Black Oxygen: Stakeholders to address Air Pollution in Nigeria
In response to this growth rate of air pollution across the country, some concerned stakeholders are coming together and calling for urgent action to address this environmental menace which has potentially huge health and economic impacts. Leading the Black Oxygen project, Adebo Mayowa is a Documentary Photographer and Sustainability Advocate.
Health Effects Institute’s State of the Global Air Report in 2016 ranked Nigeria fourth for air pollution across the globe and reported that Nigeria has the largest number of deaths due to air pollution in Africa. The World Bank also reports that Industrial Emissions are the major source of pollution in Nigeria, sadly 94% of the population in Nigeria are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO guidelines.
Stakeholders comprising of Government representatives, CSOs, NGOs and development practitioners will gather virtually for the launch of a photo-journal and exhibition of the film titled Black Oxygen. The photo journal documents the illegal operation of a recycling company, Yoyo Recycling, located in the Orimerunmu community in the Ibafo area, a border town between Ogun State and Lagos State, Nigeria. The short movie reports the tale of the community and also captures how thousands of used tyres are daily transported into the production site located in a residential community and how the tyres are openly set ablaze to extract black oil, copper wire and black powder, causing air pollution and threatening the lives over 5000 people living in the community. The prolonged activity of this company has caused members of the community to record a high rate of health conditions like respiratory diseases, typhoid and migraine among children and adults.
To deliver the keynote address at the virtual event are Nnimmo Bassey, the Founder, Health of Mother Earth Foundation cum one of Nigeria’s foremost environmental activists, alongside is Taremwa Diana, the African Regional Coordinator of Climate Tracker. To make a presentation during a short panel discussion are development photo-journalists Hammond Oluwole and Osaze Efe. Olumide Idowu and Jesse Manufor will also be speaking on the panel, which will be moderated by Seyifunmi Adebote, the host of the Climate Talk Podcast.
The virtual exhibition and launch of the project Black Oxygen will hold via zoom on Friday, April 9, 2021, by noon WAT and members of the public are invited to join by registering via https://t.co/HDUerGs2AV?amp=1.
