Keywords
Nigeria's effort to increase its oil production to match the increasing global demand for fossil fuels led the country to expand its oil exploration to the North, and the recent discovery of oil and gas reserves of commercial quantities at Kolmani River II, in Northeastern Nigeria achieved a huge success. The river is located at the boundary between Gombe and Bauchi states. It is estimated that over 1 billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas were found. There is also huge potential for more deposits as exploration efforts are intensified.
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While this should be celebrated, attention must be paid to its public health and environmental implications.- Buhari KayodeOyero
Flags off first oil exploration in north-east.
https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/22/lawan-tinubu-others-present-as-buhari-flags-off-first-oil-exploration-in-north-east/
Date accessed: November 29, 2022
The oil exploration will undoubtedly have a significant positive impact on Nigeria's economy. However, its public health implications have been given little attention. This is evident in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which hosts the country's major oil reserves. The ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation of chemicals such as surfactants, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals associated with oil and gas have acute and long-term health and ecological implications.
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PAHs are recognized as the oil constituents of greatest concern to public health due to their carcinogenic or toxic effects.- Orisakwe O.E.
Crude oil and public health issues in Niger Delta, Nigeria: much ado about the inevitable.
Environ Res. 2021; 194110725https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110725
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Exposures to spilled crude oil are also associated with diarrhoeal diseases, renal failure, conjunctivitis and pneumonitis. Air quality can be jeopardized by toxic crude oil hydrocarbon fumes like BTEX benzene, toluene, ethylene benzene, and xylene.- Orisakwe O.E.
Crude oil and public health issues in Niger Delta, Nigeria: much ado about the inevitable.
Environ Res. 2021; 194110725https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110725
2
Gas flaring has also been associated with serious air pollution. This may result to serious public health concerns in the Kolamani area and other neighboring states in Northern Nigeria.- Orisakwe O.E.
Crude oil and public health issues in Niger Delta, Nigeria: much ado about the inevitable.
Environ Res. 2021; 194110725https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110725
While noting that Northern Nigeria is the major food-producing region, crude oil related land pollution should be of major concern to the country. For instance, in the Niger Delta region, crude oil pollution has degraded most agricultural lands and turned productive areas into wastelands
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while contaminating freshwaters and disrupting many fishing grounds. Land contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons could affect plants by retarding seed germination, plant growth and subsequently, the rate of photosynthesis which could result in total plant death.3
This loss of soil fertility could force many Northern farmers, especially in the arable Kolmani area to abandon their lands and seek other alternative means of livelihood that may be impossible, further exposing the region and the whole country to hunger, malnutrition, diseases and poverty.Although the Nigerian government has established laws to protect the environment from oil exploration-related pollution, the problem is yet to be fully controlled, as observed in the Niger Delta region of the country. This has, therefore, generated concerns whether the same mistake will be repeated in the North. Therefore, stringent measures should be put in place by the concerned authorities, such as the government and multinational oil companies. The government should improve its policies and laws to prevent oil spillage and ensure proper environmental sanitation at the Kolmani area. The multinational oil companies should ensure safe means of exploration and prospecting.
Contribution of authors
Shuaibu Saidu Musa conceived the idea. Shuaibu Saidu Musa, Usman Abubakar Haruna, Emery Manirambona, Muktar Musa Shallangwa, Muhammad Rahima Hamid and Mohammed Garba Buwaa analysed the data and information and rotated in writing different versions of the drafts with intellectual additions by Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Ethical approval
Not required.
Declaration of competing interest
None to declare.
References
- Flags off first oil exploration in north-east.([Internet]. Available from)https://www.channelstv.com/2022/11/22/lawan-tinubu-others-present-as-buhari-flags-off-first-oil-exploration-in-north-east/Date accessed: November 29, 2022
- Crude oil and public health issues in Niger Delta, Nigeria: much ado about the inevitable.Environ Res. 2021; 194110725https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110725
- Environmental implications, properties and attributes of crude oil in the oil-producing states of Nigeria.Ecologia. 2019; 9: 1-9
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 27, 2023
Accepted:
March 21,
2023
Received in revised form:
March 17,
2023
Received:
March 6,
2023
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© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of INDIACLEN.
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