Helon Habila’s novel Oil on Water gives a unique perspective on the oil exploitation in the Niger Delta. In particular, it highlights the devastation that the oil companies have had on the indigenous people and how it has removed them from their native lands and the destruction of the natural resources.
However, the one part of the novel that really struck me was the reoccurring theme of water throughout the entire piece. The two main characters travel down the river and are consistently around the water. I thought this was intentional because Habila wanted to illustrate the carnage that the oil companies had inflicted upon the lifeline of the villagers in the area. While I think that was one of the goals of the author, I thought about the title as well. When an oil company drills a well, it uses water to be drill down into the ground. Water is the resource that is used in hydraulic fracking to be able to extract the oil out from under the ground. Colorado State recently conducted a study looking at wells in El Paso, Texas and they discovered that drilling and hydraulic fracking a vertical well takes roughly 387,000 gallons of water. The title is fitting because the water was the resource that the indigenous people centered their lives around and where they caught their food. I found the title to be ironic because not only were the oil companies taking the land of the native people, but they were also removing the pure clean water out of the river, drilling with it and then proceeding to put the disgusting polluted water back into the river. It was also symbolic of what happens when the oil company goes into a new area. The initial money is never enough to overcome the damages that is inflicted upon the area for years to come.
One other aspect of the book that intrigued me was a short dialogue that the doctor has with Rufus and Zaq. In that section, Habila depicts the doctor as grotesque and it appears this is in purpose because the doctor divulges that he discovered the dangers in the water and gave those results to the oil companies. Unfortunately, he is paid by the oil companies to stay quiet and not publish his findings. I thought this was indicative of the way that the people in power were viewed as selling out for their own benefit. Habila’s intention behind this was to show that the people in power in Nigeria are not looking out for the benefit of the people but rather their wallets. I think by describing the doctor in such an unappealing way it is a reflection of the decisions that he has made.
