This paper aims to highlight the ecological concerns of the Nigerian novelist Helon Habila in his 2010 eco-fiction novel Oil on Water, in which he has brought to light the devastating effects of oil exploration and extraction activities by the multinational oil corporations on environment and society in the oil rich Niger Delta region. The novel creates eco-consciousness and advocates for environmental conservation, sustainable development, and environmental justice. It documents the experience of two journalists, Rufus and Zaq, who try to rescue a kidnapped European wife in the oil landscape of Niger Delta. The novel records the plight of the native people of the Niger Delta who live in abject poverty and pollution and are victims of unsustainability, environmental injustice and slow violence. The environmental degradation and exploitation of this region by neocolonial capitalist forces have given birth to militia and militancy in the region. Hence, this paper will explore and analyze the issues related to environmental degradation raised in this novel in the light of ecocriticism and neocolonialism.

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Keywords: Ecocriticism, Environment, Pollution, Neocolonialism, Oil, Militancy, Environmental Justice.