CONTROLLING E-WASTE IN NIGERIAby | 23-01-2015 09:06 |
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Waste! Waste! Waste! So much waste everywhere I just can't get tired of talking about waste. Time and again, I have said that one of the biggest environmental challenges in Nigeria is the issue of waste. Here on Eco-generation website, I have shared lots of articles on wastes in Nigeria and my dreams about solving the issue. I know very soon, we will overcome this. Yes, I believe! Now, one of the forms of waste which is now becoming groundswell and I want to talk about here is e-waste. It isn't hard to find scraps of cellphones, pressing iron, cookers, ring boilers and many electronic gadgets in Nigeria these days. Sadly, the quantity of e-wastes being brought to the country is becoming too much as more Nigerians due to poverty and illiteracy, prefer to buy electronic appliances which do not cost much. The attendant consequence of this is that a lot of sub-standard electronic gadgets are now being imported to the country at very cheap prices and sold to the people who do not know that these e-wastes shipped in from other countries have dangerous consequences both to human health and the environment in general. The Standards Organisation Of Nigeria is an agency of the Federal Government which is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that products made in Nigeria or brought in are quality products. However, it seems for some major loopholes, sub-standard electrical electronic products are still being imported in Nigeria and these are being sold to the people. In my opinion, I believe this calls for an urgent effort on the part of stakeholders to stop the coming in of e-wastes to Nigeria and put more adequate measures in place to ensure that electronic products made in Nigeria or imported are all quality products and meet up with acceptable standards. This will go a long way in protecting people's lives and ensure they get value for what they purchase. |
