THE NIGER DELTA IN IKIRIKO’S OILY TEARS OF THE DELTA By Adagogo Brown (MA) Department of Arts and Law Rivers State College of Arts and Science Port Harcourt. Abstract The Niger Delta region, one of the largest wetlands of the world and the largest delta in Africa is located in the Southern part of Nigeria. The area is rich in petroleum deposit, which has necessitated oil exploration and exploitation activities since 1958. These activities have led to the degradation of the environment, the dislocation of the sources of livelihood and the subsequent suffering of the human population in the area. These issues form the focus of Ibiwari Ikiriko’s Oily Tears of the Delta, a collection of poems on the devastating consequences of oil activities on the environment. This paper examines Ikiriko’s poetry within the canons of environmental criticism and in the process reveals the various forms of ecological‘devastation, and the attendant suffering of people of the area and the need for urgent remedial measures to save the environment and its inhabitants from extinction. I Modern Nigerian and African poetry, in particular, and modern African literature, in general, cannot be effectively and meaningfully discussed without reference to African oral literature. In Africa, oral literature predates written literature. This explains not only the fact that Africa has a robust literature before the advent of writing but that it . contributed largely as source and influence on modern African literature. Unfortunately, European scholars, among them; Ruth Finnegan have considered African literature unpopular, simply because Africa did not have the means of exporting and popularizing her literature beyond Africa early enough. According to her: The unwritten forms, however, are far less widely known and appreciated. Such forms do not fit neatly into the familiar categories of literate cultures, they are harder to record and present, and for a superficial observer at least, they are easier to overlook than the corresponding written material (1). It is also not true that African literatures “do not fit neatly into familiar categories of literate culture” because they have long been established to have the three basic genres of poetry, drama and narrative (fiction) as world literature. While the intention of this paper is not to react or respond to negative impressions about African literature by early European anthropogists, African literature has been known to be original, with its peculiar characteristics which do not need to be judged by European standards and forms. .Judging by the progress made by modern science and technology in the area of information preservation and communication, it cannot be said that African literature or the unwritten forms “are harder to record and present.” These allegations appear to be excuses trumped up to bring down the great stature of African literature. Other early misinformation and prejudices against African oral literature include the comment of Burton as quoted by Isidore Okpewho: Poetry there is none .... There is no meter, no rhyme, nothing that interests or soothes the feelings, or arrests the passions (84). 343