…demands efforcement of laws safeguarding health of Nigerians

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate 2025 World Health Day, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Monday, tasked to eliminate use of dangerous chemicals in food production following increasing diseases and deaths among.

In a chat with Vanguard, the Executive Director, HOMEF, Arc Nnimmo Bassey, said the chemicals burden upon Nigerians as far as their health is concerned is largely traceable to the food they consume, which mostly are planted with synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals.

Bassey said federal and state governments are to ensure appropriate measures to ensure availability and accessibility of potable water and environmental sanitation.

The 2025 World Health Day theme ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,’ and its a Day celebrated each year on April 7th, marking the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about critical health issues facing the world and mobilizing efforts to address them.

He said: “State governments should put measures in place to carry out regular health and environmental audits. This should be followed by appropriate measures to ensure availability and accessibility of potable water and environmental sanitation should not be restricted to demolition of so-called illegal structures.

“States and local governments should enforce laws against indiscriminate dumping of wastes especially plastic wastes. States should invest in waste water treatment plants, treat sewage and other industrial wastes before they are released into the environment.

“Governments at all levels should enforce laws against the indiscriminate use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides especially those banned in the international market for being hazardous and yet are exported to Nigeria.

“We should adopt agroecological practices which will eliminate the need for harmful chemicals that pollute our food supply.

“There should be better synergy in the roles played by various agencies responsible for safeguarding the health of Nigerians with respect to food; the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council, the Federal and State Ministries of Health, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and others.

“HOMEF also advocates for stricter regulations on the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, which not only pollute the environment and cause various health complications but also affect our export market with up to 60 per cent of our food products being rejected according to NAFDAC in 2024. “

Meanwhile, according to him, HOMEF has made significant achievements in ensuring the lives of Nigerians are placed as a priority against corrupt practices that endangers their lives including food production and the environment generally.

“HOMEF’s work has been instrumental in creating awareness and building knowledge on the implications of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other harmful agriculture models on Nigeria’s food systems and food sovereignty.

“HOMEF with support of over 70 other organisations has made strong calls for a critical review of the National Biosafety Management Agency Act to close existing loopholes including the absence of a strict liability clause, poor public participation measures, problematic composition of the decision making board of the agency, among others.

“Owing to the constant advocacy by HOMEF and allies, the House of Representatives in 2024 adopted a motion to suspend introduction of new GMOs into the country and mandated a critical review of processes of approvals so far. The House of Reps also held a public hearing in November 2024 to that effect.

“It is our call that the critical issues raised by researchers, civil society organisations, farmers, legal practitioners among others are not swept under the rug but are critically reviewed and followed by the necessary actions to protect the health of the Nigerian people, our food system and environment.

“Surveys have shown that there are several imported genetically engineered food products on our market shelves. Nigerians hardly check the labels to ascertain the nature of foods they are consuming.

“There is also scant evidence to show that the products are approved for importation in line to biosafety laws and regulations. Importantly and very concerning is the fact that GMOs planted in Nigeria cannot be labeled and both consumers and farmers do not know what they are dealing with.

“This is totally against the labeling clauses in the biosafety act. It is unethical to ambush farmers to plant GMOs under the guise of improved varieties, and even worse to force Nigerians to consume GMO maize, beans or cassava without full disclosure that these are not natural varieties.”