Article Analysis: The Oil Spill We Don't Hear About

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As the world frustrated and fumbled at BP over their oil spill on April 20, 2010, the largest marine oil spill in history. Does anyone know the people of Nigeria Delta had lived with oil spillage conditions for the last 50 years? With her op-ed piece “The Oil Spill We Don’t Hear About”, published in The New York Times on June 4, 2010, Anene Ejikeme emphasizes on the oil spills in Niger Delta which is far more alarming and threatening than the BP Gulf Spillage. With her article, Ejikeme’s want to address these problems which appear to be ignored by the international media. In her article she stated, “Media around the world are covering the Gulf oil spill in a way that not even the Nigerian media covers oil spills in Nigeria.” Ejikeme adopts an informative, yet sympathetic tone to deliver and provoke the interest of the phenomenon for her readers. Ms. Ejikeme received her PhD from Columbia University in 2003 and is currently an assistant professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She is considered as a specialist on modern African history; she’s been writing a variety of books and teaching a wide range of courses on the matter. Prior to coming to Trinity, Ejikeme taught at Barnard College in New York, where she was the Director of the Pan-African Studies Program from 2001 to 2003. This op-ed piece continues her interest on the problems that affects African society. Ejikeme begins her article by asserting that every year for a half of century; the Nigerian residents living in the Niger Delta are suffering from the oil spill which is equivalent to one Exxon Valdez – it is one of the worst environment disastrous conditions to live in imaginable. The situation is getting more atrocious when the amount of oil spills does n... ... middle of paper ... ...er article rather experience an unsure feeling about what each individual and the public can do to respond to the massive problem. Conclusively, even though Ejikeme does not provide a solution, she however helps us to recognize this major oil spills that are happening in the world. Her op-ed piece induces the audience’s attention to be more aware of the little-known phenomenon, to evoke sympathies, and maybe would finally provoke actions and lays a foundation for readers to create an informed view of this substantial matter and other issues around the world. Works Cited • Ejikeme, Anene. “The Oil Spills We Don’t Hear About.” The New York Times 4 June 2010. Print. • "Anene Ejikeme | Assistant Professor at Trinity Department of History." Trinity University | Welcome. Web. 11 March 2011. .

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