Nnimmo Bassey

Nnimmo Bassey (born 11 June 1958) is a Nigerian environmental activist, author and poet, described by the Ford Foundation as "a veteran environmentalist", who is known for his long-standing work on environmental justice in Africa. He chaired Friends of the Earth International from 2008 to 2012 and was executive director of Environmental Rights Action for two decades. His work has focused on advocating for communities affected by oil exploitation in the Niger Delta and strengthening transnational networks opposing destructive extraction across the Global South. Bassey is the founder and director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, an environmental think tank promoting ecological justice and food sovereignty across Africa. He was named one of Time magazine's Heroes of the Environment in 2009 and has received several international recognitions, including Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award (2010), the Rafto Prize (2012), Nigeria's national honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) (2014), two honorary doctorates from the University of York, UK (2019) and York University, Canada (2023), and the Wallenberg Medal of the University of Michigan (2024).