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An oil spill occurred in Bodo, Rivers State in 2008. Nigerian regulations stress that 24 hours after a spill there should be a clean-up. But in this case oil issued non-stop until the leak was halted weeks after, exposing the inhabitants to the full impact of toxins.
Very soon the locals began to fall ill, and they point to the spill, saying that they had eaten fish harvested from it.
The mortalities began to rise resulting in an epic number of funerals, a 'festival of funerals'. However, the results of Professor R.N.P Nwankwoala's 2005 laboratory experiment involving rats, may seem to suggest that there is a link between oil pollution and declining health among locals living near contaminated sites. On the other hand, individuals can become hypertensive, or infertile and may develop cancers in areas where there are no oil spills. You don't need an oil spill to become infertile. Making four trips to Bodo, interviewing medical doctors, toxicologists, environmentalists, mortuary attendants, coffin makers, grave diggers, fishermen, farmers, scholars, sick locals, and drawing from various documents including the UNEP 2011 report, this investigation X-rays the possibility of a link between the 2008 oil spill and the preponderance of deaths and funerals in this Niger Delta creek.
A child is born. Five months later its abdomen begins to swell. It dies. Not far off, a carpet of black oil covers the extensive riverside, like a giant wreath, overflowing... . Dead plants and transformed waters define the horizon as far as the eye can see. An unpleasant odour hangs in the air. Like would be the case of an open-air space, there are no birds flying overhead. It is difficult to spot an insect. A quick check does not reveal any insect, or crawling forms in the earth. The scene that catches the eye is a haunting apocalyptic one. A sorry state of what manmade damage can render upon a once pristine ecosystem. A mangrove forest that was full of health and served as a sanctuary for monkeys, crocodiles, crabs, fish and various exciting species has no more life. Boys play within black oily waters. They giggle and crack jokes, and beckon to another waiting at the shore to come and have fun in the dark stagnant...