Nigerian cities lack proper waste management schemes  – Report

Municipal and industrial pollution have been identified as a major environmental problem in Nigeria as most cities of the country lack proper solid waste management schemes.

Presenting a paper titled “Achieving Environmental Sustainability In Nigeria In Line With ‘Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis Encyclical on The Environment” at the Kolping Society of Nigeria (KSN) auditorium, Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the Mater Dei, Catholic Cathedral Administrator and lecture presenter, Very Rev. Fr. Paschal Okechukwu Opara, highlighted other environmental problems to include population growth, urbanisation; farming practice, exploitation for firewood,  uncontrolled logging; petroleum exploration activities, solid wastes, deforestation, desertification, soil and coastal erosion as well as mining wasteland.

At the event which marked the 2016 Bishop Lucius IwejuruUgorji’s annual public lecture organised by the Kolping Society of Nigeria, Fr. Opara disclosed that the monitoring and control of industrial waste in the country were inefficient, saying, “in many cases, effluents from industrial processes are simply allowed to flow into public drains and rivers where they can percolate into surface or ground water”.

He lamented that the quest to be productive has necessitated the exploitation activities by man as the developmental effort in all spheres, which include manufacturing, processing, industrialisation, housing, construction, agriculture, rural and urban growth and development have subjected the environment to changes that are being witnessed today, adding that the negative impact has brought its own problems resulting from lack of control and negligence.

He maintained that the petroleum industry contributes a substantial quota to Nigeria’s environmental pollution, saying: “Between 1976 and 1997, more than 2,676 separate oil pipeline spill incidents were reported in the country. Equipment malfunctioning, corrosion of aged pipelines, sabotage of oil installations by militants and oil thieves are the major drivers of this phenomenon. Global estimates also show that flaring of Nigeria’s gas contributes significantly to the world’s carbon dioxide emission.”

The clergyman pointed out that solid waste management has emerged as a major environmental threat for cities in developing countries, worldwide, stating that, “solid waste management has gained notoriety in Nigeria today because of its visibility and the embarrassment it has constituted to the image of the nation.

He said that “only few state capitals have been able to put in place fairly sustainable urban waste management programmes. It is therefore a common site to find  mountains of waste scattered all over our cities for days or even weeks with no apparent effort  displayed at getting rid of them, even with the attendant  risk of air and ground-water pollution.”

Extensive exploration and production of petroleum in Nigeria’s sedimentary basins, especially in the Niger Delta area, he said, has opened up such areas to massive pollution, stating: “There is the recurring threat of pollution from normal exploration and production activities such as leakages from pipelines and production platforms. The recent spate of activism in the Niger Delta region has further aggravated this threat as oil thieves now burst into pipelines, leaving thousands of barrels of crude oil to flow into the swamps and creeks”.

Earlier in her address, KSN Executive Director, Sr. Mary Genevieve Okoro, stated that Kolping encourages individuals to take active part in the social, political and religious activities in their locality, using their God-given talents to serve the Church and society in which they live.

Her words, “incidentally the Pope’s Encyclical on which today’s topic revolves,is tantamount to the spirit of Fr. Adolph Kolping, the organization’s guiding principle of protecting the environment and protecting the Church’s social teachings.”

According to her, Kolping Society is committed to positive change of the individual person through change of behaviour and lifestyle, with the aid of education, good Christian living and absolute trust in God.

The lecture attracted personnel from NRCRI, Umudike, the state’s ministries of Youth Development, Planning Commission, Women Affairs, the pious groups, clergymen, traditional rulers, Sir Emmanuel Ejiogu of the Lumen Press, KSN National Coordinator, among others.