A renowned health and environmental consultant, Dr. Obi Anyadiegwu, has linked the growing prevalence of cancer, liver diseases, and congenital deformities in newborns to harmful emissions from factories operating in Nigeria’s major cities.
Speaking in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Thursday during a specialized workshop organized under the GEF-UNIDO project for the Bank of Industry and key stakeholders, Anyadiegwu emphasized the need for stringent industrial management practices to curb emissions and their health-related consequences.
The GEF-UNIDO Project, a collaborative initiative between the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, is designed to support countries in reducing emissions, enhancing climate resilience, and eliminating hazardous chemical waste.
As a chartered environmental specialist and medical doctor, Anyadiegwu, who was a resource person at the event, expressed deep concern over the rising incidence of life-threatening illnesses across Nigeria.
He pointed to industrial emissions in cities such as Port Harcourt, Kano, Aba, and Onitsha as major contributors to these health challenges.
The workshop, he explained, was focused on promoting resource efficiency and cleaner production.
The objective is to enable industries in Nigeria to optimize production while minimizing the release of harmful substances, including gases that exacerbate climate change.
“We have seen floods all over the place, we have seen increasing desertification, we have seen new diseases, we have more cancers, endocrine diseases,” he stated.
“Go to textile factories and see the amount of pesticides, go to Aba and you will see the level of fabrication go into the atmosphere, go to Port Harcourt and look at the oil industries, acid rain is a reality that we all see happening even in Uyo, here, so let us not deceive ourselves.”
Highlighting the environmental hazards linked to industrial pollution, Anyadiegwu noted that these harmful emissions infiltrate waterways, contaminating borehole water used for drinking and cooking.
“These dangerous emissions get into our waterways and we do boreholes, fetch water for drinking and cooking. A lot of these ailments you see, like kidney, liver, and endocrine diseases, women not having children, and many are born with deformities, these are all realities that we know happen as a result of industrial emissions,” he warned.
He stressed the urgent need for industries to adopt responsible management practices to mitigate pollution, which was the core focus of the workshop on resource and production efficiency.
While commending the federal government’s environmental protection efforts, Anyadiegwu urged for more proactive measures to improve environmental safety.
He also highlighted the role of UNIDO in assisting Nigeria to enhance sustainable industrial activities and called on organizations to tap into global, regional, and local funding opportunities to implement projects that safeguard the environment.
