Nnimmo Bassey — architect, poet and African environmental activist — accepted the University of Michigan’s 2024 Wallenberg Medal for his outstanding humanitarian work, declaring, “We are part of nature, not apart from it.”
Bassey, executive director of the Nigeria-based ecological think tank Health of Mother Earth Foundation, delivered the 29th Wallenberg Lecture to a packed Robertson Auditorium at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business on Sept. 10.
He spoke of a “polycrisis,” conventionally framed in geopolitical and sociological terms, the result of which is profound ecological devastation, with disproportionate impacts on “sacrifice zones,” places like the Niger Delta from which he hails — and low-income countries and communities.
“Acknowledging that we need one another is hard. Humans like to emphasize our differences, our uniqueness, our achievements and our influences as exceptional, extraordinary, and distinguishing to the extent that we consider ourselves not only superior to other beings but also to other humans,” Bassey said.
“Once some humans are considered as essentially others or even sub-human we essentially lose our humanity.”
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By recognizing our shared humanity, by acknowledging that we are all relatives, related even to species that are not our own, we can in solidarity work toward solutions that benefit all living beings, Bassey said.
“Today, I pledge to continue working for power from below and stress the urgent need to globalize social justice because we cannot build this needed change one territory at a time. I thank you for permitting me to remind us today that we are all relatives. Yes, we are relatives. … If capital can be globalized, hope can be globalized,” he said.
The Wallenberg Medal and Lecture honors the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg, who graduated from the U-M College of Architecture in 1935 and saved the lives of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews near the end of World War II.
Bassey said Wallenberg “epitomized an exemplary human who was compassionate, humane and sacrificial. His accomplishments are hard to match.”
Bassey also paid tribute to the late Bunyon Bryant, a professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability who died in April, as a “great fighter against systemic racism and environmental hazards.”
Laurie K. McCauley, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, presented the Wallenberg Medal to Bassey. “You have shown us the necessity of not only seeing, but doing, and acting for climate justice,” she said.
In her welcome remarks, Wallenberg Medal Executive Committee Chair Siobán D. Harlow, professor emerita of epidemiology, global public health, and obstetrics and gynecology, said Bassey “has a gift for envisioning alternatives and implementing at scale in defense of our mother earth, her peoples and all living beings.”
Urban Ahlin, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States, also offered his reflections on Wallenberg. He spoke, in particular, to current U-M students, reminding them that Wallenberg was once very much like them.
“Wallenberg is not just a figure from the past. He is a role model of how to live with purpose in times of darkness. We need more people who embody Wallenberg’s spirit. And those people are sitting right here. He once was in your shoes, unsure of where life would take him,” Ahlin said, telling students they must not wait for permission to do what is right.
The lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session, moderated by Steven R. Ratner, director of the Donia Human Rights Center and the Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law.
Questions from audience members drew together topics from across Bassey’s areas of work — poetry, activism, architecture, education and intergenerational engagement. He reminded them to speak up in order to be true to their conscience: “If you don’t say what needs to be said, it may never be said.”
