Book Review: Media's Role As Environmental Watchdog

Book: The Environment As Seen By The Nigerian Media

Edited by: Philip Jakpor

Publisher: Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria

Year: 2012

Pages: 88

Reviewer of book: Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

"The Environment As Seen By The Nigerian Media," is a book that highlights the importance of reporting the environment through proper journalistic training to enhance information dissemination to the public concerning climate change, gas flaring, desertification, environmental governance, deforestation amongst other issues.

In the foreword, renowned environmental activist and executive director of "Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria," Nnimmo Bassey says the book “is an attempt to assess the quality of reports from journalists that have participated in the trainings as well as those that subsequently agreed to be part of the Journalist Network for the Environment (JNE). Like the trainings, it is our belief that this book will contribute to enhancing the capacity of members of the network and media users to further broaden the environmental discourse by opening new vistas for investigation.”

Philip Jakpor - book Editor

From the foregoing, the 88-page book which contains sixteen articles throw light on various environmental issues under different themes as follows: ‘Something is wrong with the Water,’ ‘Tsunami in Lagos: Coast not Clear,’ ‘When quest for profit endangers lives,’ ‘Global warming: How poverty supports the most dangerous kind of emissions,’ ‘What a waste,’ ‘Are Lagos canals ready for the rainy season?,’ ‘Deforestation: Looming Self-Inflicted Disaster,’ ‘Use of explosives in mining business undermines national security,’ ‘Nigeria’s Horrifying Oil Spill Response Management,’ ‘Ibadan Flood: The Story Three Months After,’ ‘Nigeria’s growing environmental challenges,’ ‘Nasarawa’s ever-present refuse dumps,’ ‘Spilling a Controversy,’ ‘Drying Lake Chad Puts 30 million Lives on Edge,’ ‘Tsekelewu: A community ravaged by oil prospecting activities,’ and ‘Radioactivity threatens miners in Plateau, Nasarawa- Why residents of affected areas give b
irth to deformed babies.’

Apart from the aforementioned articles, the book also contains four news reports namely, ‘ERA Exposes Shell Again On Environmental Terror,’ ‘Nigeria loses 3,000 hectares of vegetation yearly- ERA,’ ‘Lead Poison: ERA Blames Zamfara Government,’ ‘Environmental say COP 17 agreement hazy,’ respectively, and pictures from the JNE media training.

The outbreak of cholera at a particular time in Lagos and other states of the country makes Ben Ezeamalu’s article titled ‘Something is wrong with the Water,’ very refreshing. Its sub-theme titled ‘Petrol-water mixture,’ brings to the fore the importance of making sure water being consumed by the public is well taken care of. Cholera respects no age as water pollution can cause danger to anybody’s health based on some respondents statements quoted in the article. According to a saying, ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’ Hence, it is important to avert water pollution before it gets out of hand as it is the quickest means through which diseases could spread.

‘When quest for profit endangers lives,’ written by Sam Nzeh, is another notable article that discusses the establishment of companies in residential areas and the subsequent harms they could cause to people living in such environments. Making reference to some companies threat to folks living in the localities where they are sited, Nzeh says: “Since the companies began operation some years ago, not only have both communities been subjected to rising noise level, the air and water sources in these communities have been polluted… This is aside the fact that roofs of several buildings in the communities have also been perforated courtesy of flying stones from the quarries.”  The article also beams about how ERA demanded that the companies be compelled to produce the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted on the existing project sites and mitigation measures contained therein. This underscores ERA as an environmental warlord that protects the rights of oppressed folks by nonchalant companies in the communities they operate in.

The power poverty has over many people in the world which makes them reside in horrible environments, comes to the fore in Ugochukwu Chemziri’s article titled ‘Global warming: How poverty supports the most dangerous kind of emissions. The writer says, “Poverty has immense contribution to gender imbalance, abuse of rights, inability to access good food, water, healthcare amongst others… Nigeria is one or perhaps the only country in Africa housing over 15 million of various versions of 2-stroke engines… there are three types of 2-stroke engines that dominate the system. The two-wheeled bikes are called ‘Okada’ while the tree-wheeled ones are named ‘keke or Napep.’  The article says many local respiratory related deaths are either not investigated or believed to be effects of tobacco smoking; it is becoming evident that most cases linked to tobacco smoking in these countries are actually caused by 2-stroke engine emissions in the air.”

Poverty has therefore been contributing to more gas emission as many jobless people have been using 2-stroke engines for transport business over a decade, to make ends meet.

‘What a waste,’ written by Ben Ezeamalu, Segun Balogun, and Simon Ejembi, reminds the reader of  the constant indiscriminate burning of waste by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) at the Olusosun-Ojota waste dump, which always choke residents of Ojota and Ketu, and makes them cough ceaselessly from time to time. The article highlights the danger inherent in constant burning of waste by not only LAWMA but individuals and companies nationwide. Government’s effort to curb the menace is also elaborated in the article.

‘Nigeria’s Horrifying Oil Spill Response Management,’ written by Clara Nwachukwu is a very commendable piece about oil spill in the Niger Delta area; the nonchalant attitude of multinational oil companies and the federal government to clean up the damages; and the duo's refusal to adequately compensate folks whose water, land and atmosphere are rendered useless. The article asserts that in Nigeria, “Government cannot hold oil companies accountable like the US Government did with BP” in the Gulf of Mexico incident.

Tina Hassan’s ‘Nigeria’s growing environmental challenges,’ and ‘Nasarawa’s ever-present refuse dumps,’ are two interesting but worrisome articles that discusses environmental challenges that borders on desertification, wind erosion in the north, gully erosion and severe floods that ravaged the country’s six geopolitical zones in some years ago, and some people’s attitude of dumping refuse on major roads and street corners not only in Nasarawa but in many other states nationwide, are issues telescopically captured in them. This reminds the reader about Blessed Mudiaga Adjekpagbon's anthology of short stories titled "When the King cries and other stories," that contain issues relating to environmental degradation and the bad habits of some Nigerians fond of either dumping refuse in drainage systems or building illegal structures on sewage channels.

Also worthy of mention is ‘ERA Exposes Shell Again On Environment Terror." It is a very good news report written by Akanimo Sampson, where underhand dealings of environmental degradation by multinational oil companies against host oil communities are revealed with factual electricity.

By and large, the book is a commendable compilation by Philip Jakpor. It is a book all government agencies concerned with environmental issues should read from time to time, to refresh their minds about the necessary things they ought to be doing to take proactive steps in preventing environmental pollution nationwide. The journalists who wrote the articles have shown that the training they underwent for environmental reporting was worth the efforts and time they invested in participating in the project.

                                                                     END