News in brief: Nigeria river authority emphasised the importance of maintaining clean water bodies for promoting clean behaviours during the 2023 World Rivers Day celebration in Kwara State. It made a call to address issues like pollution, industrial development, urbanisation, and climate change affecting Nigeria’s rivers.
The Lower Niger River Basin Authority (LNRBDA) has called on Nigerians to cultivate the habit of maintaining clean water bodies, hammering on its significance in promoting clean behaviours.
The organisation’s managing director, Dr. Adeniyi Aremu Ilorin, made the call during the 2023 World Rivers Day celebration in Kwara State, a media report says. Themed, “The Incredible Natural Cultural and Recreational Values of Rivers and Streams in our Communities”, Ilorin pointed out that the event was aimed at drawing attention to Nigeria’s rivers facing degradation.
He said that problems affecting them include pollution, industrial development, urbanisation, and climate change caused by human activities. The director cautioned against the consumption of untreated emerging pollutants from polluted rivers and water bodies which posed global concerns regarding public health.
Dr. Ilorin appealed to Nigerians to cease negative activities hindering water flow in the river, and encouraged cleaning drainage systems regularly and desilting river channels. He also stressed the importance of raising public awareness about the impact of pollutants dumped into rivers, which are eventually consumed by the community.
During the ceremony, the Kwara Commissioner for Environment and Tourism, Sheu Ahmed, quoted the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report that approximately 11 million tons of plastic waste flow into oceans and rivers each year. The study, he said, predicts that by 2050, the amount of plastic waste in rivers will surpass the number of fish and other marine animals. Thus, he urged concerted efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
