A university lecturer, Dr
Ephraim Elenwo, has lamented the high level of degradation confronting the oil-rich Niger Delta environment, describing the situation as unquantifiable.
Elenwo, who is of the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, stated this at a public function organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences, at the weekend.
He said there is urgent need to resolve issues concerning the crisis and environmental pollution in the region before it becomes too late for all concerned.
The don explained that the population of the region had hitherto been exposed to the dangers of environmental degradation on a regular basis and reiterated the desire for adequate campaign and sensitization of the upcoming generation to safeguard such through environmental remediation.
He said, “Environmental matters ought to be everyone’s business; reason being that we are all affected by the degradation that is causing unlimited health-related problems in the area.
“The Niger Delta environmental degradation is abysmal and needs urgent attention by the government, stakeholders and dwellers of the area themselves”, he said, adding that waste could be recycled to create wealth and employment for the teeming youths.
According to the university lecturer, the environmental pollution is so grave that one cannot obviously ascertain whether the seafood is safe for human consumption anymore and the food crops grown in the region are planted on abandoned dump sites that have not been remedied.
He said that the situation has become major causes of illness and reduced life span in the country, particularly in the Niger Delta region, where he noted that environmental pollution measures are flouted by the multinational oil companies and their collaboration in government.

Chris Oluoh