Although they appeared helpful, Martha Agbani, the women's leader, sensed danger and instructed her fellow women to carry the burden themselves, as she had encountered these men in Yaataah before and knew their intentions were not entirely benign. She was determined to create employment opportunities for the women in the community, as she had witnessed the ongoing hardships faced by women in Ogoniland, who often faced difficulties in both making a living and having their voices heard in comparison to men. And she was adamant that men would not interfere with her new project: establishing a large nursery to grow hundreds of thousands of mangrove plants for sale to the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, the leading oil company in Ogoniland and responsible for their destruction. Agbani, a resilient woman with a friendly demeanor and a practical approach, was working to create a business that could empower women financially and help restore the damaged environment. Mangroves have important natural functions, such as filtering water, preventing erosion, and providing a habitat for aquatic life that supports humans. The Niger Delta is home to one of the world's largest mangrove ecosystems, which humans lived in harmony with for centuries. However, with the rise of oil production — a crucial source of revenue for the Nigerian government — the mangrove forests suffered. In 2011, a significant report was released by the United Nations Environment Program regarding pollution in Ogoniland, stating that it could take up to 30 years to address. However, the government agency responsible for addressing the pollution, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, has been slow to take action. Following two oil spills in 2007 and 2008 that devastated mangrove forests near the village of Bodo, Shell agreed to compensate the community, clean up the oil, and replant the mangroves. Agbani saw an opportunity in this, as the company would require a vast number of mangroves, which are crucial for protecting coastlines and providing habitat for marine life. She began by planting mangroves in her own yard before searching for a location to establish a nursery, which led her to Yaataah. Once a place with dense mangrove forests along its creek, Yaataah had lost most of them due to past environmental disasters and the spread of invasive nipa palms introduced by the British. She began organizing the project at Yaataah and brought in over 100 female mangrove planters to kick off the initiative in late 2019. However, during the celebration, she encountered young men who unexpectedly showed up and demanded money and snacks intended for the women. When she confronted them, explaining that the women had come to assist in the restoration of the land for the benefit of their mothers and sisters who relied on harvesting periwinkles, they assaulted her physically. She recounted, "They were pulling me from behind. It escalated quickly." Disturbed by the incident, Agbani and her team left Yaataah and did not go back for several months. Eventually, she found another location for the nursery with the help of a local leader who offered land near the contaminated areas in Bodo. However, she still felt a connection to Yaataah and found it difficult to completely let go. They had access to a good creek where they could practice growing mangroves from seeds in the wild, rather than starting them in nursery grow bags in Bodo. In May 2021, the women returned to plant the mangroves. Carrying sacks on their heads and their skirts pulled up, the women walked barefoot down the hill and into the creek. The water quickly became murky as they stirred up the sediment with their feet. Agbani, 45, laughed as she felt something brushing against her legs and struggled to keep her balance in the muddy water. "Oh, Martha is an elderly woman," exclaimed the speaker. The location was ideal with minimal oil contamination, and the sounds of birds, frogs, and crickets could still be heard from the surrounding vegetation. Similar to other creeks in the Niger Delta, this one was obstructed by nipa palms, but Agbani had organized for the villagers to clear a significant portion of them. The women moved quickly through the mud to the patch, passing podlike seeds known as "propagules" from hand to hand and planting them at intervals directed by Agbani. One of the women, Jessy Nubani, sang a popular call-and-response song as she worked, with the other women harmonizing in response. Despite the arrival of young men on motorcycles who were interested in the activity, they were scolded by Agbani and remained on shore. Agbani's activism was influenced by her mother, who was involved in the Ogoni people's resistance against the Nigerian government and Shell in the 1990s. Agbani, like her mother, dedicated years to working with the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, which was established in 1990 to address the environmental devastation caused by multinational oil companies in the region. Both Agbani and her mother drew inspiration from activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, a revered figure in Ogoniland who was executed by the Nigerian government in 1995. Agbani vividly remembers the day Saro-Wiwa was arrested while she was a student in Bori, his hometown, and witnessed the city's reaction from a hidden vantage point. She mentioned that there was chaos as people were running in all directions, soldiers entered the communities and were shooting in Bori. This experience, along with Saro-Wiwa's advocacy for the oppressed, motivated her to stand up for her people. She also noted that while many organizations were addressing the environmental damage, few were focusing on women's rights, who were disproportionately affected by oil pollution. She expressed that women in Ogoniland were constantly in a state of suffering and needed assistance to empower them. In Ogoniland, men typically engage in deep-sea fishing while women traditionally gather shellfish near the shore. Agbani explained that when there are no mangroves for shellfish, women become solely reliant on men, leading to an unhealthy dependence that often results in violence. She believed that the Ogoni people were responsible for caring for the environment passed down to them by their ancestors and future generations. It was difficult for her to witness young men in the community hindering and attempting to benefit from the women's work to restore it. She expressed frustration, stating that they did not truly comprehend the significance of environmental restoration. Before leaving, the leader of the group of young men threatened to take legal action against Agbani. She responded sarcastically, suggesting that she thought he was joking and that she would welcome a lawsuit. "That sounds like a promising opportunity." As she left Yaataah and drove along a rough road towards the nursery in Bodo, the driver quickly moved aside for a group of motorbikes heading towards the village. More young men were eager to make money, but they had missed their chance as Agbani was already leaving.