Nigeria’s Dredging Summit Decries Reduced Life Expectancy from Soot, Recommends Regulated Modular Refineries

The average life expectancy in the Niger Delta has been reduced to 55 years due to respiratory diseases from soot and effluents by illegal refineries operating in the area, delegates of the 15^th Nigerian Dredging Summit and Exhibition were told last month in Abuja.

In a communique issued at the end of the programme, the delegates praised the interventions of the River State Government which ameliorated the ugly situation and called for sustained measures to ensure that medical and other mitigation are provided by the authorities to meet such hazardous side effects of the oil and gas sub-sector.

Several papers were delivered at the event on the interplay between dredging and the environment by Prof. Abam T. Kingdom of the River State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Dr. Hilary Efanga (Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron), Mr. Ifeanyi Enebeli of Coastal and Reclamation Engineering Services and Surveyor Felix Osanebi of Tarfels Nigeria Ltd harped on the environmental deficits of the oil and gas industry, including reduced life expectancy in the Niger Delta communities from respiratory and other diseases caused by industrial soot, gas flaring which worsens the heat levels due to ozone depletion, oil spillage which damages farmlands and rivers, the source of drinking water and fish resources, and the general impact of dredging activities in delicate riverine host communities. They also proffered precautions and solutions.

Prof. Kingdom in his paper titled, “Dredging in Fragile Ecological Environments with Examples from the Niger Delta, Nigeria” argued that “marine environments are complex things. Removing large parts of the seabed and dumping it elsewhere can have a major impact on the ecosystem, particularly sensitive areas such as coral reefs and fish nurseries. Sediments can smother sea grasses, which are the key food source of dugongs and sea turtles, and also damage corals.”

The Professor of Engineering Geology and Director of the Centre for Advancement and Linkages in RSUST further revealed that conservationists and recreational fishers have blamed dredging activities for killing fish, and washing harmful nutrients into the fishing areas and therefore urged the Federal Government to make it mandatory for dredging companies to obtain permits to dump sediments since “fragile areas need a high level of protection and/or management.”

Dr. Efanga’s paper was titled “The Petroleum Industry Act and Transition from NNPC to NNPCL: Host Community Issues and Implications for the Niger Delta and the Nation” and he analysed the long gestation period of the structural change in the oil and gas industry and how the new law failed to adequately cater for the needs of the host communities, offset the prevalence of insecurity and the historical reasons for agitations against environmental degradation especially in view of the controversial allocation of a mere 3% of the Oil and Gas companies profit to seek the welfare of the host communities whereas 30% of the company’s profit was allocated to ‘Frontier Exploration Fund’, criticized in some quarters as pandering to the politics of oil and rent-seeking.

Mr. Enebeli’s presentation titled “Harbour Dredging and Sustainability” compared the functions of dredging activities such as supporting safer shipping and promoting international trade with the standard meaning of industrial sustainability which is ‘effecting change to meets our generation’s needs without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs’, and quoted the prescriptions of the World Dredging Association (WODA) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals which mandate that dredging activities should be geared to “construct efficient and productive navigation infrastructure directly connected to life on land, zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, life below water, affordable and clean energy, reduced inequalities, decent work and economic growth, and sustainable cities and communities.”

Surveyor Osanebi’s paper titled “Vulnerability of Niger-Delta Environment to Dredging Activities (Riverbanks)” focused on various case studies where the activities of sand mining companies in  Akugbene community in Delta State affected the flow pattern of the river which flowed through the area, washed away the river banks and caused the dilapidation and fall residential houses and shops as well as  several waterfront infrastructure and civil engineering projects such as jetties, roads and bridges. Some of the affected projects were awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the ongoing study which the surveyor and Ph.D researcher had studied for more than twenty years. Some of his recommendations were (1) that dredging sites should be situated far away from sensitive, built-up environments, and (2) compliance monitoring, during the implementation phases of marine-related projects, and subsequent environmental audits (EAs), after the commencement of the projects, are all crucial in ensuring sustainable developmental processes. 

Many burning issues were canvassed by other paper presenters such as Engineer John Oguntokun, Lt. Commander U. Erege, the late Otunba Kunle Folarin, Mr. Dan Udemezue, a dredging consultant, and Mr. Emmanuel Maddoc, a retired NIMASA expert on shipping development.

Other points contained in the communique include the following:

1. The Summit discussed host community issues and the need for meetings between the NDDC and consulting experts and technocrats at the planning stages of corporate social responsibility (CSR) developments to avoid project failures and wrong dredging practices which impact river bank communities negatively.

2.  Regular staff training of employees and management in the dredging and allied services sub-sector was highly recommended as such human capacity development policies benefit employers and employees exponentially as well as promote accident-free operations and equipment longevity.

3. Safety culture and insurance for employees were deemed critical to building staff morale on the job and organizations were enjoined to prioritize them.

4. The Summit also decried the multiplicity of deep-sea port proposals on commercial non-viability reasons.

5. The Summit noted the dilapidation of fenders the Lagos Port Complex and called on the authorities to take preventive maintenance measures to avoid damage to berthed ships.

6. In view of the problem of reduced average life expectancy in the Niger Delta, especially River State, following the incidence of atmospheric pollution by sooth from modular refineries, the summit recommended that the recent House of Representative’s motion to legalize and regulate the activities of modular refineries so as to integrate them into the energy services value chain be quickly explored in order to head off the adverse effects of further health hazards to affected communities.

The event, organized by Dredge Skills and Marine Training Centre Ltd, was sponsored by the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Bonny Channel Company, Lagos Channel Management and the Coastal and Reclamation Engineering Services Ltd.