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Environmental Pollution, Cause of Low Life Expectancy in Nigeria – Survey

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Some stakeholders in the South – East of Nigeria have blamed environmental pollution in some parts of the country for low life expectancy of Nigerians, a survey has revealed.

An environmentalist and university lecturer, Prof. Mike Abaribe of Imo State University, noted that residents of communities with high level of oil spillage were exposed to early death.

Abaribe said that besides low life expectancy, agricultural activities would be adversely affected in any area with high level of oil spillage.

In the case of Imo, the don mentioned Oguta and Ohaji-Egbema as local councils with high level of environmental pollution especially oil spillage.

He alleged that successive governments in the state had not done much to regulate oil spillage and other forms of environmental pollution.

Abaribe said government should enact laws criminalizing the use of vehicles and motorcycles with bad exhaust pipes and uncontrolled release of toxic fumes in the air by some factory owners.

A traditional ruler in Awara autonomous community, Eze Okechukwu Ezeala blamed oil spillage in the community on militancy.

Ezeala said oil spillage became pronounced when some group of bandits in the area began to bomb pipelines in the disguise of agitation against marginalisation.

NAN reports that Awara is one of the communities in the oil producing areas of Imo with high level of oil deposit.

The traditional ruler said since the militants began their activities in the area, agricultural activities especially fishing, had been adversely affected.

The Managing Director of Imo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, Mr Charles Orie said government was taking steps to check oil spillage in communities under the commission.

Orie said government had also increased level of security for various pipelines to check vandalism by militants.

A director in the Environmental Transformation Agency (ENTRACO), Mr. Eberechukwu Okorie said government would soon commission its waste recycling industry.

Okorie said although there was a temporary measure put in place by ENTRACO to manage waste in Imo to check environmental pollution, the recycling company would be a permanent solution to waste management.

However, NAN learnt that there is no law in the state to regulate noise pollution.

In Abia, Mr Gospel Adiele, a native of the oil-rich Owaza community in Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state, said that oil spill constituted the major environmental pollution in the area.

According to Adiele, the menace poses serious health hazard to the people of the community, as it destroys farmlands and aquatic life in the area.

“It has destroyed people’s buildings and means of livelihood, including farmlands and streams,” he said.

Adiele added that the community had written several petitions to the state and federal governments for their intervention “all to no avail”.

Speaking on the phenomenon, Mr Nelson Nwafor, the Executive Director of Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development, called on relevant government agencies “to intensify public enlightenment on the dangers of environmental pollution”.

Nwafor described the spate of environmental pollution in Abia as worrisome.

“In most cases, alleged offenders claim ignorance of the hazardous effects of their actions and the existence of an environmental protection law,” he said.

Nwafor said the development made it imperative for intensive enlightenment campaign on the extant Abia State Environmental Protection Law and appropriate sanctions to offenders.

In Anambra State, Dr Emmanuel Okafor, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, says indiscriminate waste disposal is the most prominent factor promoting pollution in the state.

Okafor told NAN that other forms of enviromental pollution experienced in the state were noise and industrial waste.

“In Anambra, the sources of waste include noise pollution, industrial waste pollution and activities of an oil and gas company in the state.

“But, the major problem is indiscriminate disposal of waste. That is quite worrisome and the state government is spending about N150 million to manage disposed waste monthly.

“There is Anambra State Waste Management Authority laws which stipulate how waste should be disposed and how much every household should pay,” he said.

Okafor said government was tackling the problems through provision of more waste collection centres and enforcement.

“The government is working to have special management system for medical waste and three contractors have been contacted to manage the three city centres of Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha.

“Pollution of any type is dangerous to health. For example, if it is noise pollution, you will not be able to sleep and that creates fear in people and affects how they react to their environment.

“There is mental problem challenge, psychological challenge and the smoke from burning waste is injurious to the body, they can be carcinogenic,” he said.

In Ebonyi, some stakeholders in environmental management have expressed the need to formulate effective waste disposal management policy to tackle rising environmental pollution in rural and urban areas.

The stakeholders who spoke with NAN in Abakaliki described environmental pollution as a ‘menace’ threatening human existence.

They however, applauded efforts of the present administration led by Gov. Dave Umahi and his urban waste disposal management policy aimed at combating the phenomenon.

An environmentalist, Dr Kelechi Okezie says that waste are inevitable consequences of human activities.

According to Okezie, waste are either by-products of initial production processes or they arise when objects or materials are discarded after they have been used.

The environmentalist is also the Executive Director, Neighborhood Environmental Watch- Foundation.

Okezie says that waste products that cause environmental pollution are more in the urban centres due to high demography in these areas.

He noted that a lot of hazardous waste, either solid or liquid, were released daily and were harmful to humans and the environment.

The environmentalist observed that open defecation contributed to a large percentage of environmental pollution adding that water bodies, air, and the earth surface, were negatively affected due to the practice.

He commended the Federal Government for launching action to end open defecation in Nigeria by the year 2025 adding that Ebonyi government also launched ‘Use the Toilet Campaign’ to fight the deadly practice.

Okezie said that Ebonyi was rated among the highest, in respect of states practising open defecation with about 1.6 million people without access to toilets.

“The state, in a bid to achieve open defecation free status and contain environmental pollution and degradation, on Nov. 25, 2020 launched the ‘Clean Ebonyi, Use the Toilet Campaign,” he said.

Okezie noted that mining activities, emissions from industrial activities and carbon monoxide from engines also contributed to environmental pollution.

He called on authorities to ensure that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) signed by mining operators are complied with.

Mr Jonah Egba, Commissioner for Environment, said that his ministry was synergising with line ministries and civil society organisations to tackle rising environmental challenges in the state.

Egba said the state government in 2020 rolled out policies to enhance the environment saying it had become an offence for mining and quarry companies as well as businesses, not to adhere to provisions of EIA documents they signed.

Mr Emeka Atukpa, environmental activist, said that Ebonyi government had done a lot to enhance the environment through its waste management strategy as well as urban renewal programme.

On environmental laws, Mrs Chinwe Nwuko, Head of Department, Pollution Control Department, Enugu State Ministry of Environment, says the ministry is yet to make laws against environmental pollution.

Nwuko said that the ministry was using regulations and laws made by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and the Federal Ministry of Environment.

She said that the ministry through its Pollution Control Department had adopted measures to control noise pollution in the environment, including those from places of worship.

Nwuko said that some of the regulations included but not limited to, those prohibiting places of worship from operating with their public address systems outside their auditoriums.

She also said that the control of noise pollution affected the activities of music vendors and mobile sales promoters.

According to Nwuko, the permissible noise limit during the day should not exceed 60 decibels while that of the night should not exceed 40 decibels.

She said that places of worship, music vendors, mobile sales promoters and others were expected to get a noise permit from the ministry and strictly abide by the terms.

“The ministry ensures that factories establish dumpsters for solid waste disposal and effluent treatment plant for liquid waste treatment before disposal into the environment,” Nwuko said.

However, the Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, Enugu State Ministry of Transport, Mr Val Chime, said that the state had a law against excessive release of toxic fumes by vehicles.

Chime said that the law was known as ‘Enugu State Road Traffic Regulation 2014’, adding that violators were liable to a N10,000 fine and the affected car impounded.

The Head of Environmental Health of the ministry, Mrs Joy Nwagwu, said it would be difficult to strictly enforce laws on emission of fumes and smoke from road vehicles into the environment.

Nwagwu also said that certain industrial waste could not be controlled “because even if you use waste/exhaust pipes, such waste will still end up in the air which is part of the environment”.

“For waste like sullage or sewages, they can be controlled by digging a catchment pit with cover slab for the waste water to be collected,” she said.

On open defecation, the Coordinator, Small Town Sanitation Unit, Enugu, Mr Christopher Ogbu said that such practice could cause water borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhea and others.

Ogbu said that the best remedy for open defecation and urination was for the authorities to build public water closet toilets at strategic places and offices. (NAN)

Environment

Erosion Control Project: Gombe SEC Approves N389m Compensation for Residents

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The Gombe State Executive Council (SEC) has approved payment of N389 million as compensation for residents that would be affected by the gully erosion control project at Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical and its surrounding communities.

The Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Malam Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.

Magaji said the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.

He said almost 1000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.

According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.

Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.

“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost a 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.

“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they are able to have good livelihood,” he said.

The commissioner for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.

Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.

She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools were already being upgraded to global standards.

“We have seen construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed a N12 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within Gombe metropolis.

The project is under ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria. (NAN)

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Environment

Fire Razes Household Properties Estimated at Millions of Naira

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The Ebonyi Fire Service, on Tuesday confirmed that a fire incident destroyed properties estimated at millions of naira at the residence of Mr Chris Uchaji, a former commissioner in the state.

Mr Raphael Ibiam, the Chief Fire Officer of the agency, said that the inferno was suspected to have been caused by an electrical spark within the building.

He explained that the fire razed valuable household properties in three rooms of the storey building.

He said no life was lost in the incident as his men responded promptly and was later assisted by the Federal Fire Service.

“At about 0800 hours, there was a fire outbreak at 13 Lawrence Ónór street, off Nna street.

“It destroyed properties in a storey building belonging to Mr Chris Uchaji, a Former State Commissioner for Solid Mineral Development,” Ibiam said.

Uchaji told newsmen shortly after the incident, that he was at the stadium with his wife for morning exercise when he received a distress call from his security man that his family house was on fire.

“We quickly rushed to the scene, only to see many people on a rescue mission as the whole house had been engulfed.

“I suspected it was due to an electrical spark and it started in my wife’s room, where my six-year-old daughter was sleeping.

“The intensity of the fire was high and it spread to other rooms, causing massive damage, but thank God no life was lost.

“I thank God for people’s goodwill and the fire service. Though the state fire service came here, their water finished early, but with the intervention of federal firefighters, they were able to control the fire.” Uchaji said.(NAN)

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Nigeria’s NGO Takes Plights of Local Communities to COP28

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Connected Advocacy for Empowerment and Youth Development, a Nigeria-based NGO, has called for the involvement of local communities in decision-making on climate solutions in order to build a sense of responsibility and unity.

Mr Israel Orekha, Executive Director of the NGO, made the call on Monday in his address at a side event organised at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai.

“The event is themed “Putting Local Community First in Climate Agenda.

’’

Orekha advocated policy changes that incentivised and prioritised sustainable practices at the local and national levels

According to him, empowering communities through participation will ensure that solutions align with local needs.

He also called for inclusive policies that addressed both environmental and social aspects of clean energy transitions.

The executive director particularly canvassed for the consideration of local community in the clean energy transition plan.

The local community, he said, needed clean energy transition parks and not false solutions.

“Clean energy transition parks not only combat climate change but also strengthen community resilience.

“Local involvement in these parks is key to addressing pressing environmental challenges.

“Beyond jobs, clean energy engagement enhances community knowledge about sustainable practices.

“Involving communities in clean energy decisions fosters responsibility and unity.

“Local job opportunities and skill development can result from participation in the renewable energy sector.”

Orekha also underscored the importance of transparency in decision-making processes so as to discern genuine solutions from greenwashing.

“False solutions can perpetuate environmental injustice, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities.

“False solutions, like greenwashing, hinder genuine progress.

“Thorough research and community input are essential for sustainable solutions,’’ he said.

Reports says that clean energy parks are separate areas used and planned for the purpose of clean energy development, like wind and solar generation facilities.(NAN)

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