The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ‘Environmental

  • How to avoid mysterious environmental pollution

    How to avoid mysterious environmental pollution

    In this piece, an environmentalist Valentine Opone writes that beyond food poisoning, other factors, such as the contamination of the environment, can also affect man.

    Environment plays a vital role in humanity. It is where man is born, lives, earn his living and, may be buried, when he dies. That is why if the environment is contaminated, he is in trouble as he would be affected. This is because his existence will be threatened.

    Man will also be in trouble if his food is poisoned. Toxicology has been described as that branch of pharmacology that deals with the nature, effects, detection of food poisoning. In other words, toxicology studies foods that are contaminated or seen to be having the effects of poisoning.

    The body metabolism is affected when poisoned foods find their way into it. This phenomenon can deal with or, worse still, paralyse the cells in the body and, ultimately, kill the victim. This was what happened at Ode-Irele, the Ondo State community.

     

    The Ode-Irele incident

    Based on what the government and the experts said, fingers point to one direction:  there was an intake of food which, painfully, led to sudden deaths, which many erroneously described as mysterious.  Never mind that the traditionalists had a different view, which made them to resort to the gods for help.

     

    Prevention of the unfortunate occurrence

    The prevention is simple. It must involve both the government, manufacturers/producers, marketers and consumers.

    The government said the products were not hygienic. Thus either there was a genuine marketer who brought the goods to the area, not knowing they were poisoned; or there were sellers who knew the deadly nature of their goods, yet went ahead to sell because they wanted to make money. This is where the government should come in. I suggest it should empower both the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to do  at the grassroots wht they have been upstream.

    The product in question is a locally brewed gin called ogogoro, which is a popular alcoholic drink in many parts of the country, especially in the southwest and southsouth. The question is: who monitors the local manufacturers of ogogoro? The answer is: no one. Yet, as pointed out earlier, it has a large market that cuts across states.

    In setting agenda for the government, many people have suggested that the drink should be banned to ensure that standards are maintained and safety assured. I fear this is an impossiblity, even if the people are ready to cooperate with the government. However, should this option be adopted, the government should ensure the policy for a ban should not be aimed at spinning money for it, like others in the past. Here, the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) comes to mind. Good as the agency is, it has been criticised by many people for its mercantile tendencies.

    Also, others have called for the withdrawal of the good from the market. Again, this will be a wild goose chase. However, to avoid this problem, the government should be able to trace the drink to the source of manufacturing. Thus, it should be ready to deploy its arsenal for the purpose. At the end, the product should be seized and the manufacturers arrested and prosecuted.

    Above all, I suggest NAFDAC should establish an office in every ward or local government to enable it monitor local brewers. At the moment, NAFDAC does not operate at the ward level. What I know is that it has zonal offices. So, it should be ready to spread its tentacles to the nooks and crannies of the country.

     

    Examples of contamination in the past

    I recall the one involving a beverage drink that led to massive deaths in the past. Then, it was believed that the deaths arose because the drink was not fit for consumption. But through meticulous and reliable tracing, the cause of the problem was linked to deposits of lead in cocoa seeds. This was further traced to a local farm in Ilesha in Osun State. It involved the environment.

    Another notable example was that of Canadium deposits in a Chinese farm. Its deposits were traced to waste effluents from a textile company, which found their way into the nearby water body. The contaminated rice led to Tea-tea (weakness of the bone) disease.

     

    Insurgency, others

    Earlier, in a  report we had called for clean up of the environment in the Northeast or else there would be contamination of the water body in the area. If the latter happens, no one will be safe. The management of the environment, which includes water, air and land, clean up must be total, covering man and animals to sustain the environment for now and generations unborn.

    In affected areas in the north, weapons of war were deployed massively by both the government’s security agents and the members of the Boko Haram group. These weapons were chemical and biological. And their reactions affect the environment. This, of course, would make the ozone layer to get more suffocated, or worse still, worn out. The result: depletion of resources.

    To arrest this, it is important that there should be a clean up for environmental sustainability. This is one way we can avoid mysterious deaths.

    This is important because the poisons will find their way to the water body and later to the Atlantic Ocean in the South. That means the whole country could suffer from such problem as water on transit  will be polluted. Note that the predominant occupation of the people in the South is farming and fishing.

  • Rector warns against environmental degradation

    The Rector of Ogun State Institute of Technology,(OGITECH), Igbesa, Dr Olufunke Akinkurolere, has implored Nigerians to be more environmental-friendly in their approach. This, according to her, would guard against the depletion of the ozone layer.

    Akinkurolere spoke at the inaugural meeting of Nigeria Environmental Society (NES) which OGITECH hosted.

    She said people should be conscious of their action with respect to environmental hazard especially at a time where the planet earth has become a victim of environmental challenges.

    Akinkurolere described environmental protection as a science which should start from homes, adding that OGITECH will remain in the forefront in the quest for environmental friendliness. She admonished NES to consolidate its relationship with the institutions’chapter.

    Akinkurolere affired that OGITECH have been working tirelessly since 2007 to ensure that Igbesa community remains environmental-friendly.

    The Chairman, Lagos Island Chapter of NES Mr Ekoko Oritsetimeyin John, promised that the Ogun State chapter of NES would be launched before the World Environmental Day in June. The inaugural meeting forms an integral part of development as it creates forum to further interact with existing and intending members, Oritsetimeyin added.

    Oritsetimeyin who represented by Ms Mayowa Ajayi, an administrator with NES, said Lagos Island chapter will strengthen their relationship OGITECH’s. Since there is no chapter in Ogun State, OGITECH chapter, Oritsetimeyin assured, would be made the state headquarters which is expected to birth others.

    The protem chairman of the association, Mr Henry Anwan, said the membership of NES rose from two when it was established in 2008 to 28 members at present. Mebebrship, he added, is opened to students and graduates.

  • Court declares restriction of movement on for sanitation illegal

    The Federal High Court in Ikoyi on Monday declared the restriction of movement during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise illegal.
    Justice Mohammed Idris gave the verdict in a suit by a human rights activist Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa.
    The plaintiff said the restriction of movement during exercise from 7am till 10am has no legal basis.
    Besides, he said it grossly violates Nigerians’ right freedom of movement as guaranteed in the Constitution.
    The lawyer sought a declaration that the restriction of his movement, and that of other residents of Lagos State on the last Saturday of every month, constitutes a breach of their rights.
    Adegboruwa said no law in Lagos State approves the compulsory detention of citizens at home for three hours for the purpose of observing a mandatory sanitation.
    Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and the Attorney-General Mr Ade Ipaye; Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and the ministry were the respondents.
    Justice Idris held that the state’s policy of keeping citizens indoors, in the name of sanitation, has no basis on law.
    The court held that there is no law in force in Lagos State on the basis of which any citizen could be kept indoors compulsorily.
    The court found that the 1999 Constitution grants freedom of movement to every citizen, and such freedom cannot be taken away by executive proclamation in the absence of any law to that effect.
    The judge held that there is no regulation in force presently in Lagos which authorises the restriction of movement of citizens on the last Saturdays of the month for the purpose of observing environmental sanitation.
    Speaking after the verdict, Adegboruwa said: “I commend the judge for his forthrightness, for his courage and boldness. This has indeed settled beyond any doubt that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
    “It is a signal to all those in power, across the land, local, state and federal, that the rule of arbitrariness, of impunity and of wanton disregard for peoples’ rights and freedoms is gradually coming to an end.
    “When we dare to struggle, then we dare to win. I, therefore, urge all Nigerians to troop to the courts, to challenge the unchallengeables, to kick off the arbitrary PHCN impositions, all illegal charges and tax imposition and all obnoxious policies wickedly devised by all our rulers. Together we shall win.”

  • Comply with environmental laws, ex-NBA section chair pleads

    Comply with environmental laws, ex-NBA section chair pleads

    PIONEER chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA) Section on Business Law (SBL), Mr. George Etomi has urged Nigerians to comply with environmental laws to improve the quality of their lives.

    He spoke at the public presentation of a book titled: Appropriate mechanisms for environmental protection and sustainable development in Nigeria – An advocate’s viewpoint in honour of the retiring Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Ngeri  Benebo.

    He praised Benabo for her achievements, saying her doggedness and passion for the environment led to the passage of over 24 environment bills into law by the National Assembly.

    BENEBE 02
    Etomi said: “Under her brilliant leadership, NESREA has developed 24 environmental regulations, on behalf of the Federal Government, which have been signed into law and published in the Official Gazette of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “One of such regulations is the National Environmental (Control of Vehicular Emissions from Petrol and Diesel Engines) Regulation, 2010, S. I. No. 20, which is aimed at controlling the country’s air quality.

    “A World Health Organisation (WHO) report revealed that in 2012 about seven million people died as a result of exposure to air pollution. Nigeria has over 10 million vehicles and three million motorcycles and is clearly not excluded from this statistic. The carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and Nitrogen oxide emitted from these automobiles also causes skin cancer, cataract asthma and other respiratory diseases as well as impacting negatively on the ozone layer and global warming.’’

    He said to combat the menace, NESREA is at the implementation stage of the pilot Vehicular Emissions Testing Programme.

    The programme, he added, involves a mandatory test of vehicles for toxic air emissions, and emission reduction technology in vehicles.This would control toxic gas generated by vehicles on the roads. NESREA would carry out the tests with some government agencies. Vehicular emission testing centres would be set up in Abuja and in other parts of the country,’’ he disclosed.

    “The Vehicular Emissions Testing Programme will greatly aid in the reduction of Nigeria’s carbon emissions to internationally acceptable standards. It will also help bring Nigeria at par with the developed nations which all run similar programmes. Another side benefit of reduced carbon emissions is that Nigeria would be able to earn carbon credits for trade on the global stage. This would be another source of revenue for the country, especially in these trying economic times.

    NESREA, Etomi added, was addressing some peculiar environmental issues in the telecoms sector, especially the erection of masts. He said this was resisted by the teleco,  which argued that NESREA is not the primary regulator of the telecoms industry.

    Earlier, he said NESREA developed the National Environmental (Standards for Telecommunications/Broadcasting Facilities) Regulations, 2010 S. I. No. 11, which led to  friction between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and NESREA.

    However, the two agencies agreed to adhere to the telecoms companies’ Enivironmental Impact Assesments and the siting of masts and base stations, among other things, he added.

    Etomi said some telcos have been complying, recognising that health and human benefits outweigh the monetary benefits of flouting environmental regulations.

    He said Airtel has settled with NESREA on getting Environmental Impact Assessments. “Although NESREA is not the primary regulator for the telecoms sector, it is imperative that the TELCO’s cooperate with NESREA and find ways to address NESREA’s concerns, as all will feel the effect of any detriment to the environment due to their activities.

    He said: “It is safe to say that Benebo’s tenure at NESREA brought issues of environmental compliance and enforcement to the national limelight. She adopted a participatory approach to environmental governance in Nigeria through the creation of the NESREA annual National Stakeholders’ Forum.

    “The achievements of NESREA over the last eight years are too many to summarise in one article. It is hoped that the next tenure of leadership builds on these achievements and propels environmental governance in Nigeria to the next level.”

    Another achievement of Benebo, Etomi said, was the revival of the National Toxic Waste Dump Watch Committee (NTWDWC), adding that it elevated e-waste  prevention to regional and global levels.

    “As Nigeria is an importing country it could be easily made a dumping ground for toxic waste. Recently, NESREA has made a lot of headway in the curtailment of the importation of electronic waste. Guilty vessels have been detected, detained and even sent back to their countries of origin after paying the imposed fines,’’ he added.

  • Environmental regeneration in Lagos

    There is a virtue to the credit of governance in Lagos. The environment has been transformed to the admiration of all to the extent that many in the country now copy the good deed to turn their own enclaves into better cities and states.

    Recent commissioning of the Agege Waste Transfer Loading Station (TLS) has brought into sharp relief the yeoman effort exerted by Environment Commissioner Tunji Bello, with his two bosses, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Babatunde Fashola, to bring about a turn-around on the deplorable Lagos environment.

    The Agege TLS is the third in the ambitious list of 20 stations earmarked to cover the entire state. It has been built to serve Ikeja, Ifako-Ijaye, Agege, Ojokoro and Orile. TLS construction is only one of three special phases of the concerted effort to bring filth-menace under control in Lagos. The other two are the use of dumpsites and the building of waste recycling plants.

    At the commissioning, Governor Fashola lucidly and expertly explained that solid waste management has gone beyond simply collecting and transporting refuse. It has become a mega enterprise, playing a paramount role in urban development and governance.

    There goes a trademark. They always know what they are talking about. These Lagos handlers have fully comprehended the problem they are up against and have been able to design the solution from a position of competence. Also, they do not spare expenses and are not deterred by the danger inherent in enforcement. They show themselves to be people of courage. I think people even call one of them The Last Man Standing after a fierce battle then-extant President Olusegun Obasanjo waged to bring entire South-west zone into the PDP.

    Tinubu, Fashola and Tunji Bello have made the difference in the matter concerning Lagos environment. The joy in their foray is that they are so informed about the problem and that they deftly access or create skills and expertise needed to confront the challenge. That is why they are winning where the military rulers woefully failed.

    It was not that the military didn’t do a thing. Their best was not good enough because they didn’t have a thorough knowledge of the problem or the solution. Happily, the state has come a long way from those days of yore when the military held sway in Lagos. The giant metropolitan entity was a jungle city, covered in hills of rubbish and enveloped in great stench that oozed from the decomposing wastes.

    Motor-parks, market places and downtown centres at Ojota, Oyingbo, Ladipo, Alaba, Ijora, Oshodi, Yaba, Marina etc, had their hidden vicinities turned into open toilets and dens of mischief.

    Diseases were rampant and death from unsanitary environment was commonplace. The late social activist and leading light, Dr Tai Solarin of that era, regularly hit newspaper front-pages salvaging some of those dead bodies. It got so bad at a stage Lagos clinched the unflattering epithet of being the dirtiest capital in the world.

    These gory environmental circumstances remained prevalent at the onset of this civilian dispensation in Lagos when Senator Bola Tinubu assigned Barrister Tunji Bello as commissioner for the environment. Work commenced. A body of new environmental rules was churned out. Where there is no law there is no offence. It became an offence, for example to throw garbage out of vehicles to the roads or sweep waste into gutters.

    Close on the heel of law enactment were the recruitment and training of officers and men as environment law enforcers. Tens of thousands of sweepers and cleaners were also engaged to keep the Lagos streets spick and span. Thousands of workers were similarly employed to labour and build wastelands in Oshodi, Mile-Two, Ojota, Ketu, Yaba, Palmgrove, Ojuelegba, Marina, Apapa, Costain etc into gardens of flourishing trees and flowers. Major city streets and roads were also paved and planted with trees as boulevards in the making.

    The battle to reclaim the environment also involved the creation of giant dumpsites all over the metropolis to which the huge hills of waste were hauled and incinerated. But in a state with ever-increasing population which generates refuse that rises by six to eight percent per annum, the dumpsites cannot be a final solution.

    Government therefore had to rise to the occasion establishing Waste Transfer Loading Stations. One each had been built at Oshodi and Simpson (Island) before the one in Agege that we now celebrate. Four others are reported to be under construction simultaneously at Ogombo, Abule-Egba, Ishasi and Owutu. The Agege TLS has been built by 850 professionals and artisans in 14 months on a piece of land from which 165,000 metric tonnes of waste was evacuated.

    The great efforts invested on regenerating the Lagos environment under the watch of Commissioner Bello have paid off handsomely. The megacity status has been enhanced. The infrastructure has been modernized. The ability to clean and beautify the state has been established. More jobs are created for the unemployed. More contractors are put to work.

    We now have a state so environmentally stable it can easily demolish the influx of a plague like that by the Ebola Virus Disease which infected the state this year and was effectively repulsed. In the past the EVD would have reigned supreme in Lagos as it now does in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

    The international community has also been very quick in recognizing the metamorphosis of Lagos into a world-class modern state to live in or visit as tourist or business persons. According to MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities’ Index, Lagos has today become the fourth most visited city in Africa with 1.3 million visitors this year.

    In 15 short years, the massive environmental regeneration battle waged by Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Tunji Bello has yielded happy dividends. Environmentally, Eko has become a better city to live in and a famous destination for tourists.

     

    • Amupitan wrote in from Lagos.
  • ‘1,000 environmental offenders prosecuted ’

    ‘1,000 environmental offenders prosecuted ’

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has revealed that a total of 1,186 street traders and hawkers have been arrested.

    No fewer than 1,105 of them, Mohammed said, were prosecuted and convicted, 177 of them sentenced to various jail terms.

    He said 172 beggars and destitute persons alongside 48 minors were arrested by the FCT Administration between September and October.

    FCT Administration, the minister said, is committed to keeping the Abuja environment clean and healthy as it evacuates 57,609.2 tons of solid waste to designated disposal sites between the months of September and October 2014.

    Mohammed disclosed this in Abuja on an official visit.

    His words: “A total of 57,609.2 tons of solid waste was collected and disposed at the designated disposal sites between the months of September and October 2014”.

    He disclosed that the FCT Administration has established temporal dumpsite at Bwari to ease pressure on existing but, inaccessible dumpsites at Gossa and Ajata.

    According to a statement issued by the Asstant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule: “The implementation of the policy on self-serving of housing estates by respective owners/Resident Associations has commenced after three successful stakeholders meetings.”

    The Minister said that his Administration is more than ever determined to continuously keep the Abuja sanitary condition on the high pedestal, as that would proactively contribute to well being of the residents of the Federal Capital Territory.

    Mohammed insisted that the sound health and the well being of the residents of the Territory couldn’t be compromised because it is of paramount importance to his Administration and the way of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He disclosed that the FCT Administration has put on ground an effective machinery to report any environmental nuisance, which is usually cleared within 72 hours of such reports.

    The Minister noted that vegetation control along Bill Clinton Drive, Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airoport, Exit/Entrance Highways and Ring Road 2(RR2) were recently addressed.

  • ‘Environmental health solution to healthcare problems’

    Memories of the 25th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) will linger following what participants termed its uniqueness. The lecture was delivered by Prof A. N. Amadi, Head of Department, Public Health.

    Speaking on “Environmental health: The dynamics, application, implications and way forward in Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system,”  Prof Amadi described environmental health as a polyvalent public health field. He said it is a complex profession but a good area public health.

    Prof Amadi said wrong priorities, lack of political will, preference for curative than preventive health, restriction of decision making to few practitioners, were some of the factors influencing environmental health practice in Nigeria.

    He explained that the implications of environmental health included social misery, widespread damage to human health, pollution to the living environment and water resources, depressed economic productivity

    Prof Amadi said when properly managed, good environmental health could result in decrease in mortality and morbidity rates of sanitation-related diseases; increase in productivity and reduction of poverty, improvement of nutrition and the physical mental growth of children; improvement of school enrolment, attendance and performance; and increase in the survival of people living with HIV/AIDS, among others.

    On the way forward, Prof Amadi called on government and stakeholders to exercise the will-power to do what is right and urgent, adding that decision making in the health sector should be open to many practitioners in the field.

    He also recommended that current environmental health services facilities should be upgraded and  new ones be built.

    In his closing remark, Vice Chancellor, Prof CC Asiabaka  thanked the lecturer for his contributions in the field of environmental health practice in Nigeria.

  • Jonathan accused of aiding ‘environmental terrorism’

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) yesterday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of aiding ‘environmental terrorism’ in Ogoniland. It said the Jonathan administration refused to implement the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland, three years after its release.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people noted that since August 4, 2011 when the UNEP report was released and presented to the President in Abuja,

    the Federal Government had done nothing to ensure the implementation of the recommendations, while Ogoni people were dying from pollution and environmental degradation caused by the activities of an oil company (name withheld).

    The Ogoni urged President Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in Ogoniland.

    MOSOP President Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, at a seminar to mark the three years of the release of the UNEP report, in Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland and the seat of Khana Local Government, said the Federal Government last week raised billions of naira to fight terrorism and support the victims, but was unconcerned about the plight of the Ogoni.

    The seminar, attended by eminent Ogoni people and their friends, had as theme: “Ogoni, UNEP Report and the Search for Environmental Justice”. Prof. Lucky Akaruese was the guest speaker.

  • How environmental activities threaten water resources management

    The sustainability and management of the abundant water resources in the country is being threatened by environmental activities such as land degradation, climate change, deforestation and rapid population growth, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe has said.

    Ochekpe stated this during the National Consultation on Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda last Thursday in Abuja.

    The minister who was represented by Head Technical Support Services in the ministry, Mr. Effiong Bassey said that all these activities have placed tremendous pressure on water resources.

    She said: “Many water bodies in the country have been polluted at an alarming rate through illegal mining”, adding: “Poor farming practice, dumping of waste and effluents discharge from industries, which render them unsuitable for use downstream.”

    Ochekpe noted that world population would increase to 8.3 billion people to 2030 and feeding a world of 8 billion people would require a more efficient use of water.

    She, however, urged stakeholders to ensure and provide measures for improved management of the resources as it would promote water security, peace, stability and prosperity at local and national level.

    Also in his address, representative of the Global Water Partnership Nigeria, Mr. Muslim Idris said the National Consultation would focus on water resources management, waste water management and water quality.

  • Environmental agency chief denies Orji’s endorsement

    Environmental agency chief denies Orji’s endorsement

    The Deputy General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has denied a media report purporting that he has been endorsed by the state governor, Theodore Orji to run for governor in 2015.

    Ikpeazu, addressing journalists in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State described the media report as false, adding that he was yet to declared his intention for the post of the governor.

    According to the ASEPA DGM, “I have not declared interest yet and I don’t need to wait to be chosen before I make my intention known even when I am qualified to do so. PDP is a big party populated by the best brains. The rule in PDP is that you must pass through primaries. No one can just anoint someone just like that.

    “I am still consulting with stakeholders in the party and will wait to hear from them. If it didn’t favour me, I will still continue with the ASEPA job. But for now, I am on the ASEPA job assigned to me by the state government to keep Aba clean.”

    The report generated rumours in the state that Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu had secretly been anointed by Governor Orji as to succeed him.

    The state government, through its Chief Press Secretary, Charles Ajunwa, has equally debunked the report. A statement signed by the CPS stated that Governor Orji believes in justice and equity, adding that the governor has not endorsed anyone for the 2015 governorship position.