Habila’s most recent novel takes us to the oil-rich Niger Delta in a story that revolves around an aspiring journalist, Rufus, who sets out in a quest to search for the kidnapped wife of a British petroleum engineer; he is accompanied by Zak, a legendary journalist who has fallen from grace into alcohol and ill health.
More than anything else, this is a novel that depicts the heart-wrenching devastation left by the ruthless and exploitative operations of transnational oil companies in the Niger Delta. It is a tale of environmental degradation that transforms landscapes into surreal uninhabitable spaces. It is a tale of the destruction of people’s livelihoods and the unaccountable social changes that devastate local communities, as well as the escalating violence and human rights abuse committed by military forces, security guards in the...
495 words
Citation: Nnodim, Rita. "Oil on Water". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 July 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=33479, accessed 09 June 2026.]
