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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Residents of Ikpoba Slope in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State are finding it difficult to continue coping with cow dungs that littered their community. This resulted in maggots, sand flies and stench emanating from the coagulated blood of slaughtered cows enveloping the area.
With the repugnant smell of the by-products from the ruminants, they find it difficult to invite friends to their homes because of the many abattoirs and the activities of their operators in their community. Some residents have fled their homes leaving them to reptiles and rodents to inhabit. Those who dared to stay are perpetual customers to hospitals.
The situation is fast deteriorating. If urgent steps are not taken by the relevant authorities to salvage it, disinfect the community, the residents might have an epidemic to contend with.
A community leader, Pa Victor Aguebor, said the situation has gone from bad to worse: “We are still wondering why over 20 abattoirs are sited in such a small community. Operators are not doing anything to ensure our safety. After slaughtering their cows, the operators of the abattoirs abandon their waste in the community.
“In 1964 when the then government of the Mid-West Region wanted a government central abattoir, the said government approached the Ohenere/Elders of Ikpoba River Water Side to construct an abattoir. This is due to the proximity of Ikpoba River Water. The community gladly obliged.
“Ever since, some persons started buying plots of land near the abattoir and the adjoining streets for the building of private houses. To our surprise, these private property developers have turned the lands into abattoirs. We have over 20 abattoirs in a small community at Ikpoba River Water Side now.
“The abattoirs operators have channelled their waste water into the Ikpoba community river thus washing all their animal waste over the years into a singular water source. The act resulted in an amalgam of houseflies, sand flies, mosquitoes, rats and other insects, which are posing great health hazards to our people.
“The butchers have turned the entire community into refuse bins where they deposit all forms of refuse to the chagrin of the community members.
“The butchers, without any authorization, set up several mini-markets where different goods are sold. The refuse produced are channelled, some to the river, some to the drainages and others in the next available spaces.
“Owing to the blockage of the drainages, the community is constantly ravaged by flood. This led to the loss of lives as well as properties worth hundreds of millions of naira.
“All efforts to rid the drainages of plastics, polyethylene bags, pure water sachets and volumes of cow waste from the abattoirs have proven abortive. All the abattoir wastes that are channelled by the butchers through the drainages have all ended up inside the community due to the blockage occasioned by cow and human waste.”
The Chief Priest of the community, Nosakhere Obasogie Obazee, said due to the negative impacts of the activities of the abattoirs’ operators, residents have abandoned their houses for fear of contracting diseases: “You see, in our community, you can hardly see someone living up to 90 years and above. This is because the environment has been polluted.
“You cannot breathe in fresh air. The environment is polluted and when you have a polluted environment, what do you have next if not an outbreak of diseases?
“We are really suffering here. We want the government to come to our rescue by compelling the abattoirs’ operators to use the government owned abattoir. Private ones should be closed down.”
The community in a letter addressed to the Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities to drew government’s attention to their plight: “We the elders/youths and members of Ikpoba community, Benin, do solemnly request your assistance, Commissioner on the menace of the abattoirs.
“That the abattoirs lying and situated at Ikpoba, Benin, is posing health hazards to the community. The water emanating from the washing of the slaughtered cows and the animals’ drops, are channelled to the stream or river of the community.
“The community is polluted with hazards wastes from the drops of cows. The atmosphere is polluted with odours emanating from the butchers’ houses, sand flies, mosquitoes, flies, rats and special insects that come from cow drops, are posing great danger to the health of the people in the community.”
Another resident, Princess Pamela Omusi, said sometimes, they are chased out of their rooms by wandering cows: “Our environment is no longer safe to live in anymore. Fear of strange insects brought about by the cow wastes has constantly made us to remain indoors.
He called on government to rise up to the occasion and operators of the abattoirs to restore sanity to the community before the situation gets out of control.
Spanking Igbinoba opined that if the government cannot call the operators of the abattoirs to order, it should relocate them for the residents to have peace and breathe fresh air: “What we are breathing in at the moment is polluted air and it is not good for our health.
“The other bad aspect of the abattoirs’ operators is that, they have never contributed meaningfully to the development of the community where they operate. They have succeeded in contaminating the environment with their wastes.
“When you go to where you have the brewery company in Ikpoba Hill, the people in that community are enjoying some social amenities like water and good roads. The company ensures that they maintain the roads in their host community and provide them clean water.
“In our case here, there is nothing like that than pollution and dirt. This is not acceptable in any sane clime.”
Mr Akhere Odigie, president, Butchers Association, Edo State, said the grouse between the abattoirs’ operators and the inhabitants of the community started when some members of the community approached them, asking them to start paying some money to them which they refused.
He said they reasoned that if they should yield to their demands, they might capitalize on it to exploit them based on that, they decided to turn down their request. He said the operators of the abattoirs have started taking care of the environment in which they carry out their daily activities.
Efforts to get the reaction of the state government were not successful. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Osamwonyi Irowa, cut the call to his mobile phone on hearing that Daily Sun was calling to know how the government is handling the matter.
