The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called for a global awakening to the power of language in environmental and social justice struggles, urging activists worldwide to “Ogonize and Yasunize” – a phrase coined to symbolise resistance against ecological destruction and fossil fuel exploitation.
At the 2025 Wisdom Gathering held at the Oronto Douglas Conference Hall in Benin City, environmentalist Dr. Nnimmo Bassey and linguistics scholar Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi delivered compelling reflections on how words shape perception, mobilize action, and influence global narratives about the climate crisis.
In his paper titled “Ogonize and Yasunize: A Hidden Battle of Words,” Dr. Bassey argued that global inaction on climate change has been worsened by manipulative language. He cited how phrases such as “global warming” or “net zero” downplay the urgency of the environmental emergency. “If the crisis had been called global heating or climate chaos, the world might have responded with the seriousness it deserves,” he said.
Bassey warned that the language of sustainability has been co-opted by polluters. “When oil companies issue sustainability reports while engaging in ecological destruction, we must question their words,” he said, explaining HOMEF’s deliberate adoption of terms like “Sustain-Ability” and “Re-Source” to restore original meaning and accountability.
He described ‘Ogonize’ and ‘Yasunize’ as verbs born from historic community victories – the Ogoni struggle in Nigeria, which forced Shell’s exit from Ogoniland in 1993, and the Yasuní referendum in Ecuador in 2023, where citizens voted to keep oil underground. “To Ogonize and Yasunize is to protect territories rich in cultural and ecological diversity and to reject extractive projects that destroy life,” Bassey declared.
Echoing this, Dr. Ugwuanyi’s presentation titled “Birthing Words for Campaigns and General Usage” explored how activist language evolves into powerful mobilizing tools. Drawing from linguistic theory, he noted, “Words are actions – they can marry people, condemn them, or liberate them. In our ecological struggles, we must ask: do our words mobilize or pacify?”
Ugwuanyi outlined the historical and contemporary power of activist coinages such as boycott, strike, climate justice, and MeToo, stressing that movements must continue to create and circulate words that redefine resistance. He emphasized the need to embed new terms like Ogonize and Yasunize in art, music, social media, and academic discourse to ensure they “live, travel, and mobilize.”
The gathering concluded with a renewed call for “epistemic reclamation” – the act of reclaiming and redefining words that have been twisted by colonial or capitalist narratives. Bassey said the struggle to Ogonize and Yasunize is not only ecological but decolonial, representing “a stand for the wellbeing of Mother Earth, Ubuntu, and buen vivre – the good life rooted in harmony with nature.”
The event, organized by HOMEF, brought together environmental advocates, scholars, and youth activists, all united by a shared belief that the battle for the planet begins with the battle for words.
The session feautured key figures in Nigeria’s human rights and environmental advocacy circles, including Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo State; Rita Uwaka, Interim Administrator of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN); Innocent Edemhanria, Programme Manager of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ); and Comrade Cynthia Bright, Executive Director of the Grassroots Women Empowerment and Development Organisation (GWEDO), among others.
