…Says Nigeria is no dumping ground
By Obiabin Onukwugha
An environmental body, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has slammed the federal government and the European Union (EU), over the proposal by the EU to dump non-hazardous waste in Nigeria.
The body has expressed stiff opposition to the EU’s inclusion of Nigeria on the list of countries it can export such waste to, arguing that Nigeria is not a dumping ground for such waste.
Nigeria recently submitted a request to the EU seeking to be included on the list of countries authorized to import non-hazardous waste from the EU.
This implies the country is seeking permission to receive non-hazardous waste like packaging, construction debris, and certain types of plastic for recycling purposes from the European Union.
Reacting, Executive Director of HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, described the move as ill-conceived, vexatious and painful and a rude shock, that is coming at a time of widespread ecological challenges.
Bassey, in a statement made available to NatureNews, stated that even wastes certified as non-hazardous are often hazardous – containing traces of heavy metals and other dangerous elements.
“We denounce the ploy, under any guise, to import any form of waste to Nigeria,” he said, reasoning, “It is clear that rich countries commodify waste and make it appeal to the appetites of poorer countries that are seeking foreign exchange by all means.”
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Bassey recalled: “The EU could report that €18.5 billion worth of EU waste was exported in 2023. What the impacts of those wastes have been and will continue to be in the countries where they were exported is a question that the trade merchants will never answer.”
He recalled further: “We do not forget the willful dumping of toxic waste in Koko, Delta State, Nigeria, in 1988. These wastes were labelled “non-hazardous” and branded as “fertilisers”.
“While the labelling was to portray no harm, the actual content was indeed harmful, with significant impacts and contamination on air, water and land.
“We also remember the Trafigura case of waste dumping in Côte d’Ivoire (after several unsuccessful efforts to dump wastes in several other countries) for an induced fee of about $17,000 with the help of local collaborators in the name of waste management companies.
“The hazardous nature of the wastes was concealed and became known only after other countries refused.”
He said HOMEF views the development as a ploy to woo countries like Nigeria into obnoxious systemic legal waste colonialism.
He expressed dismay that Nigeria and other African countries have become dumpsites for thousands of obsolete and unusable computers and other e-waste major sources of which include China, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and Morocco.
“Nigeria is already plagued with environmental pollution arising from oil and gas exploitation, pollution arising from the exploitation of solid minerals, plastic pollution, and genetic pollution in foods,” Bassey expressed grief.
Bassey warned: “For a country already almost overwhelmed by these issues, seeking approval to import waste of any kind is not only ill-advised but also ecocidal and dangerous,” saying, “This move exposes the government’s willingness to discount the wellbeing of citizens for a mess of porridge.”
“It is inconceivable that a nation with life expectancy of about 56 years and a broken healthcare delivery system would succumb to the level of begging to import someone else’s waste, when we can hardly handle our domestic wastes,” he said.
