Africa urged to place environment ahead expatriate business

The African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA) has urged African leaders to protect their people and the environment before giving priority to business investments by expatriates.

Speaking during its meeting in Abuja recently, the co-chairperson, ACCA Steering Committee, Abiodun Baiyewu-Teru, in an advice to the Nigerian government where she cited many cases of environmental degradation said: “Our message to African governments is that the governments should represent the people first before business. If there are no people, there is no national wealth.”

ACCA comprises members drawn from 31 countries with a focus on giving voice to African communities that have suffered environmental degradation and pollution as a result of the activities of manufacturing companies, and the extractive industry. Mentioning some instances of degradation in Nigeria, Abiodun said the group has worked in some communities where losses of lives were recorded due to mining activities.

“There is the extraction of coal activities in Gombe State and in Okobo community of Kogi State where communities completely lost their water. They have to travel for hours to other communities daily to fetch water,” she noted. Apart from the environmental degradation caused by crude oil extraction in the Niger Delta, Abiodun mentioned other sad cases in Nigeria.

“The total lack of governance for environmental impact assessment has led to the death of many in Nigerian communities. The Zamfara lead poisoning where over 700 children died from gold mining related activities is a fact that Nigeria is on the ford. This is indicative of the level of environmental degradation we have in Nigeria,” she explained.

“Some of these problems are land grabs in communities,  environmental degradation For instance, oil extraction in Nigeria has impacted on the soil and forest which has affected the survival and business activities of communities,” he said.