Siun, an agrarian and petty-trading community in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, has bid fresh air farewell; no thanks to the activities of a recycling firm, writes ERNEST NWOKOLO.
Situated at the intersection between Owode/ Egba/Ogere/Iperu road and Abeokuta/Sagamu road, Siun town, with many villages under her jurisdiction, is the centre of local market for farm produce, serving travellers who stop-over to buy fresh vegetables, fruits, yam, pepper and other basic food items at affordable prices.
But one thing ails the indigenes and residents, and which has continued to blight their joy – the environmental pollution of the type that appears already threatening their health.
A guest, waste tyres pyrolysis plant, allegedly owned by Grandse Renewable Nigeria Ltd, and which the indigenes and residents had welcomed to the community about a year ago, has allegedly robbed them of the clean air they were accustomed to. Tucked about a kilometre away from where the residents live, and save for the fumes streaming from its chimneys and the offensive odours it also releases, nothing suggests that a recycling plant operates there, having been sited forlornly far inside the forest of Alhaji Igbore Village with no neighbours on all sides.
A lonely, narrow and un-tarred windy road leads to the company, emptying directly into the factory through its bland black entrance gate. It shares the road with no others; no signpost indicating company’s name or nature of business.
The Nation visited the place but could not gain entry. The company, which was sealed at a time for an alleged infraction, and following from it, had become suspicious of visitors to its forlorn neighbourhood.
The security man at the post only peeped from a little hole from the gate, and having been convinced that the reporter was an unfamiliar face, ignored his entreaties.
The plant is said to process waste tyres into black oil for further use, but the process, the residents said, is corrupting their environment, fouling the air with caustic and chocking odour.
The plant reactor, in bid to convert used tyres to black oil, generates temperature of over 250 degree, peaking at well over 350 degree to melt the tyres into black oil or bitumen, even as the reactor also emits steady fumes into the sky from its chimneys, thereby making the community’s temperature unnecessarily hot most of the time.
A resident, who identified herself as Mrs. Babalola, complained that health challenges ranging from chest pain, cough to painful and watery eyes are rife among the people of Siun and surrounding villages. She said fingers have repeatedly pointed at the fumes and offensive odours emanating from the only recycling company in the community.
She said: “Our community and surrounding villages are no longer conducive for habitation; our health and lives are at grave risk because of the activities of the recycling company in our midst. If nothing is done fast, the hazardous emission will begin to take its toll on our lives and health. We don’t want that to happen, that is why we are calling on the government to call the company to order and protect us.”
A letter addressed to the Director of Grandse Renewable Nigeria Ltd, by the Baale of Alhaji Igbore village, also expressed the people’s concern.
“We observe that a strange odour emanates from your company occasionally, and there are reports that it causes cough and forces people to vomit blood, which is hazardous to our health. I have been wrongly accused of colluding with your company to inflict the people of Siun and environs with this strange odour.
“To this effect, we would want you to urgently stop this hazardous odour by giving us certified confirmation from the ministry (of Environment) that we are all safe. I’m doing this in my capacity as Baale of Alhaji Igbore and representative of Bamigbose family, owners of the land on which your company is situated,” he said.
The Olu of Siun, Oba Lawrence Odeyinka, said he and his people are not averse to the recycling firm operating in their area, but they are advocating that it perfects its technology put health and lives of people first before any other consideration while engaging in its business activities.
A February 11 letter by the monarch to Governor Dapo Abiodun drew the governor’s attention to the corrosive smell emanating from the company, the health implications on him and his people. He appealed to the governor to prevail on the firm to stop forthwith, from causing further health hazards and other risks to the residents of Siun and surrounding villages.
Oba Odeyinka wrote Abiodun through his lawyer, Benjamin Ogunmodede, and copied the Commissioners of Health and Environment.
The letter reads: “Our client informed us that he started perceiving a very offensive and hazardous odour everywhere in the community. When he enquired, he was reliably informed that a company was allocated some pieces of land for its business.
“On further enquiries, our client was told the company melts condemned tyres and makes black oil and powered or dry bitumen for sale. Our client has developed a kind of cough which is accompanied with bloodstains. The cough has persisted and he is presently undergoing treatment.”His subjects have also complained of vomiting and coughing persistently with blood stains and their children are ill. One of his subjects has been diagnosed with liver problem due to fumes she has inhaled in recent years from the said company’s emission.”
Commissioner for Environment Abiodun Abudu-Balogun said the ministry is aware of the issue and has set up a committee to address it. He added that while the government would not send any investor away, it would, however, ensure that any company operating in the state abides strictly by its environmental regulations.
According to Abudu-Balogun, welfare, lives, health and safety of the people are of the utmost importance to the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration.
The firm’s Administrative Manager, Yemi Michael, said they were not treating the community’s complaints and fears with levity.
According to him, the company’s representatives and that of Siun community had met many times to deliberate on the concerns raised, and it was resolved that the firm would improve on its processing technology.
He said the measure entails installing new technologies at the site, adding that Oba Odeyinka, Baales of surrounding villages; the monarch of Owode-Egba, Ministry of Environment and the governor’s special adviser on Environment were aware of such meetings and the resolution reached.
Michael added that two conveyors have been bought and delivered to the company about a month ago, with both awaiting installations. He lamented that the installations would have been done before now but for the ongoing lockdown following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. The technician to install the machine has been unable to leave India because of the lockdown, he added.
Michael appealed to the people of Siun and authorities to be patient with the company, saying it would not take any action capable of endangering their health as 80 per cent of its workers are from Siun and Owode communities.
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