The long standing peaceful relationship between Lafarge Cement and its host communities in and around Ewekoro in Ogun State is being threatened by complaints over dust pollution by the villagers. ERNEST NWOKOLO reports that the company is however intensifying efforts to make life and the environment better for the people.
Fifty four years after it first set up business in Ewekoro, Ogun State extracting and blasting limestone to make cement, all seem not to be well between the West African Portland Cement (WAPCO), now Lafarge Cement and its host communities.
The dozen or so communities playing host to the two giant cement plants and a host of quarries around the area are not happy with the dust coming out of the company’s plants which they claim is harmful to them and their environment.
They are, therefore, calling on Lafarge to reduce the dust emission to zero level . In addition they want a higher share of the company’s profit as well as more employment opportunies for their children and more empowerment programmes for the unemployed among them.
But Lafarge, while not dismissing the communities call for a dust free environment said it was doing its utmost to make life better for the people adding that the level of dust being emitted by the company is too low to cause any harm to the peoples health.
When the company began business in 1959 at a location few meters away from the present home of the Baale of Ewekoro community, Chief Satari Lawal, little did the largely uninformed villagers then know about what challenges lay ahead.
The villagers had not only thought it was merely a factory with small quarry occupying a negligible piece of land for their operation, but were also un-educated on the likely impacts the company’s activities would have on their environment among others.
And few years after commencement of operation, the chicken came home to roost – the deafening noise from blast at the quarry, the effect of the accompanying vibration as well as the routine plume of dust being emitted into space, soon became major sources of worries to the Ewekoro community.
It was gathered that the company, about 43 years ago, wanted members of the Ewekoro community to move to another location but the people refused, saying they would not leave their ancestral land and thus, compelling WAPCO PLC (now Lafarge Cement) to not only suspend quarry work in Ewekoro village, but also moved some kilometres away into remote locations to resume quarry/limestone extraction for its cement.
Today, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc, has not only morphed from a small factory, to become a leading cement manufacturing company in the country, but has also built an additional 2.5 million metric tons capacity cement plant.
The new plant designated as Ewekoro II and commissioned in 2011, churned out its first finished cement for the Nigerian market September 16, 2011.
The company also went a step further to ensure a steady production without power interruption at the plant by installing a 90 MW Power Plant, that was inaugurated by the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
While these remain good news as it would enhance Lafarge’s ability to be adding about 12,000 tons of cement to the Nigeria cement market daily, create more jobs for Nigerians among others, the company’s expansion and the attendant activities are also leaving, albeit unintended, sweet – bitter taste to some.
Last week, a dozen of communities including Ewekoro which co – host Lafarge Cement WAPCO PLC called on the company’s management to consider their safety and do something to mitigate the impacts of its operation on them and the environment. The 12 communities are Lapeleke, Akinbo, Oke – Oko, Egbado, Sekoni, Olujobi, Papalanto, Ewekoro, Egba -Ajegunle, Elebute, Alagunto and Itori.
According to the people, while the first eight communities are situated on areas referred to as ‘limestone belt,’ the four others though have limestone, but quarrying of it can’t take place there as they are homes only to the Lafarge plants and chimney.
Their representatives which included the chairman, Lafarge host Communities’ Employment Committee, Chief Olaleye Olalekan, Baale of Ewekoro, Chief Satar Lawal, Baale of Akinbo, Chief Rasheed Balogun, Baale of Egba Ajegunle, Chief Joshua Oniyitan and the youth leader for the 12 communities, Segun Oniyitan, want the dust and smoke emissions from the company reduced drastically to a zero level when they spoke to The Nation.
They also urged the company to quickly relocate the people of Oke – Oko Sekoni and Oke Egbado communities to safe locations away from quarry sites since the villagers are “prone to the effects of blasting at the quarry.”
Again, they want the company to also install efficient dust collection technology at the plants to “protect residents against air pollution.”
The villagers equally hinted that they are passionate about the ties with their departed loved ones, especially their ancestors.
Some of them indicated that they would not only exhume and take the remains of their ancestors along with them to the new location to be provided, but also expect that Lafarge should bear the cost of reburying their departed ones.
According to them, “our departed parents are the links to our past and we won’t leave them behind even if it is only their teeth we could find when exhumed from where they are resting, we will carry such teeth along.”
Interestingly, the people admitted that a dust collector equipment procured and installed recently by the company had reduced the pervasive dust in their communities by about 75 percent but said they want it eliminated totally.
It is understandable why the communities are grumbling over dust and smoke emission.
A visit to some of them like Akinbo, Ewekoro among others, revealed a people that had continued to contend with a cloud of dust and smoke constantly over their mid – sky and which often settle thickly on their roofs, inside their houses, and any personal item left in the open.
Washing and drying clothes in the open is a huge challenge as they get quickly dirtied and discoloured by limestone dust emission. The impact is more on villages near Lafarge’s operational base.
Their experience is pathetic and it is being said that some parents have resorted to giving their children oil and milk to lick frequently to eliminate the effects of inhaling dust daily but there was nobody willing to confirm or deny this.
And there has equally not been any report or case of the villagers developing health challenge such as bronchial problem and though, The Nation gathered that Lafarge aside building health centres in its host communities, it also routinely send medical team to carry out random medical testing and examinations on the people to ascertain their health status, ostensibly to ensure that nobody is at risk on account its activities.
But one of the Baales told The Nation that the fact that there has not been any report of a major health challenge to the people does not mean there is none because most of the people, out of fear of what the result could be, are not going for test or coming out for test when Lafarge’s medical team comes around. “This makes it difficult to conclusively say that none of the villagers has any health problem linked to the effect of inhaling the dust from the quarry/cement factory”, he said.
But there are indeed health challenges associated with inhaling this type of dust according to health experts. For example, hazard assessment document on Portland cement dust published by UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding effects of repeated exposure to cement dust, identified some likely health challenges.
The HSE (1994) “noted evidence that repeated exposure of humans to Portland cement has produced rhinitis, chronic productive cough (chronic bronchitis) slight abnormalities on chest radiography and impaired pulmonary function.”
However, it is not clear if similar report has been documented by anybody or organisation on the Nigerian situation with regards to long term exposure to cement dust by Nigerians either living near cement factories or working there as employees. While it is not unlikely that such a report exists, the Nigerian law provides for redress for anybody affected by such fumes/dust.
An Abeokuta based lawyer Mr Kizito Robert said there are regulations governing the handling of an industrial emission and that individuals or a community has rights to sue a firm whose operation posed grave health risk to them.
Kizito noted that some fumes could be poisonous or hazardous to humans and said if there is an established case of harm – health challenge, which can incontrovertibly be traced to the emitted fumes or dust, affected persons have rights to sue the company responsible the emission.
According to him, if proven, victims are entitled to commensurate damages because it has to do with humans’ safety and survival.
While the jury is still out on the effect of the company’s operations on the people’s health, their environment is in a terrible shape, while farming their main economic activity is being seriously hampered by the dust emission.
Their roads are deplorable, some of the villages do not have accessible roads, and where they exist, there are riddled with potholes and often flooded whenever it rains.
The Baale of Akinbo, Chief Rasheed Balogun and his counterparts in Ewekoro, Chief Lawal described the impact of the “dusts” as being “terrible.”
The duo noted that their people were popular with vegetables farming, but rued that they have since waved bye to that aspect of their lives because of dust invasion.
For Satar Lawal, the affected communities would be happier if the air pollution via dust following limestone blasting and processing activities by Lafarge could be reduced totally.
Lawal said, “We are known for growing vegetables and other crops but the dust from the production activities of Lafarge normally settles on them. This means we have to wash and keep washing them thoroughly before either sending them to the market or cooking. We are appealing to them to bring the dust level to zero level.”
These representatives who spoke at the Palace of the Baale of Akinbo in Akinbo village nonetheless lauded the company for its Corporate Social Responsibility which they said reflected in the areas of education, provision of portable water as well as road construction but said these are “mere drops of water in an ocean.”
They also acknowledged that the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Joe Hudson and the Plant Managers, have been proactive in attending to issues touching their environment, safety and welfare unlike what hitherto obtained when some Nigerians were at the helms of affairs.
For example, Chief Balogun, said work has commenced on the road being constructed for Akinbo community, he appealed to the company to expedite action on it to make the community accessible during the rainy season.
Balogun said, “the company has commenced work on the concrete 2.5km road it promised us in Akinbo, about 500 metres have been done. We want it to expedite action on it, because the rains are here and we all know the implication of that.
“We want to commend the company for its many interventions in the area of health care, education, electrification, potable water, economic empowerment and offering of scholarship to our children in many communities. But we believe they can still do more.”
Also, the Baale of Egba Ajegunle, Chief Joshua Oniyitan, lending his voice, noted that about 70 per cent of Lafarge’s production activities are being carried out in Ewekoro and surrounding villages, and called on the management to employ more of their youths in the company.
Similarly, Chief Olaleye Olalekan , Baale of Ewekoro, identified areas where the company had intervened to include borehole, provision of transformers, health centres, human resource development, building of blocks of classrooms and the introduction of Lafarge Apprenticeship Training School for their youths.
But now they are also making a three-point demand which Lafarge should address. They want to have a fraction of the company’s annual profit, an increment in the yearly grant to each of the 12 host – communities and more employment opportunities for their youths.
According to them, what the company had been giving them as annual grants were mere palliative, considering the negative impacts of their activities on their lives and environment and what the company garner annually as profits.
When The Nation visited Lafarge Cement Ewekoro plant last week the company said it was aware of the villagers’ complaints, and was also taking steps to make life better for them.
It explained that it was determined “to be the preferred neighbour to the host communities” adding that it equally “meant good” to them.
The company admitted that it was not a big ambition for the villagers to demand a zero level of dust emission in their environment but said the amount of the dust being emitted today are not such that could “pose health hazard to the people,” adding that it may not be possible for someone to live near the ocean without feeling cold.
The Community Relations and Communication Manager Mr Ogunleye Festus told The Nation they are executing many projects in the 12 communities yearly based on what each of the affected communities considered a priority need.
Ogunleye noted that the company was also actively involved in the building of schools, youth empowerment and training, scholarship, care for the elderly, less privilege and the orphans as well as building of roads and grant of financial assistance to their host communities.
According him, this is not a once in a while intervention but a continuous exercise as the people’s genuine needs arise.
He assured that Lafarge was “very committed” to relocating villagers living near the quarry but said thing had to be done properly while the issues of relocating the departed loved ones were equally settled.
He said: “It is a fact we are relocating some communities, we are very committed to relocating those people located on the limestone deposit. We have cleared the site meant for them, the process is going on and before the end of the year much would be achieved.
“It is just that they want it to happen now but there are usually issues involved with movement of people, there is going to be documentation among other things.”
Regarding the quest for a fraction of the company’s yearly profit, he said the communities are already benefiting and partaking in the share of it through sundry projects being executed for them, adding when the cake gets bigger, their share of it would also get bigger.
Ogunleye said:”profit sharing involves many stakeholders – workers, management, governments, investors and host communities. It is from profits taxes are paid, salaries and wages are also paid and the needs of the communities addressed.
“It is a continuous thing. When the cake is big, the share of it would also be big. If we didn’t make profit last year, I don’t know what would have happened to community projects.”
Also, Dr. Taiwo Agbede, the company’s training manager, said no fewer than 12 youths from the communities received specialised training in some engineering aspects of cement production.
And last week, The Nation also observed 21 youths drawn from the host communities taking lectures at company’s Apprenticeship Training Centre where the beneficiaries are currently undergoing 18 months intensive training.
According to Agbede, the trainees are also given allowances throughout the training, free feeding and medical care at the company’s clinic.
While all these are being undertaken by Lafarge to assuage the anger of her host communities, it is left to be seen if the beneficiaries are contented as they kept harping on their grievances.
And they expressed the hope that the company would listen to them, attend to their demand and not create a situation as was the case in the past where it would first take protests and blocking of the entrance to the quarry sites by the youths before Lafarge makes a move. How far the Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc can resolve this only time will tell.
