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By Daniel Kanu
Renowned environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey has been honoured with a doctorate degree by the University of York, United Kingdom.
Bassey was honouredwith 14 other global leaders in various fields.
Bassey, who is the Chairman of the Board of Environmental Rights Action and Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), will be honored along with Game of Thrones star, Mark Addy, photojournalist, Lynsey Addario; video game designer, Charles Cecil; paediatrician, Professor Diana Gibb; historian, Professor Catherine Hall; and biologist and Nobel Prize winner, Richard Henderson, among others, at the institution’s Central Hall. In a statement issued in Lagos, by ERA/FoEN Head of Media & Campaigns, Philip Jakpor, and made available to Sunday Sun, the group said the recognition of Nnimmo Bassey by the York University is well deserved given his contributions to environmental human rights causes in Nigeria and the global sphere.
Part of the statement reads: “His recognition for us is well-deserved and commendable. The honorary degree adds to a list of other recognitions that Bassey has received in the last decade. In 2009 he was named “Hero of the Environment” by Time Magazine for his advocacy that made inhabitants of the Niger Delta know their rights, the infringements of the oil companies and the Nigerian authorities and why they should be held responsible. In 2010 he was conferred the Rights Livelihood Award “for revealing the full and ecological human horrors of oil production”.
He is currently the executive director of the ecological think-tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
