LAGOS:HYDROCARBONS OOZES OUT FREELY AT DUMPING POST
BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU,LAGOS
Hydrocarbons emitted by the years of wastes piled upon one another on open and raw soil
deposits oozed out from the dump site ,but this cannot be any other place but
the popular Olusosun dumping site in Ojota area of Lagos,Nigeria.
So, all roads led to
the Olusosun dumping site at Ojota area of Lagos,Nigeria on the 15th of
May,2018 as members of the Journalist initiative on Sustainable Environment
[J.I.S.E]swarmed on the location to investigate recent developments in the area
in the aftermath of the closure of the location due to a recent fire outbreak
and various complains of the effect pollutants from the area were having on residents of the area.
J.I.S.E delegation which comprised of some of Nigeria's
highly respected journalists converged at the Olusosun Bus stop in Ojota area
of Lagos,Nigeria between nine to around ten in the morning and they then decided to undertake a facility tour that took at least three hours
of trekking around the most of the acres of land in the 47 hectare piece of real estate wonder which was
earmarked by the Lagos state government for its Lagos wastes Management Authority[
LAWMA]to use for waste disposal all through the years.
J.I.S.E members spotted a group of Nigerians that were
moving in already used tyres into a truck which they claimed was due to an
order to that effect by the state government.
At several locations in the 47 hectares estate ,Hydrocarbons
oozed out in form of gaseous factors of Methane from the soil.
Mashed top soil, deeply excavated soil, excavation ,scavenging,
demolition ,brisk business were a common sight at the location as J.I.S.E
visited.
Mr Chubuike Nwabuike from Abia state while speaking to a
cross section of the media at the site pleaded with the government not to
relocate out of the area due to the bad roads leading to Ikorodu where the
state now wishes them to relocate.
He then explained to the gathering how profitable their line
of trade was ,saying that a group could make as much as N25,000 in a month
after all maximum expense but quickly
added of health implication especially for beginners of the trade due to the
poor environmental conditions in which they ply their trade.
A young man who will not give his surname at the site but
who identified himself simply as Mohammed told the reporters that his sibling
was now in police net for working at the site which was there only source of
income.
He pleaded with the state to aid in the release of his
brother as they now have to look for money to get him bailed in prison where he
is locked up.
He told reporters that his father was dead and he currently
lives with his mother who helps to take care of him and other family members.
A source at the site who will not disclose his identities
said that they had embarked presently on the process of capping so as to take
care of smokes and stench coming out of
the land .
At the Lanre Bus stop in igando area of Lagos, Nigeria ,a
parker who works for an environmental agency at the dumping post in the
location told reporters that LAWMA had stopped the dumping of wastes at the
site about seven years ago.
He revealed that he works for an environmental agency that
pays him on a monthly basis for his works.
The team was also at the West African Energy ,the first
material recovering facility in Nigeria which was opened by former Governor
Babatunde Raji Fashola on the 12th of may,2018.
In a related issue,Mrs Afolashade Ola ,General Manager of
the facility told the reporters that her firm was a private concern that deals
basically with wastes as they have a public and private sector synergy with the
state government which allows trucks to
drop wastes with them while they then pick them up for industrial sorting out with
no wastes left behind in the process due essentially to the kind of support
they have being getting from the state government.
MEMBERS OF J.I.S.E AT THE SITES FOR THE FACILITY TOUR IN
LAGOS,NIGERIA ARE AS FOLLOWS
1]Mr Ugochukwu Chimezirim-J.I.S.E.
2]Mr Sam Nzeh,Special Projects Editor,Daily Times of Nigeria
3]Mrs Ugonma Cokey,Assistant Director,Voice of Nigeria
4]Mr Ben Ezeamalu,Managing Editor,Premium Times
5]Mrs Nkoli Uhmohoudu,Presenter,African Independent
Television,Lagos
6]Otcheriwegh Abdulmumini Adeku, Founder E.N.MPaedia Express
Multimedia Group of Lagos,
Nigeria
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