English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies ISSN 2640-9836 (Print) ISSN 2640-9844 (Online) Vol. 2, No. 1, 2020 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls 1 Original Paper Environment Degradation and Nature’s Reclamation: A Study of Yiro Abari’s in the Absence of Man Bizuum Godwill Yadok 1 , Manasseh Iortyer 1 & Vashti Suwa Gbolagun 2* 1 Department of English, School of Languages, Federal College of Education Pankshin 2 University of Salford Manchester, United Kingdom * Vashti Suwa Gbolagun, University of Salford Manchester, United Kingdom Received: December 2, 2019 Accepted: December 22, 2019 Online Published: December 27, 2019 doi:10.22158/eltls.v2n1p1 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eltls.v2n1p1 Abstract The sermon of eco-activists for long has been about conservation of the flora and fauna, particularly the threatened and endangered species in order to sustain the steady cycle of the ecosystem. However, industrial and economic activities by humans have resulted in the obstruction of the ecosystemic chain. Many Western writers have imposed upon themselves the responsibility of promoting biological and environmental conservation through their art. However, the call for global environmental preservation has been answered weakly by black African writers and critics. This is so because the African writer has been preoccupied with issues of colonialism and corruption. YiroAbari’s In the Absence of Man is set in Jos, the capital of Plateau State of Nigeria. A city that has witnessed massive tin mining activities from the dawn of the 20 th century which left vast ponds and infertile lands in the wake of mining. This paper explores the details of the wasted lands due to mining activities. It has become evident in this article that nature has the capacity to re-invent itself through Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The paper therefore posits that nature will always reclaim its lost territories of the earth even after human beings have gone into extinction. It is therefore in man’s interest to protect nature for himself. Keywords nature, environment, mining, degradation 1. Introduction Ecoliterature and its corresponding ecocriticism deals primarily with man’s interaction with his environment or nature; it explores the relationship between man and nature. The incorporation of nature into art did not really start with the white Americans or at the period of the industrial revolution as many critics surmise. We can, for example, observe eco discourses in poetry of Romantic poets like