Daily Independent (Lagos)
Victor Ebimomi
10 April 2009
analysis
Lagos — Local Fishermen in Badagry Division of Lagos State are in serious anguish.
Their agony is caused by a pollution which is dangerously threatening the core of their existence which is fishing. As a people who have lived all their lives fishing to survive, they have in the past had reasons to contend with one environmental problem or the other; most of which are unnatural but rather due to human actions or inactions that have to do with pecuniary gains. The event of the past week however seems to have overstretched their resilience and perseverance in the face of adversities. The entire stretch of the creek as well as the coastline of Takwa Bay and its environs where they ply their trade suddenly turned black and oily as a result of a substance suspected to petrochemical. At first, when they noticed the change, they had taught perhaps it was just a splash from a bunkering barge or a ship offloading petroleum product at one of the jetties belonging to the numerous oil marketers in Apapa. They however became suspicious that danger was afoot when on the following day, the substance became widespread and more noticeable. Their fear was nevertheless confirmed on the third day when a large number of dead fishes were afloat in the creek and at the river banks. Having got a clear picture of the situation that serious pollution had occurred, the monitoring team of the Lagos State Fishermen Cooperative Association Limited swung into action combing every nook and cranny of the creek to establish the source of the pollution. Their effort later paid off after a few days as they discovered a sunken barge loaded with petrol chemical products at the mid stream of the villages of Igbologun and Ilado near Niger Dock
According to a member of the monitoring team, Kehinde Carew, who also doubles as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the fishermen association, "the spillage was noticed on March 31 but the source was not discovered until April 5 after intensive search by the monitoring team". He added the effect of the pollution cannot be quantified as it has gone beyond the creek and affected a lot of other things. "Apart from killing the fishes in the creek, it has run into fish ponds and pens and killed our fishes. Our drinking water is also now polluted", he said.
Carew, who lives in one of the communities along the creek, asserted that the affected fishermen needed urgent succour "because fishing is our only source of livelihood".
Aliu Balogun, a fisherman who lives in Tomaro village, maintained that since the pollution started everything has been at standstill for him and other members of the fishing community who have grown up to know nothing but fishing.
Several other fishermen living in the fishing villages scattered along the creek expressed great concern that the incident was potentially dangerous for family harmony as "many people are now finding it difficult to feed their families". A man in Ilado even maintained that he had already started feeling the pang of the pollution because he can no longer fulfill some of his financial obligations to his family. "We go fishing everyday. If we don't go we won't have money", he explained.
As the tempo of the lamentations increased and reprieve appears not to be in sight, the fishermen association has decided to take the matter to the doorstep of the relevant government authorities seeking their intervention. In a petition signed by its General Secretary, Chief Fatai Ojulari, which was addressed to the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and General Manager of Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) among others, the association demanded the prosecution of the owners of the barge which it said carried about 90,000 metric tons because of the level of damage it has wrought to the creek and by extension the lives of the fishermen. It also alleged that serious efforts are being made to re-float the barge and escape it from the scene so as to hide the identity of the owners and therefore charged the authorities to act fast.
"We discovered the sunken barge as a crane was hired with many people to re-float it. It has done a lot of great havoc to many communities in the area...Serious efforts to remove the barge overnight to hide the identity of the owners is now going on. Alert the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agencies to track down the owners before they disappear into thin air. The name of the vessel that brought in this product is MT Concept registered in Nigeria with a weight of 13, 000 MTS. The name of the barge carrying the said product after discharge from the above mentioned vessel is REDFFERN. The crane that is re-floating the sunken barge is NUMARY", the petition addressed to the Commissioner of Environment, Muiz Banire, ready in part.
It added that commercial canoe operators are also not left out of the effects of the pollution as it has damaged their canoes and outboard engine and poles, stressing that "all the banks and coaster areas of our lagoon and mangrove woods can be a testimony to our reports".
A cashier at one of the commercial canoe operation points where passengers are ferried across the canal from Ajeromi to Apapa Government Reserved Area (GRA) told Daily Independent that pollution constituted an albatross to the smooth operation of their business.
"Those operating the boat complain about dirt because of the pollution. As you can see it is everywhere. Even passengers complain", she said.
Pathetically as the people are battling with the oil pollution, another one is resurfacing with equal devastation. According to a letter April 6, 2009 and addressed to LASEPA, the fishermen stated that an underwater gas pipeline has leaked at Liverpool mid stream in Apapa emitting harmful smell and killing fishes as well.
Although the fisherman association disclosed that repair work was already going at the place, it however maintained that serious damage has already been done to peasant fishermen and people living within the area claiming that the repair work itself was just a face-saving tactic to cover 'the negligence of the company' that owns the pipeline.
"We are now calling on the General Manager of LASEPA and all security agencies to quickly fling into action to save our members from untimely death as many fishes and animals are now dying in hundred", the petition read, adding that irritating and dangerous smell was still emanating from the leaking gas pipeline.
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