The Aesthetics of Eco-Destruction in Nigerian Literature: A Postcolonial Ecocritical Study of Chiemeka Garricks’ Tomorrow Died Yesterday

Abstract

The paper focuses on Eco-destruction in oil-producing communities mainly in south-south Nigeria and its negative impacts on the nation’s natural world, as well as, its threat to the nation’s climate and biodiversity. The continuous flagrant disregard for the natural habitat and organic unity of all that exist in the ecosphere by the illegal oil bunkers and double standards in the nation’s oil region is a serious threat to the nation’s ecosystems. This paper employs the convergence of postcolonial theory and ecocriticism in the study of the Aesthetics of Eco-destruction in Chiemeka Garrick’s Tomorrow Died Yesterday to provide insights into the activities of the illegal oil bunkers through diverse mechanisms and its domino socio-economic implications in Nigeria. Consequently, it pays closer attention to devastating impacts of Ecosystem destruction by illegal oil bunkers and other eco-unfriendly activities the nation’s oil region. To this end, the study contends that postcolonial eco-literature should be analysed beyond mainstream ecocritical lens as postcolonial ecocritical study it adequately respond to all the issues that influenced African environmental issues. Thus, the study ascribes to how the destructive activities of the illegal oil bunkers and attitudes of oil producers affect nature, human and vice versa in the Niger Delta with a view to remedy this menace. The paper calls for the need to denounce ecoterrorism and other harmful activities that threatens our climate, biodiversity, as well as, convincingly reminds us of the environmental peril that awaits humanity, if it continues to wage war against nature and also suggests Eco-consciousness and the adoption of nonviolent action as viable environmental ethics for reclamation, environmental remediation and social justice, in order  to mitigate Nigeria’s present socio-cultural and environmental issues.