Surface water pollutants management, essential for portability assurance — Don

By Kehinde Adio. 

A  Professor of Environmental Biology, Oluwatosin Atobatele, from the  College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science,  Bowen  University , Iwo, Osun State,    has suggested the urgent need for the Nigerian government and other various environmental agencies in the country to collaborate on the surface water pollutants management for safe water assurance in the country. 

Professor Atobatele gave the advice, drawn from his research findings, while delivering the 23rd inaugural lectures of the University held recently.

The don, who based his lecture on a theme, “Life, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Integrity: A Fresh Quest for Nature’s Watch’, noted that water is one of the most indispensable natural elements fundamental to life; exhibit properties that make it critical to sustaining life, hence the need to safeguard freshwater against pollution in the country. 

According to him, Nigeria is blessed with a vast expanse of inland freshwater ecosystems spread all over the country from the arid zone in the north to the coastal regions in the south, stating that most of those rivers, including reservoirs and streams, are being contaminated through corrosive substances into the freshwater ecosystems.

He pointed out that humans are exposed to heavy metals from freshwater by consuming water and aquatic organisms, such as fishes, crabs and many more of them in the rivers, noting that some of the organisms in those waters are not pollution tolerant. 

Professor Atobatele, according to his research findings, stated that fleshy tissues of crabs and fish are good accumulators of heavy metals, and the nutritional implications is that consumers may be exposed to heavy metal toxicity if regular consumption leads to bioaccumulation, adding that since the gills are typically not edible, it is advisable not to consume them. 

“My work on River Ogunpa, which spanned a distance of about 10 km, was on its physicochemistry, heavy metal plankton, and macrozoobenthos contamination.” Further research on the River Ogunpa suggested that it is under pollution stress from oxygen-demanding organic wastes

 “However, studies were carried out for Aiba reservoir on its physicochemistry, heavy metal contamination, bacteria, plankton, macrozoobenthos, and fish,” he said. 

Similarly, research revealed that Ona River is also impacted in that the macrozoobenthos composition of the river was indicative of a stressed freshwater ecosystem. 

Speaking on how Nigeria could safeguard its surface waters, Professor  Atobatele suggested functional and effective anti-freshwater encroachment policies with a political will to enforce them.

According to him, most of the rivers in Nigeria have been encroached by mechanical workshops and allied metal–based factories, polluting the rivers in their vicinity with their metal and other wastes, often due to erosion. 

Professor Atobatele made some other proposals on the surface water pollution management in the country. These include the need to curb the expanding anthropogenic activities around freshwaters so that the community will continue to enjoy the ecological services the freshwater offers.

He also suggested the need to address inconsistent monitoring of freshwaters through water quality testing needs for informed management and policy decisions. 

In his recommendation, he called for a transition from traditional freshwater ecological studies to modern methods involving metagenomics and machine learning, as he also made a case for effective governance and management of our freshwaters for sustainable use.

According to him, there is a need for educational programnes by individual, non-governmental organisations, media institutions, and world bodies concerned with nature to enlighten the general public .

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Jonathan Babalola, in his remarks,  advised the Nigerian government to institute an inaugural lecture commission where policymakers, industries, as well as governments at all levels could find solutions to national and local issues for industrial and national development.

According to Professor Babalola, Nigerian universities have produced numerous inaugural lectures by erudite professors on different topics as their research findings for use as a guide in any policy formation process.

He said Nigeria is not developing as it should be, alleging failure to consider universities’ research findings in the government policymaking processes.

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