NIGER DELTA ECOLOGICAL QUESTION: AN ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN TIDES BY ISIDORE OKPEWHO, YELLOW-YELLOW BY KAINE AGARY AND THE CHILDREN OF OLOIBIRI BY NDUBUISI ANTHONY ABAGHA

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is known to be rich in crude oil and other natural resources. The discovery of crude oil at Oloibiri in 1958 and its subsequent extraction thereafter, marks the genesis of ecological degradation in the region. Using Ecocritical approach, the paper analyses the varying levels of ecological challenges faced by the area as represented in the selected novels. As parts of its findings, ecological degradation in the Niger Delta region is a reality. It is discovered, too, that ecological damage in the region is the resultant effect of human willful natural tendencies to destroy in order to establish conquest of the environment. It is too found that none of the authors proffers any pragmatic solutions as a way out of these ecological woes. The paper concludes by calling on actors in the degrading of the Niger Delta physical environment to adhere strictly to ecological principles to make the area a safe haven that it should be.