THE PLACE OF WATER IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: READINGS FROM GREG MABAJIORGU’S WRITINGS (Published)
Argument on the eroding environmental degradation by modern industrial society has been rife in most critical works of the modern period. Man’s quest for civilization and its accompanied industrialization are often seen as reasons for destruction of natural environment. Despite the facts that water covers about seventy percent of the earth surface, availability and accessibility of water has remained a great challenge to human development. Acute water shortage for human consumption is a course for worry in the face of alarming industrial pollution. Little wonders that ecocritics and ecodramatics are upset by degenerating human environment. Greg Mbajiorgu is one of them. He has written extensively on water as important abotic resource. In his collection of poems title Water testament (2008) and a dramatic text,Wota na Wota (2006), he explored various themes on the usefulness of water to man. He asserts that search for drinkable water in most local communities can create anarchy as a result of its scarcity. This research explores these themes and attributes of water as illustrated in the poems and the drama. The basic assumption of this research is that water is a necessity for sustenance of life and a component of natural resources. Consequently, great effort must be geared towards its preservation.
Keywords: Greg Mabajiorgu’s Writings, Sustainable Development, Water