​Published as a companion to the 2026 documentary of the same name and featuring poetry by activist Nnimmo Bassey, Barinedum Cecilia Mbee, Ukpono Bassey and Odudu-Abasi Asuquo, Hope is a Word is a love letter to the Niger Delta penned by those whose roots run deep beneath its tributaries.

 

Wielding words as a tool to reshape a decades-old struggle, the poems in Hope is a Word transform it into something more than that: not just one word, but many, weaving together a paper raft to carry themselves across the polluted waters and towards real, positive change.

 

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