The Izon of the Niger Delta is a global history of the Izon, Ijo, or Ijaw people from their homelands in the Niger Delta, through Nigeria, the West and Central African coastlands, and in the Africa diaspora into Europe, the America's and the Caribbean. It is a preliminary study which raises questions and opens ground for further research. The book provides chapters that take an overview of issues on the environment of the Niger Delta, an analysis of the Ijo population, the language, culture, resources, history and linkage to the rest of Nigeria and the world. In effect these chapters provide a synopsis of the Ijo in the past and their situation in the present.

A collection of six essays pertaining to the language situation in the Niger Delta region, and in particular, to the language of the Izon people. The Izon live widely dispersed along the Nigeria coastline and amongst the creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta, and their language is thought to be one of the oldest of the region. Angles addressed in this study include: language as a tool for self- development and cultural advancement; language planning for education and development; and the potentials for the study of Izon. A final chapter considers the state of publishing in Nigerian languages. Some of the contributors are the Professors Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, Kay Williamson, and John Cecil Buseri.

This collection of papers documents efforts to harness oral historical sources and academic study of the past for public education and understanding of the present. It is concerned with learning from history: the relevance of looking back for contributory answers to contemporary questions. The study has particular regard for the history and current situation of the Niger Delta, offering a view of Nigeria's history from a marginal position. Contents: the Ijaw and the Niger Delta in Nigerian history; Cross River State in historical focus; FESTAC remembered: cultural tolerance in the Nigerian nation; the western Niger Delta: origins and relations; history and policy in the Niger Delta crisis; Izon: the historical perspective; peace making and conflict resolution in Nigeria: a historical perspective; an internal cultural route to peace in the Niger Delta; Niger Delta youth: taking control; and the future in Nigerian discourse. The author was Professor of History at the University of Port Harcourt. Now Pro-Chancellor of the new Niger Delta University, he is still active in research and writing.

Many people in the Niger Delta may not have heard of the term “environmental injustice” before, but it is just a new word for an old problem. Environmental justice is based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthy environment. In the Niger Delta environmental injustice is experienced mostly from the activities of the oil industries which have degraded the land, contaminated the water and polluted the air without proper compensation. Gas leakage is killing many people and continues to have a negative impact on the lives of the people living around the area. The aim of this book is to raise awareness of the issues affecting the Niger Delta region, and to encourage involvement in the cause.

This book is about Nigeria's oil and gas-rich Niger Delta region: --how its peoples: the Igbo, Ijaw, Ibibio, Efik, Ogoni, Annang, etc evolved over the years; with the Igbo, as the main ingredient in the evolution process --how ethnic and regional rivalry, occasioned by petty jealousies and envy threatened their very existence in1966-1969, and led to Biafra --how greed and the gross abuse of state power by Northern Nigeria-controlled military dictatorship in 1966-1999 turned the once prosperous region into a living nightmare. The peoples are emasculated, communities/villages sacked, perceived freedom fighters persecuted and killed, including the writer/environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was hanged in 1995. This book reminds Nigeria and the world of Biafra, and calls for fundamental changes in respect of the Niger Delta, to avoid the mistakes that led to Biafran secession in 1967. It is also a Unity call to the East.

Modelled on a similar study of Rivers State in Nigeria, the objective of this study is to give a simple but authoritative interdisciplinary introductory history. Although written by specialists, it is directed to a lay readership. Bayelsa, being a new state, is in need of self- definition and understanding, not least to promote greater tolerance within and between communities. Thirty-six scholars, largely Nigerian, have contributed to the study, which is divided into seven parts: the enviroment, the people, culture, history, politics, economy and social services.