LASEPA General Manager on how to ensure clean air…….As UNILAG VC harps on air pollution threat

CHINYERE IKEANYI

General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr. Tunde Ajayi, has said that strategic partnerships were needed for ensuring clean air.

Dr. Ajayi stated this on Tuesday while speaking at the opening of a four-day conference on CLEAN-Air Forum Lagos 2024 titled: “Advancing collaborations and multi-regional partnerships for clean air actions in African cities”.

Stakeholders’ from different parts of the world, including the African continent, gathered in Lagos to find lasting solutions to the problem. The event, which saw participants from across 34 countries in Africa, Asia, academia, researchers, and government partners, had 256 registered participants.

Ajayi, who explained that the forum was to bring all African cities together to discuss how we can make air in Lagos, Nigeria and in Africa generally cleaner, also said that the forum called for more consciousness for advocacy.

Stating that there is the need for transparency and agreement to include more people to drive the agenda of clean air farther, Ajayi said: ”Lagos State is also making commitments to ensure that we measure the quality of our air and we are also able to regulate that which will cause us pollution.”

He further said the event was to map out policy landscape across the continent, as they affirmed that data needs to advance evidence-in-informed policy development for quality management.

Ajayi, who responded to how Lagos accesses the level of pollution in the state, said: “We are addressing each of the causes of pollution in several areas. For example, in Bariga, we are building team for the women to tackle pollution because of their fish smoking trade.

“In several other areas like in Ikorodu, we are insisting that organizations and industries install pollution abatement plants. In other areas in Lagos, we ensure that people reduce the amount of pollution they emit into the system. We also stop open burning in many communities, we ensure that their waste is properly disposed in a more controlled way and we hand solid waste to LAWMA and ensure that they are properly disposed”.

According to him, the state has put in a lot of actions by publicity, sensitization and awareness creation, as well as ensuring that they shut down agencies that have refused to install pollution abatement plants. For instance, several times, you see in the media that a lot of companies have been shut down primarily due to air pollution.

In his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folasade, Ogunsola, FAS, who said air pollution was a significant threat to human health, economic development, and environmental sustainability in African cities, stated: “We recognize the importance of collective action, knowledge sharing, and partnerships in addressing this challenge”.

Stating that the Forum brings together experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from various regions to share best practices, innovative solutions, and research findings, the VC, who was represented on the occasion by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Management Services of the University, Professor L. O. Chukwu,said:” We aim to foster meaningful collaborations and actionable strategies for improving air quality in African cities”.

“As a university, we are committed to supporting research, education, and community engagement that promotes environmental sustainability and public health. We believe that clean air is a fundamental right, and we must work together to ensure that future generations inherit a healthier and more sustainable environment.

“Let us engage in fruitful discussions, share our experiences, and learn from each other’s successes and challenges. Together, let us drive meaningful change and make a positive impact on our cities and our continent”, the VC further said.

Also speaking, Prof. Engineer Bainomugisha of Makerere University, Uganda, said that there was the need for collaborative efforts to fight pollution “as air quality affects the quality of lives in all our cities in Africa”.

Bainomugisha, who is Founder of Airqo, said that in Africa, there are a number of strategies that can be done to be able to achieve better clean air.

The first strategy, the Ugandan don said, is investment in air quality monitoring, adding “this is what Airqo is building on, manufacturing low cost air quality monitors to enable African cities to be able to monitor air quality. If all cities in Africa are able to monitor air quality, we can scale the magnitude of air pollution and other actions can follow.”

Bainomugisha said that a number of actions that can follow are investment in the sectors that are considered to be key drivers in air pollution, sectors like transport, investment in the mass transit systems to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads, while ensuring that our roads are safe.

He added that the other investment is in the waste management sector “because we know that if waste is not properly managed, it ends up in the air, resulting in air pollution. “Ultimately, we need to know that air pollution ends up in our lungs and causes a lot of illnesses.”

The other one is education and awareness, we need to raise awareness among different stakeholders at increasing the priority on addressing air pollution.

He added: “The public needs to know the importance of air quality and also begin to demand actions from the government in improving air quality.

“Most importantly, knowing what they can do as part of action to improve air quality. If you are a citizen and your vehicle is not properly serviced, you are contributing to air pollution, if you are not disposing your waste properly; you are contributing to air pollution.

“We need more collective actions to bring our air quality back and at the same time, small collective action can help improve this, proper waste disposal.”

On regulation on air quality, he noted: “We need to be able to know what are the permissible levels of air pollution in different cities, and countries so that we will be able to know whether we are progressing or not.

“These are some of the actions to consider to improve air quality in Africa. We need to know that it is a multi-national, multi-stakeholder problem. You can’t live in one part of the country and think that you can clean up the air quality alone.

“You must collaborate with other regions. One country cannot clean up the air quality alone, there is a need to collaborate with several other countries. That is why this forum has brought several partners and stakeholders from across the continent to see that together we can start making progress on improving air quality in the continent”, he added.

Dr. Bolajoko Malomo of the Department of Psychology, University of Lagos (UNILAG), said that Nigeria’s population is growing rapidly with much industrialization, including an increase in the use of vehicles and vehicular movements, causing emission of fumes.

Dr. Malomo said that efforts to check air pollution are on-going in the state but a lot needs to be done. She said that the event was significant as it reawakened the consciousness of participants to sensitize the populace on the importance of environmental health.

Lamenting that poor quality of air causes sicknesses such as cancer, respiratory diseases, among others, because of the heavy pollution in the air, Dr. Malomo urged the press to take on the challenge of better sensitization of the public on the dangers of air pollution to human health.

Saying that human activities need to be addressed, as they contribute to air pollution, the don added: “Human activities need to be looked into. We also need to find ways of addressing them. There should be collaboration from all stakeholders, including the media, policymakers, among others, to create awareness on the menace”.

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