To avert health outbreak disasters and to save aquatic lives, a climatologist has called on Nigerians to completely stop the act of dumping garbage in public and in the rivers as plastics and other wastes causes pollution.
The Assistant Director, African Climate Reporters, Mohammed Zakari, said this in an interactive session with newsmen on Sunday, in Kaduna.
According to Environews, Zakari stressed the need for Nigerians to change the culture of dumping garbage on the streets, car parks, bus stations, railway stations, to save the environment from pollution.
Following a tour he undertook on Sunday, along the Kaduna river bank, to assess the possible impact of torrential rains on Saturday night, Zakari said that only a change in the attitude of indiscriminate dumping of garbage could avert a health disaster during the rainy season.
He observed that due to the dumping of all sorts of trash and other dangerous chemicals into gutters, streams, and rivers, Saturday’s rains had led to the death of many fishes, frogs and other aquatic animals.
“We discovered that many aquatic animals were dead this morning. It is unfortunate to see how plastics and other wastes polluted the river to claim the huge number of aquatic lives.
“Many aquatic animals die silently every year, due to the human activity of waste dumping on their habitats,” he said, adding that attitudes must change before many aquatic animals become extinct.
The Director also called for increased public awareness on the dangers of indiscriminate dumping of trash on streets, in plastic bags and other plastic materials.
It is the responsibility of every citizen to save the environment against all forms of challenges, as a damaged environment could pose a threat to human and animal existence, Zakari said.
The National Chairman, Kaduna Metro Environment and Awareness, Mr Jibril Mohammed, stressed the need to support recycling companies across northern Nigeria.
Mohammed also emphasied the need for government to ensure that the recycling companies had steady electricity supply to enable them reduce the high rate of plastic pollution in the society.