Expert calls for enlightenment campaign on black soot effects in Niger Delta

A University don and environmentalist, Prof. Akuro Gobo, has called for an aggressive enlightenment on the dangers of black soot in the Niger Delta. Professor Gobo who is a senior lecturer at the Rivers State University of Technology, said that those involved in the illegal refining business did not know the health implications of their actions on their environment. According to the environmentalist who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt, the cabals running the illegal refineries in the region were so strong that it would be difficult to end the ongoing black soot in the state. He said: “There have to be a lot of enlightenment programmes even making those running the programme to know that their lives are also at stake. You want to survive but you need to be alive to survive. So there should be aggressive enlightenment programme. Professor Aguro Gobo furthermore said that the security agency had compromised in the fight against illegal refining in the Niger Delta region. “So the enlightenment will not only end with the people involved. It should also involve the security agents because we all know that if the security agents say no, it will stop. If the security agents arrest and hand them over to the appropriate authorities, most of them will stop but the security agents have also compromised. “The other people that must be well enlightened are the security agents. They should know that the adverse effects of the activities of illegal refiners affect everyone, including themselves and their relatives,” he stated. Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt