Wednesday, 16 May 2018

LAGOS:HYDROCARBONS OOZES OUT FREELY AT DUMPING POST



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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