The other day We danced on the street Joy in our hearts We thought we were free Three young folks fell to our right Countless more fell to our left Looking up, Far from the crowd We beheld Red hot guns
We thought it was oil But it was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
Heart jumping Into our mouths Floating on Emotions dry wells We leapt with fury Knowing it was't funny Then we beheld Bright red pools
We thought it was oil But it was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
Tears don't flow When you are scarred First it was the Ogoni Today it is Ijaws Who will be slain this next day? We see open mouths But we hear no screams Standing in a pool Up to our knees
We thought it was oil But it was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
Dried tear bags Polluted streams Things are real Only when found in dreams We see their Shells Behind military shields Evil, horrible evil gallows called oilrigs Drilling our souls
We thought it was oil But it was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
The heavens are open Above our head Toasted dreams in flared And scrambled sky A million black holes In a burnt sky But we know our dreams Won't burst like crude pipes
We thought it was oil But this was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
This we tell you They may kill all But the blood will speak They may gain all But the soil will RISE We may die but stay alive Placed on the slab Slaughtered by the day We are the living Long sacrificed
We thought it was oil But it was blood
We thought it was oil But this was blood
--- Nnimmo Bassey
Nnimmo Bassey is a Nigerian environmental justice activist, architect, essayist and poet. He is the director of the ecological think-tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and coordinator of Oilwatch International. He was the chair of Friends of the Earth International (the largest grassroots environmental organisation in the world) from 2008-2012 as well as the co-founder and executive director of Environmental Rights Action (1993-2013) which is based in Nigeria (in Benin city, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa). He was a co-recipient of the 2010 Right Livelihood Award also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” In 2012 he received the Rafto Human Rights Award and in 2014 he was awarded Nigeria’s national honour as a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) in recognition of his environmental activism. Nnimmo Bassey is the author of the highly acclaimed book, To Cook a Continent, which details the destructive impacts of the extractive industries and the climate crises in Africa. He has also authored books on architecture. His poetry focuses on environmental justice. 'We thought it was oil but it was blood' and 'I will not dance to your beat', are two of his most widely known books of poems.