Dr. Ekanpou to Unveil Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, Wanted Man, 9 Other Books in September

By Monday Peters, Abuja

The Award-winning Delta State-born writer and environmental advocate, Dr. Enewaridideke Ekanpou has concluded plans to unveil 11 new books to the public in September 2026, including Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, The Wanted Man in Camp Four and Sandbanks in River Forcados.

Ekanpou, who hailed from Akparemogbene Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, won the prestigious Isidore Okpewho Prize for Literature in 2004 for his acclaimed work, The Road to Ken Saro-Wiwa.

According to a statement announcing the forthcoming publication, the 11 books draw extensively from historical developments in Nigeria and combine environmental advocacy with moral conscientisation, while engaging issues of governance, development and the relationship between government and the people.

The works, which cut across drama, prose and poetry, are described as philosophically, culturally and socially rich, with narratives and commentaries aimed at stimulating conversations on the development of Nigeria, particularly the Niger Delta region.

A major focus of the forthcoming Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers is the need for the Federal Government and multinational oil companies to adopt a more responsive developmental approach in their engagement with oil-producing communities.

The book also examines what its author describes as misinformation, disinformation and propaganda surrounding the ongoing campaign against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in Nigeria. It seeks to challenge narratives which, according to Ekanpou, are capable of distracting attention from efforts aimed at combating economic and environmental crimes in the oil-producing region.

The author further presents the books as part of a broader creative intervention aimed at strengthening advocacy against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, while promoting good governance, environmental protection and greater developmental recognition for the Niger Delta.

Following the formal release, the books are expected to be presented to notable individuals, institutions and corporate organisations at different fora, with the objective of expanding public discourse around governance, environmental protection, Niger Delta development and the fight against crude oil theft.

In Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, Ekanpou also examined what he described as sophisticated propaganda machinery allegedly deployed by individuals and organisations opposed to the ongoing campaign against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

The author positions himself in the work as an “environmental advocate and moral conscientiser,” with his literary engagement centred on the pursuit of a better Nigeria and a multidimensionally developed Niger Delta.

The formal public presentation of the 11 books is scheduled to take place in September 2026.

The statement read,

“The award-winning Delta State-born writer from Burutu Local Government Area, Dr. Ekanpou, who won the Isidore Okpewho Prize for Literature in 2004 with his work THE ROAD TO KEN SARO-WIWA, is ready to release his new book Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers alongside The Wanted Man in Camp Four, Sandbanks in River Forcados and other eight books. The formal presentation of the books to the public is marked for September 2026.

“Creatively built upon the foundation of past and current historical developments in Nigeria, the books are replete with environmental advocacy and moral conscientisation envisioned to move the society forward in the endless developmental engagements and conversations between the masses and the government at various levels in the business of governance.

“Philosophically, culturally and socially rich and inspiring in dialogue and commentaries, the books cut across the genres of drama, prose and poetry. Among the awaited eleven books, The Wanted Man in Camp Four and Sandbanks in River Forcados are to be released alongside the book TOMPOLO’S HAULERS and HAILERS. Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers awakens the Federal Government of Nigeria and the multinational oil companies to the right developmental path in their dealings with the oil-producing communities in Nigeria just as it also counters the malevolently varied distractions of misinformation, disinformation and image-destruction propaganda associated with the dedicated war currently waged against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in Nigeria. It lays bare the deliberate propaganda created to distract those selflessly and pragmatically engaged in the advocacy against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in Nigeria.
These books will be presented to the public in September 2026 as a conscious creative effort to strengthen the advocacy against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft coupled with the propagandist derogatory narratives falsely created around personalities like Tompolo and other corporate organisations whose operational philosophy is geared towards eradication of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft”.

“After the formal release the books will be publicly presented to notable individuals and corporate organisations at different fora. This is targeted to spread the advocacy for good governance at all levels of government, the struggle for developmental recognition of the Niger Delta region, the war against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.

“Also embedded in Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers as part of a broader conceptual framework is the dismantling or mangling of the sophisticated false propaganda machinery of individuals and corporate organisations that are pathologically opposed to the ongoing war against pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. In Tompolo’s Haulers and Hailers, Dr. Ekanpou is authentically situated as ‘an environmental advocate and moral conscientiser’ whose prepossession revolves around a better Nigeria and a multidimensionally developed Niger Delta” the statement added.