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Early this month, the Oyo State Government raised the alarm over the spillage of a poisonous chemical into a flowing river linking several communities. A visit by ALFRED OLUFEMI to the affected areas revealed an alarming environmental pollution, likely to cause extensive damage to the ecosystem, and the authorities’ alleged moves to downplay the life-threatening development
In the afternoon of Wednesday, August 31, Shakiru Omonisigun, an artisan in Onisigun, one of the remote villages in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, saw a horrid sight that made him cringe.
Wearing a loose-fitting shirt over a brown trouser, the middle-aged man, who had lived in the area for decades, was walking leisurely past Iroko, a roadside village along Ibadan-Oyo highway, when he discovered a foamy substance on the surface of a flowing river that snaked through several communities and settlements in the LG.
Stunned and momentarily forgetting the effect of the scorching sun on his dark skin, he moved closer to get a better view of what he felt was an unusual happening.
It was then he noticed that a truck had been involved in an accident and was embedded in the thickets close to the river.It was lying on its side and had been forcefully opened by the impact of the crash and the liquid substance it was conveying, emptied into the river.
As a confused Shakiru walked away, still trying to figure out what he saw, little did he know that the spilt substance was actually a hazardous chemical, and had travelled downstream, contaminating rivers and other freshwater bodies several kilometres from the actual spot of the accident.
Dead, floating fishes
Speaking with our correspondent later about what he saw, the artisan said it was later that he got to know that the foamy substance he saw was toxic, as he later discovered that fishes in neighbouring communities including, Onisigun, which is three kilometres from Iroko, have been killed in their hundreds and were seen floating.
He said, “I went back to the river and saw that the chemical had killed lots of fishes and the foamy substance, which was all over the place, looked like soap. I went to five villages where the river flows through and discovered that fishes there were also dead. When I got to my village, Onisigun, the same thing had happened.” He noted that the fishes looked rotten and unappealing for consumption.
Another resident, Saadat Jimoh, painted a more vivid picture of what she discovered days after the contamination.The woman, who is in her late 40s, told PUNCH Investigations that she noticed that the water in a nearby stream, where residents usually fish, had turned black and the fishes caught were dead and extremely soft.
It was learnt that by the time the news spread, there was pandemonium in the area.
She said, “People trooped there when an alarm was raised. The fishes that were taken from there were not good for consumption because they were too soft and looked swollen.”
Jimoh said a few days later, some men in uniforms, whom she suspected to be from the Oyo State Government, visited the community to enquire if anyone had eaten the fish. She added, “We told them no. They left and warned us against eating the fish or using water from the stream to do anything.’’
How it all started
As earlier stated, the genesis of what aptly fits the description of a monumental environmental pollution was an accidented truck that emptied its toxic substance into a once pristine river with tributaries serving as sources of drinking water, irrigation for farms and fishing points in the LG.
Several residents of Iroko that spoke with our correspondent said they woke up to hear about the accident that took place along the highway, but did not know exactly when it happened.However, a few said they saw officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Oyo State Transport Management Agency at the scene of the accident trying to remove the truck.
From all indications, it was obvious that they are unaware of the magnitude of danger they were exposed to and the likely impact on their lives moving forward.
Confirming the incident, the FRSC Sector Commander in Oyo State, Joshua Adekanye, told our correspondent that the accident occurred when the chemical-laden truck was trying to avoid a truck that fell down earlier along the highway.
“The truck fell in the night and we were making arrangements to get a crane to remove it from the road. The accident involving the truck carrying chemicals took place in the early hours of the morning. The driver, while attempting to avoid colliding with the first truck, lost control, veered into the bush and had its content spilled into the river,” the FRSC boss explained.
An alert too late
Curiously, nothing was heard about the incident until seven days later, by which time, the possibility of people drinking the contaminated water, using it on their farms, or consuming the fishes, appeared high.Recall that the incident took place on August 31, but the Oyo State Government, on September 7, issued an “alert” to residents of Ijaiye, Ido, Olowo-Igbo, Iseyin and Ibarapa communities, warning them against drinking water from their streams.
The warning was signed by the Commissioner for Information and Tourism, Wasiu Olatunbosun.
Referencing the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Abiodun Oni, he noted that a truck conveying chemical emptied its content into a drainage and it was eventually washed into streams passing through the five communities.
He stated, “Oni said the truck was involved in an accident at Iroko-Oyo highway while conveying substances presumed to be soap-making chemicals. Oni revealed that the soap-making chemical, which fell off into the drainage, ended up contaminating the streams passing through the five communities, hence impairing the quality of the water and rendering it toxic to humans and the environment at large.”
Olatunbosun warned farmers and fishermen to suspend every activity within the vicinity until all the water bodies had been tested and considered safe for consumption.The commissioner gave an assurance that the state government was on top of the situation and that the environment ministry had swung into action.
“The ministry had dispatched some of its staff to the affected areas to continue to monitor the situation while also conducting water sampling, until the water can be ascertained to be safe for consumption,” he stated.
Chemical contamination, implications
According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, chemical contamination is used to indicate situations where chemicals are either present where they should not be, or are at higher concentrations than they would naturally have occurred.
NIWA noted that the accumulation of these substances in aquatic environments can cause environmental problems.
On potential impacts of chemical contaminants on water quality, the institute noted that it can lead to loss of aquatic life, decreased water clarity, adding that some contaminants, such as mercury, may bioaccumulate in animal tissues and be carried to human consumers of the fish.Chemical still litter accident scene