers.
Sources said one of the victims has been identified as Yahuza Mikailu, 40, while the identities of the remaining five are yet to be confirmed.
The abductors reportedly took the victims to an unknown location.
Efforts are ongoing by security operatives to track the bandits, rescue the victims, and apprehend the perpetrators.
Six people abducted by armed bandits in Maru, Zamfara State
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