Award-winning Delta State-born writer and environmental advocate, Dr. Enewaridideke Ekanpou, is set to formally present eleven new literary works to the public in September 2026, with Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, The Wanted Man in Camp Four and Sandbanks in River Forcados among the titles expected to attract significant attention.
Ekanpou, who hails from Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, is a renowned literary voice whose works have consistently engaged Nigeria’s historical, environmental, cultural and socio-political realities. He won the prestigious Isidore Okpewho Prize for Literature in 2004 with his work, The Road to Ken Saro-Wiwa.
The forthcoming collection of books, which cuts across drama, prose and poetry, is creatively rooted in both past and contemporary developments in Nigeria. According to the author, the works are designed not merely as literary creations but as instruments of environmental advocacy, moral conscientisation and constructive engagement on the challenges confronting the country.
Particular attention is expected to focus on Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, which examines the ongoing struggle against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in Nigeria, while drawing attention to the developmental expectations of oil-producing communities.
The book also engages the relationship between the Federal Government, multinational oil companies and host communities, advocating what the author considers a more appropriate developmental pathway in dealing with communities that bear the environmental and socio-economic consequences of oil exploration.
Ekanpou equally uses the book to challenge what he describes as misinformation, disinformation and derogatory propaganda surrounding individuals and organisations involved in the campaign against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
A central concern of the work, therefore, is the need to distinguish between legitimate criticism and what the author regards as deliberate attempts to undermine persons or institutions participating in efforts to protect the nation’s oil infrastructure and revenue.
Through its literary and philosophical engagements, Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers is positioned as part of a broader advocacy for good governance, environmental responsibility and sustainable development in the Niger Delta.
The author also situates himself in the work as an “environmental advocate and moral conscientiser,” whose literary preoccupation is anchored on the pursuit of a better Nigeria and a multidimensionally developed Niger Delta.
The other forthcoming titles, including The Wanted Man in Camp Four and Sandbanks in River Forcados, similarly explore issues drawn from Nigeria’s social, cultural, historical and environmental experiences. Together, the works seek to stimulate public discourse on governance, development, identity, environmental degradation and the continuing struggle for greater recognition of the Niger Delta.
Beyond the formal presentation scheduled for September, Ekanpou plans to take the books to notable individuals and corporate organisations at different fora. The engagements are expected to provide platforms for wider conversations on the development of the Niger Delta, responsible governance and the national campaign against oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The initiative, according to the author, is also intended to use literature as a vehicle for strengthening public awareness and encouraging citizens, governments and corporate stakeholders to engage more constructively with the challenges confronting oil-producing communities.
With the publication of the eleven books, Ekanpou is expected to further consolidate his position as a writer whose literary works intersect with contemporary Nigerian realities.
His longstanding engagement with environmental and Niger Delta issues, dating back to works such as The Road to Ken Saro-Wiwa, has established a literary trajectory that combines storytelling with social commentary and advocacy.
The September presentation will therefore mark not only the unveiling of a new body of literary works but also another phase in Ekanpou’s continuing attempt to deploy literature in the service of environmental consciousness, moral reflection and national development.
At the heart of the new works is a call for a more informed and constructive national conversation—one that recognises the legitimate developmental aspirations of the Niger Delta while supporting sustained efforts to curb pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and other practices that undermine Nigeria’s economic and environmental interests.
