Residents Flee Port Harcourt Over Soot Emission

The effects of the soot being witnessed in parts of Rivers State has continued to attract concerns from medical experts, scholars, environmental activists and even residents, who are alarmed that its deadly effects might soon begin to manifest in the people.

This is as residents have begun to relocate from the oil-rich city due to the health implications of the emission which has lingered since it was noticed in October last year, when they started noticing soot in their homes, offices, business areas, churches, on vehicles, goods, clothes and even food items.

Experts warned that the effects of the sooth emission would begin to manifest in three to five years in the form of respiratory tract diseases.

Some families seen moving out their belongings said the environment was no longer safe for living; hence their decision to leave the city and move into a city with safer air quality, at least for now.

One of them, Mr. Francis Woke, who lives in Rumuodumanya in Obio/Akpor Council, said a lot of people have been hospitalised due to respiratory and lung diseases, stressing that he was scared of the ugly development and no longer comfortable with the situation.

Another resident, Mrs. Juliana Nnadi, who lives at Rumosi, also in Obio/Akpor Council, said she was travelling to her village in Imo State until it is confirmed that the pollution has cleared.

Some other wealthy residents are using the period to travel outside the country for a break. Last week, Port Harcourt and its environs were extremely polluted by the sooth, causing the cloud to remain dark till about 9am in the before it cleared.

White vehicles were turning to black. In fact, wearing white clothes to events became very rare. As a result, some panicking parents stopped their children from playing outside, with people spending more time inside their homes than outside.

It was also gathered that some residents, out of fear, have started wearing facial masks to avoid inhaling the substance. However, the state government has swung into action and set up a task force/committee to investigate the source of the soot and find lasting solutions to it, just as residents took to the street to draw attention to the emission, calling on Governor Nyesom Wike to urgently action.

The three-man committee, comprising Commissioners for Environment, Prof Roseline Konya; Special Duties, Mr. Emeka Onowu; and Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, has since intensified effort to restore a safe environment. Two days after their inauguration, the committee shut down three companies, whose activities were allegedly polluting the air, including a Chinese firm.

However, while the efforts of the committee were being applauded, some residents and experts decried the state government’s delay in rising to the occasion, despite early alarm raised by the people.

Former chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, regretted that government’s moves to fight the soot was delayed, stressing that the relocation by some residents would affect the economy of the state.

Onuegbu said: “We all know that the gas emission has a serious health implication, the committee set up is doing quite well, but the action came a bit late, because, hitherto, a lot of people were already scared for their lives and health and had begun relocating their families to cities where they feel the air quality is safe.

“Businesses in the state will suffer. The truth must be told; it is going to affect the economy of Rivers State, because people are going out of the state, so the money that should have been spent or invested in Rivers will now be spent in those states and that is not good for the state’s economy.”

He reiterated that the committee is doing well and called on the public to assist it by providing evidences wherever they see what constitutes soot emission.

But Tam-George said the committee swung into action immediately and confronted the problem headlong, adding that there has been a reduction of the soot in the last few days.

He said: “The soot will not go overnight; it is a gradual thing. We are working with community leaders, security agencies, traditional rulers and oil companies to stamp out the soot.

“There is a clear determination by the state government to bring an end of the soot. People should not leave the state; they should not relocate, because the environment is safe now and the state is peaceful.