Jacob Sonibare, a chemical engineering professor at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, has bemoaned the paucity of information regarding Nigeria’s air quality situation.
He stated that the country was in danger as a result of the development.
Sonibare revealed this information during his debut lecture, “Air Pollution Control Lacuna In Nigeria: The Intervention of a Chemical Engineer.” He claimed that it was impossible to make a definitive comment about the state of the nation’s air quality due to the lack of data.
“I have no sufficient data to make a pronouncement about the country’s present air quality status. Thus, one is not surprised that there is a dearth of data also in the literature, both in quality and quantity that can be used to do the same without misleading the public,” he said, stating that Nigeria must launch national air quality campaigns in order to continue its participation in the global pursuit of sustainable development goals. His argument would help in periodically generating reliable data for the country’s air quality status description.
In order for Nigeria to continue her participation in the global quest for sustainable development as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals, national air quality campaigns must be launched in order to generate reliable data for the country’s air quality status description at all times.
According to Sonibare, air pollution can result from anthropogenic or natural activities that take place indoors or outdoors, harming the environment and human health. This not only portends great danger for the country, but it also raises concerns among experts about the quality of air that this generation will leave behind.
However, he recommended that the federal government set up an organization to unify the nation’s Ambient Air Quality and Source Emissions Standard, regulate the operations of the current “illegal refineries of the Niger Delta,” and start a national air quality monitoring program to build a National Data Bank for air quality management.
