RIVERS DAY: EXPERTS CAUTION AGAINST POLLUTING WATER BODIES, HILIGHT BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY
REPORTER: CHINAZO ILECHUKWU
Nigerians have been urged to imbibe the culture of cleaning the rivers and opening water ways to facilitate free flow and ensure their sustainability.
On occasion of this year’s World Rivers Day celebration in Owerri, the Managing Director Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority, Mr. Gerald Osuagwu, made the appeal for an end to practices inimical to rivers.
He lamented that rivers and streams that play vital roles to mankind had continued to be endangered due to ugly human practices like open defecation in the rivers, dumping of refuse and obstruction of flow of water.
Mr. Osuagwu explained that while the River Basin Development Authority continued to harness the potential of water resources, there was the need for speedy passage of the River bill pending in the National Assembly to protect the rivers from abuse and possible extinction.
“In Imo State, if you look at the major rivers within the owerri municipality – the Nwaorie, the Otammiri, even the Orammiriukwa – all of them are being polluted on daily basis.
“You are not supposed to do unwholesome practices within the river, if you go back to your villages you see that some of the streams/rivers that used to exist due to environmental degradation, erosion and all such activities have gone into extinction. The present climate change has not spared the rivers also,” he said.
Mr. Osuagwu added that rivers are used for religious purposes by both Christians and non Christians, hence all hands must be on deck to ensure they are not polluted as the situation posed great danger to the society.
A lecturer from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Dr. Emma Ezenwaji, raised an alarm that some rivers and lakes in the south east were drying up due to human activities and called on relevant agencies to redouble their efforts in protecting the water bodies from pollution.
Another lecturer from Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Dr. Chinyere Amadi, explained that rivers had natural, cultural and recreational values, adding that aside their role in agriculture surface water had potential to drive economic growth of any society.
“The rivers and streams provide vital irrigation opportunities in our communities. I want you to know that their sterling beauty and calming sound attract nature enthusiasts.
“Additionally, they support biodiversity making them essential for both leisure and ecological balance in our community,” he remarked.
The highlights of the event were the cleaning of the Oramiriukwa River in Imo State and planting of trees by the River Basin Development Authority to sensitize the people to the need to care for the rivers.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
