WE THOUGHT IT WAS OIL BUT IT WAS BLOOD By;Ninnmo Bassey

   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 this 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

      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

         Wont burst like crude pipes

    We thought it was oil

         But this was blood

   We thought it was oil 

         But it 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

Written By; Ninmmo Bassey

This poem was first written /performed in Amsterdam, 16th September, 1998. It was revised in Benin City, January 3, 1999 and dedicated to Oronto Douglas and the Youths of the Niger Delta.

The poem '' We Thought It Was Oil But It was Blood'' by Ninmmo Bassey is a seasoned work of literature. It is an imagery of the plight of the Niger Delta people. The poem xray the extent of environmental degradation as a result of crude oil exploration in the Niger Delta region.