Dapo AKINREFON

In this interview with  journalists, Chief Robert Enogha, Commissioner for Environment in Bayelsa State, spoke on the battle by the government to rescue the environment and make it safe for everyone. Excerpts:

The Bayelsa State government is organising a summit on the environment. What is it all about?

I welcome you my friends to this media forum. As you must have been aware, the environment is our heritage and as individuals, we are duty bound to make sure that we do everything possible to protect the environment. As corporate bodies, we are duty bound to make sure that in the course of our oil exploration activities, we do not endanger the lives of the host communities through gas flare and oil spills.

And, as a government, the onus is on us to make sure that the laws are obeyed, to make sure that the residents keep their environments clean and to make sure the oil companies perform their corporate social responsibilities to the communities.

We decided to organise the summit which is holding between December 14 and 15 so that stakeholders will have the opportunity to brainstorm on the environmental challenges of Bayelsa State and then find a lasting solution to the problem and at the event, we shall be launching what we call the Fresh Air Initiative, a campaign tool that is aimed at sensitizing the people and corporate citizens in the state on the gains of a clean, green and pollution free environment. You will recall that Mr President talked about this same fresh air during his campaigns.

Mr Enogha

The government of Chief Timipre Sylva has therefore decided to expand the agenda of Mr President and has thought of using that slogan in contemplating the campaign for an era of fresh air in our state. Of course Mr President is from Bayelsa State and he should be proud that the fresh air dream is being actualised in Bayelsa State. We are expecting Mr President and other stakeholders, including the oil firms, NGOs, environmentalists, community leaders, the host oil communities, fellow commissioners of environment from the south- south, et cetera.

As you may have known already, many pollution sources, including cars, manufacturing and chemical plants and products used in homes release smog-forming pollutants. Winds blow the pollutants away from their sources and the heat of the summer sun causes chemical reactions that form ground level ozone-a principal component of smog. Hours after the smog-forming pollutants are released from their sources; smog pollutes the air, often many miles away from where the pollutants were released.

Our mission in the Ministry of Environment is to protect human health and the environment of Bayelsa and its neighbours. To achieve this, we are implementing a variety of programmes. The campaign is to help us in reducing outdoor, or ambient concentrations of air pollutants that cause smog, haze, acid rain, and other problems, promote the protection of health and environment and to conserve valuable material and energy resources, move against the action of oil exploiting companies and multinationals that flare gas and degrade the environment through oil spillages and slits as well as the operations of illegal refineries, discourage the deforestation and illegal burning of bushes and other rubber substances, reducing emissions of toxic air pollutants that are known to, or are suspected of causing cancer or other serious health effects; and phasing out production and use of chemicals that destroy stratospheric ozone.

Why the concentration on Air Pollution?

We are not just concentrating on air pollution. But we are mindful of the fact that you could go days without food and hours without water, but you would last only a few minutes without air. On the average, each of us breathe over 3,000 gallons of air each day. We all need air to live.

However, do you know that breathing polluted air can make you sick? Air pollution can damage trees, crops, other plants, lakes, and animals. In addition to damaging the natural environment, air pollution also damages buildings, monuments, and statues. It not only reduces how far you can see in national parks and cities, it even interferes with aviation.

Breathing polluted air can make your eyes and nose burn. It can irritate your throat and make breathing difficult. In fact, pollutants like tiny airborne particles and ground level ozone can trigger respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma. Today, nearly 32 million adults and children in Nigeria have been diagnosed with asthma. Asthma sufferers can be severely affected by air pollution. Air pollution can also aggravate health problems for the elderly and others with heart or respiratory diseases.