The Chairman, Board of Directors of Health of Mother forth Foundation (HOMET), Dr Nnimmo Bassey, says Nigeria has one of the worst air quality in the world.
Dr Bassey, who said this at a recent event in Port Harcourt also rated very low the Air Quality Index of Niger Delta region.
He said the proliferations of illegal oil refineries popularly known as “kpofire” as well as increasing generator automobile fumes is making the region one the least safest places to live in the world.
“Most of the things that kill people are invisible to the eyes, when we breath, we take in these things that are tiny particles”, he said.
The environmentalist also scored the country low in potable water provision to her citizens, adding that in some communities, both humans and beast drink from the some water source.
He said most communities in the country drink water from mines, while in a large part of the country, water bodies are covered by bacterial infection.
“Our people are exposed to extremely devastating environment as this is contributing to the reduction of the average Nigerian lifespan”.
He described oil exploration and exploitation as a colonial legacy, adding that even the issue of pollution has become political.
Bassey also criticised successive Nigerian governments for failing to tackle the issue of deforestation.
“Deforestation is a major crisis in Nigeria Nigeria promised to plant 25 million trees yearly, but till this moment, I don’t know if any has been planted”, he said.
Bassey further decried the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), ten years after it has sent to the National Assembly.
The environmentalist, who described Niger Delta as one of the top ten polluted places in the world also stressed the need for Nigerian to unite and fight against those things that have become a threat to continued existence.