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After breakfast that included traditional fried plantains, we all walked to the jetty to meet the boats due to arrive any time. We aimed to depart at 8:00 am, yet typical to the Nigerian pace, we actually left at 10:00. Waiting is a common activity in these parts.

Meanwhile, a second boat with Mary Ella, Helen and Edmund Tiemo – the Egbema chairman of the Chevron Regional Development Council – was on its way from Sappele, a port about 30 minutes outside of Warri. Edmund was our host and tour guide.

Our task for the day was to visit two areas in the creeks: one that provided a glimpse into the environmental conditions before the oil degradation and one after. The Egbema kingdom has suffered from oil primarily due to the dredging of canals between the Atlantic and the freshwater creeks inland. These canals have caused salt water to infiltrate deep into the riverine area, causing great loss of fish, vegetation and wildlife. The kind and amount of vegetation on the side that exhibits pre-oil conditions was remarkably more abundant than anything we have seen here before. Fanty likes to point out that there are those who are fine with the Niger Delta being rendered to a museum but that museums are for dead things. That point was well represented by seeing what this place must have been like a mere 40 years ago.

We stopped at an army junction to wait for Mary Ella and the others. While there, we received the typical warm Nigerian welcome and beverages. It was a bit surreal, however, to be ushered into a most un-village-like living room, with built-in cabinetry and a Hillary Duff movie playing on the TV. A highlight of this time was when Timi, acting President for NAGS for the week, offered a toast. He said he was going to break the traditional barrier and proceeded to give Sandy a drink directly. The tradition is that drinks can only be passed from man to man. As he handed her the drink, he said, “I dance to your tune.” Sandy commended him for opening his mind to new ideas, saying “That is courage; that is a true leader.”

Much buzz was in the community about the girls football game (referred to as soccer in America) between Oporoza and Kunukunuma. We noticed community and family members walking, sometimes running, to the field. They showed up with flying colors, cheering and yelling for the players. One mother we’ve been filming ran up and down the sidelines as she supported her two daughters, one of which scored the only goal for the team. The young women were a shining example of the strength and focus that the girls and women exude here, as they gave themselves full force to the game. The game ended as a tie, one to one.