Postcolonial Ecologies and Global North/South Dynamics in Mei Mei Evans’ Oil and Water and Helon Habila’s Oil on Water

Abstract

This study offers a comparative analysis of Helon Habila’s Oil on Water and Mei Mei Evans’ Oil and Water. It examines their representation of global North-South dynamics in the context of oil extraction in the ecologically and culturally distinct regions of Alaska’s Prince William Sound and Nigeria’s Niger Delta. These novels expose the catastrophic impacts of neo-colonial resource exploitation on marginalised communities and their environments. Through a postcolonial ecocritical lens, complemented by ecofeminism and petroculture studies, this article examines how these texts critique the power imbalances perpetuated by multinational corporations and complicit governments. By analysing narrative structures, thematic concerns, and representations of ecological trauma, the article argues that both novels function as acts of literary militancy challenging hegemonic narratives of extractive capitalism while amplifying indigenous and subaltern voices. Using extensive textual analysis, the article highlights how these novels contribute to environmental justice discourses in postcolonial contexts. Drawing on Rob Nixon’s concept of “slow violence,” the article shows how both texts reveal the gradual, often unnoticeable, environmental harm that disproportionately affects marginalised communities. Through evocative imagery the novels position ecosystems as subaltern entities silenced by global capitalism. The study compares and contrasts Habila’s thriller-like narrative with Evans’ character-driven approach, and demonstrates how both texts engage in literary militancy to challenge neo-colonial power structures. By bridging environmental humanities and postcolonial studies, the article underscores the contributions of these novels to the understanding of the intersections of ecology, gender, and neo-colonialism.