Archaeologists recently discovered ruins of an 8,000-year old village in Huade County, northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a local media reported on Thursday.
Traditional dancers of Inner Mongolia
The Simagou site covers an area of 30,000 square meters and consists of 13 round or rounded rectangular pit houses.
It reported that more than 1,300 objects, mostly stone axes and stone shovels, were also unearthed.
“Most objects were chipped stone tools, meaning stoneware production was the main activity at that time.
“And the large quantity of animal bones and stoneware show that people made their living by hunting and collecting food,’’ Hu Xiaonong, head of the archaeological team, said.
Experts said the site had distinctive features of Yumin culture but was more advanced than similar relics discovered earlier.
Yumin culture, a civilisation between the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age, was first found in 2014 in the middle part of Inner Mongolia.
Apart from its various industrial uses, calcium carbide is increasingly becoming popular as a means of force-ripening fruits in many urban communities across the country, in spite of the potential health risks involved.
Fruits
Unfortunately, very little attention, if any, is being paid by the relevant health and regulatory authorities to this dangerous practice which has been outlawed in several countries across the world.
A visit to the Garki Market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Mararaba Fruits Market, also known as Orange Market, in Nasarawa State revealed that the markets were full of varieties of fruits that were artificially ripened.
Recent investigations by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that some unscrupulous traders were fond of applying various chemicals, including Calcium Carbide (CaC2) and formalin, to force-ripe fruits for sales to unsuspecting consumers.
A trader in Mararaba Fruits Market, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that over 10 types of fruits, including banana, plantain, mango, African star apple (Udara in Ibo and Agbalumo in Yoruba), as well as avocado pear and orange were ripened via chemically induced processes.
He said that over 30 trailers usually ferried fruits into the market every day, adding, however, that over 80 per cent of the fruits might not be suitable for human consumption.
A meat seller in Garki market, who also preferred anonymity, said that he had been observing the unwholesome fruit-ripening process for a very long time, adding that the practice had now become a norm for most fruits traders in the market.
“When they bring unripe fruits into the market, the traders would gather them under the shed and sprinkle the powdery chemical or spray the chemical on them. They then cover the treated fruits with sacks or canvas for a few days.
“The ripening agents speed up the fruits ripening process; as most of the fruits were picked before they were fully ripe,’’ he said.
The man, however, noted by the time the sacks or canvases were removed, the fruits might not be looking attractive, as they would be unevenly coloured.
However, a trader in the Mararaba Orange Market, who simply identified himself as Alhaji Tajudeen, rejected the claims that the ripening process of most fruits in the market was induced with the application of calcium carbide and other chemical substances.
He argued that most fruits sellers in the Mararaba Orange Market would never engage in such unwholesome practice, adding that he could, however, rule out entirely the possibility of the practice in the market.
He said most of the fruits being sold in the market were usually brought from Benue, Katsina, Gombe and Nasarawa states, adding, however, that the fruits packaging methods always made the fruits to become ripe on time.
Besides, Tajudeen said that the market task force would never tolerate the use of chemicals to force-ripe fruits, vowing that anyone caught in the act would be handed over to the police and banned from trading in the market.
Sharing similar sentiments, a trader in Wuse market, who identified himself as Idi, said that the act of ripening fruits with chemicals did not exist openly in the market.
He, nonetheless, could not rule out the possibility of bringing chemically ripened fruits for sales in the market.
Idi, however, believed that some middlemen usually perpetrated such acts on the farm and in warehouses because they engaged in the bulk purchase of fruits.
An agriculturist, Dr Tunde Arosanye, also shared similar sentiments.
He said that some middlemen, who bought fruits from farmers in farms, could be engaged in artificial fruits ripening with calcium carbide and formalin.
Arosanye, who is the National Coordinator of Zero Hunger Commodities, told NAN that the act had created a bad image for farmers.
He described the act as an unwholesome practice which should be stamped out at all costs, in view of its health hazards and other implications.
Arosanye said that those middlemen, who were usually engaged in such act, were always in a hurry to sell the produce and make money.
“Some fruits and vegetables, which naturally take 12 to 15 days to ripe, are being compelled to ripen forcefully with carbide and other substances.
“They do this so as to make quick money without recourse to the natural maturation periods of the fruits and vegetables,’’ he said.
Arosanye noted that such unscrupulous middlemen also used pesticides such as Acetamiprid and Imidacloprid on vegetables to make them ripe on time and look attractive to buyers.
However, Dr Bidemi Ojeleye, National President, Federation of Bee keepers Association of Nigeria, condemned the act, saying that most pesticides that were applied to the fruits and vegetables were injurious to human health.
He said that some of the pesticides being applied to the fruits and vegetables contained cancer-causing agents, which could also harm the brain, while interfering with the development of the soil.
Ojeleye said that although pesticides were beneficial to farmers, particularly in efforts to control pests and prevent plant diseases; most of the chemicals inadvertently destroyed the colonies of bees which pollinated plants.
Some fruit sellers in Dutse and Bwari markets, however, denied using calcium carbide and other substances to force-ripe fruits such as oranges, banana, plantain, pawpaw and pineapple, among others.
The traders, however, conceded that they usually adopted natural ripening systems for their produce.
“We don’t engage in the unwholesome practice of using carbide; instead, we usually pack the fruits in sacks and keep them away from sunlight for a few days in order to make them ripe.
“We also ripen our fruits by spreading them out under the sun or in warm areas to make them to become ripe quickly,’’ said Mrs Florence Ojimba, one of the traders.
Mrs Dorothy Bernard, a fruit seller at Dutse market, however, confirmed to NAN that the habit of force-ripening fruits was very rampant in the market.
She said some of the traders were afraid to admit their involvement in the practice because of environmental officers who usually came to apprehend those traders who used carbide to ripen fruits.
Bernard said that if traders were not using calcium carbide to force-ripe fruits, environmental officers would not be coming to raid the market at times and apprehend offending traders.
“Some of us use carbide to force-ripe our fruits whenever we buy immature fruits that can spoil very quickly but using carbide will make the fruits to become ripe on time; this enables us to recoup our investment and avoid losses.
“Though, we know that using carbide is not good for consumer’s health but we normally use it in a moderate way, and most of the time, we wash the fruits very well with clean water before selling them,’’ she said.
Mr Ike Ubaka, an agriculturist, said that application of calcium carbide and formalin on fruits always put the fruits under severe pressure to become ripe prematurely.
He said that the practice usually distorted the generic process, natural taste and flavour of such fruits.
Ubaka said that the natural agents responsible for the fruit ripening process would naturally be destroyed and this could have some side effects on the consumers.
He, however, warned that it was not only fruits and vegetables that were affected, saying that imported frozen chickens and gizzards as well as some canned fruits were fortified with chemicals that could damage human health.
Ubaka also challenged the regulatory agencies to engage in series of research on the safety and wholesomeness of certain fruits, vegetables and canned fruits that were imported into the country.
He underscored the need for the action because of the dangers of chemically preserved or chemically ripened fruits to Nigeria’s economy and the health of its citizens.
All the same, Dr Abdulrahim Abdulrashed, Consultant Family Physician, NISA Premier Hospital, Abuja, said that the use of calcium carbide and other chemicals to force-ripe fruits and vegetables was unwholesome, as it could cause severe damage to the vital organs of the body.
“Calcium carbide is a chemical compound that is industrially used in the production of calcium cyanamide for fertiliser and also in welding iron.
“The chemical is very dangerous and its consumption is deadly because it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorus, which both have dangerous effects on the human body and could lead to organophosphate poisoning,’’ he said.
Abdulrasheed also noted that apart from using chemicals that accelerate the fruit ripening process, the use of pesticides to force-ripe fruits could damage the people’s health.
The physician said that if chemicals were used to accelerate a fruit-ripening process, the fruits always contained residual components of the chemicals, which the body might not be able to digest after consumption.
He said that the chemical components could affect the liver, kidney and throat; while leading to various conditions such as anxiety, emotional trauma, restlessness, confusion, tremors and seizures or even coma, depending on specific body reactions.
He challenged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to swing into action by inspecting fruits and vegetables in the market to determine those treated with chemical contaminants or additives used above the permitted levels.
Abdulrasheed said that all approved pesticides and chemicals and their usage should be evaluated by NAFDAC before registration for sales to ensure their safety to human health and the environment.
“Through these evaluations, NAFDAC could ensure the overall safety of all consumers and order the immediate removal of any product with potential risks from the market immediately.
“NAFDAC and the relevant agencies should educate fruit dealers on the danger of using chemicals to ripen fruits meant for human consumption and ensure effective monitoring to avoid unnecessary deaths,’’ he said.
He, nonetheless, advised the people to ensure adequate washing of fruits before consumption by keeping the fruits under running water for a few minutes to wash away the chemicals.
He particularly warned pregnant women to desist from consuming such fruits or vegetables because the chemical contaminants in them could be injurious to them and their unborn babies.
Expressing similar viewpoints, Dr Mustapha Bature, Clinical Mentor, Kebbi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, said that the consumption of fruits that were forced to become ripe with the aid of calcium carbide could cause serious health conditions like cancer.
He said that such fruits were not fit for human consumption because such chemicals used in force-ripening the fruits contained some radio-active elements.
According to him, people, who are exposed to silicon carbide, are likely to go down with lung cancer.
Bature said that the findings of a research conducted on certain factory workers, who were exposed to silicon carbide, indicated that some of the workers developed lung cancer after prolonged exposure.
He reiterated that prolonged exposure of humans to silicon and calcium carbide could cause cancer.
Bature, however, advised the people to always wash their fruits under running water for about two to five minutes, so as to wash away the chemical pollutants before their consumption.
He called on the government to introduce a national policy that would outlaw artificial ripening of fruits with chemicals, adding the National Orientation Agency and other stakeholders should educate the public on the best ways of identifying such fruits.
“We need a cancer free society; therefore, continued consumption of such fruits will make the prevalence of cancer in the society to be high.
“The tacit exposure to cancer from carbide-ripened fruits may not allow Nigeria to have a cancer free society in a near future.
“It is important for the government to look into the artificial ripening of fruits and ensure that such practice is put under control,’’ he added.
He also urged public health officials in local government councils across the country to ensure that the fruits being sold are not forced to become ripe artificially to enable Nigeria to have a cancer-free society.
The Lagos State Chapter of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) has called on the state government to decentralise town planning by involving local governments.
Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos
ATOPCON President, Mr Olaide Afolabi, made the call in Lagos on Thursday, December 21, 2017 while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Afolabi said that it had become necessary to have a more responsive planning system in the state.
He said that decentralisation was vital because of the increased rate of illegal erection of structures in the state.
Afolabi said that decentralisation of town planning process would discourage people from erecting such structures.
“We are working toward improved planning practice in Lagos State so that things will be done in an orderly manner, and there will be less illegal developments.
“We want the government to make planning easier and more transparent; a lot of people will benefit from this instead of having illegal developments and government chasing illegal developers with scarce resources.
“Let planning be decentralised and local governments be given power to be involved in issuing planning permits,’’ he told NAN.
Afolabi said that there were a number of challenges facing town planning in the state.
“There is always a gap between the regulator and the regulated.
“There is too much bureaucracy at the level of the government.
“ We want a more responsive physical planning system in the state,” he said.
Afolabi expressed the optimism that decentralisation of town planning process would erase the bottlenecks associated with issuing planning permits.
He said that it was improper to delay issuance of planning permits for months and sometimes years after submission of applications.
“If one wants a development permit, there is no reason he should not get it within few weeks, but a lot of people take months or years to get it done and they accumulate debt because they borrowed for the project,” he added.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted 60 per cent chances of wittiest season ever in history over Nigeria in 2018.
A flooded road in Abuja after a heavy downpour
NiMet disclosed this in its twitter handle @nimetnigeria in response to the heavy down pour that prevailed over Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday, December 20, 2017.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some residents of the FCT have expressed concern over the rainfall when it had since ceased in late October.
They said the rain could have some resultant effects considering the current nature of the climate.
Mr Zechariah Shegaje, a farmer in Kuje Area Council of FCT, said early or abrupt cessation of rain had affected some crops like beans known as cowpea which could not yield optimally.
Shegaje said that some farmers planted as early as August, while the majority planted into late September and early October.
He acknowledged that NiMet had predicted early cessation to be in the first or second week of November but occurred earlier than expected.
According to him, they don’t know why rain had to fall in late December because it is unusual.
While reacting to enquiries by Nigerians, the agency said that it was nothing to worry about, adding that it is an isolated event.
According to NiMet, it is nothing to worry about if we think this isolated event has come to change the norm a great way.
“What we should consider is the direction this unusual weather event is pointing us when it comes to climatic variability.
“Considering some of the current indices we are monitoring, there is a 60 per cent chance year 2018 will be one of the wettest in history as we approach a La-NIna phase of the ENSO.
“Once in a while, the diurnal fluctuations of the ITD (Intertropical discontinuity zone) could create these isolated events.
“No doubt this year has recorded some unusual weather events. Recall also the rainfall this year ended abruptly like we forecast (SRP 2017),” it said.
The French lower house of parliament has approved a law that provides for the gradual abandonment of the exploration and production of oil, gas and coal by 2040, the Ecology Ministry of France said in a communique.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France
French Ecology Minister, Nicolas Hulot, was quoted in the communique as saying: “This law links the legislation with the obligations taken within the Paris climate accord.”
By 2040, French authorities are expected to not only refuse issuing new licenses for the exploration and production of hydrocarbon fields, but also to limit the extension of old licenses.
Therefore, France is going to gradually abandon the production of hydrocarbon fuels by 2040.
The Paris Agreement, signed by more than 190 parties and ratified by 171, was adopted within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015 and came into force in November 2016.
The main goal of the Paris accord is to tackle climate change by keeping the rise in a global temperature below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
At the One Planet Summit convened recently in Paris, the World Bank Group announced that it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas after 2019.
The Enugu State Executive Council has approved the installation of 24-hour solar technology to power the 45 Divisional Police Stations in the state.
Solar panels
Commissioner for Information, Mr Ogbuagu Anikwe, disclosed this on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 in Enugu while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the council’s meeting that held on Tuesday night.
Anikwe said that the gesture was meant to assist the police to overcome the perennial difficulties their officers faced especially at night when power supply from the public source was interrupted.
He said that government observed the difficulties being faced by those who reported cases at night, especially when there was power outage.
“The Special Adviser to the Governor on Inter-Ministerial Affairs, Mrs Mabel Agbo, reported the difficulties the police and citizens who come to report cases in the night were facing.
“They do not usually find it easy writing their statements in the dark with poor illumination. They usually resort to the use of telephone torches whenever there is power failure.
“Most police officers on night duty find it difficult to recharge their phones and other essential working gadgets due to poor supply of electricity,” he said.
Anikwe said that two types of power lighting systems were approved for each of the 45 police stations in the state.
He said that simple but steady solar power supply units would be installed in reception and charge rooms which would be used for illumination, charging of phones, and for powering other essential working tools.
He said that solar-powered street lamps would also be installed within the premises and precincts of each of the divisional offices to help to monitor movement into and out of such precincts.
The commissioner said that the installation of the internal lighting system in the offices would cost a little below N3.6 million, while the outside one was still being worked out.
He said that the project would start in the first quarter of 2018.
A waste management expert, Prof. Oladele Osibanjo, on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 said public toilets could be used as resource centres for production of biogas, if properly harnessed.
Prof. Oladele Osibanjo
Osibanjo, Managing Director of Jawura Environmental Services Ltd and also President, Waste Managers Society of Nigeria (WAMSON), made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Biogas, according to Wikipedia, refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
“Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste or food waste.’’
Osibanjo, a Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, urged the federal and state governments to start looking at the public toilets in an innovative way and invest in building more.
“In some countries, public toilets have been turned to opportunities of using human waste to make biogas for cooking.
“Public toilets are no longer seen as a nuisance, but as agents to create green economy.
“Unfortunately in Nigeria, public toilets are inadequate, grossly inefficient and poorly maintained.
“Some public toilets are eyesores and so unhygienic with many people patronising them, even with scarcity of water,’’ the WAMSON president said.
Osibanjo said that many people residing in urban areas did not have access to good toilet systems.
He said that they resorted to throwing faeces and excrement in open places, drainage channels, rivers and dump sites.
The waste manager urged the federal and state governments to build more public toilets in strategic places and outsource to experts for conversion of human waste to biogas.
The WAMSON president said that when human waste was not properly managed, it always lead to outbreaks of diseases associated with poor sanitary conditions.
Nigerian National Parks Service on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nature Investors West Africa Ltd. on technical and financial support for conservation activities at Gashaka Gumti National Park.
The Gashaka Gumti National Park
The Conservator-General of the Park Service, Ibrahim Goni, and the Director of Nature Investor West Africa Ltd., Olajide Layele, signed the agreement in Abuja.
Goni said that the agreement was a milestone for the Service in its efforts to boost wildlife protection and conservation activities in Gashaka Gumti National Park, located in Adamawa and Taraba states, in a professional manner to achieve maximum results.
“The support will be specifically in the areas of conservation, research and tourism activities of the park.
“The support is to fund and support surveillance training, anti-poaching patrols as well as patrol, research and tourism equipment supplies,’’ he said.
Goni said that the agreement would last for 30 years, from the date of its signing, adding that it could be renewed for another 30 years, subject to ratification of both parties.
The conservator-general thanked Nature Investors West Africa Ltd. for deciding to partner with the service.
“Nature Investors West Africa Ltd. had since proved to be a reliable partner by previously assisting the park in joint patrols and repairs of patrol vehicles, even before the idea of the partnership was conceived.
“I also ask that it should extend its support to other parks across the country so as to strengthen their capacity in conservation, research and tourism activities,’’ he said.
In his response, Olajide thanked the conservator-general for the understanding and assured him of the maximum support of his company.
He also said that his company was in the process of floating a non-governmental organisation, which would eventually be the counterparty in the agreement.
He said that the two parties would thereafter set up a Local Organising Committee to oversee the implementation of the partnership agreement.
Ethiopia has signed an agreement to build two geothermal power plants at a combined cost of $4 billion to be run by the country’s first privately-owned utility.
A geothermal power plant
The Corbetti and Tulu Moye plants will produce a combined 1,000 mega watts power upon completion in eight years time in the volcanically-active Rift Valley south of the capital Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia is eager to meet rising energy demand from its industries as well as becoming the continent’s biggest exporter of energy.
“No doubt the success of this effort will have a significant impact in the country’s future economic well-being,” said Azeb Asnake, the Chief Executive of state-run Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
The project’s equity investors include the Paris-based asset manager, Meridiam, as well as the Africa Renewable Energy Fund and InfraCo Africa – funds that focus on infrastructure.
As Ethiopia’s first privately-owned utility, the project will be operated by the developers for a period of 25 years.
In an economy traditionally dominated by state spending, the government has suggested that the nascent sector could be a model for increased private investment.
“Going forward, the government recognises the added value to be gained by working in partnership with the private sector, specifically in sharing with it the burden of investment for large-scale power generation,” said Seleshi Bekele, the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity.
Under a new 2015-2020 development plan, Addis Ababa wants to raise power generation to 17,346 mw from a current capacity of just over 4,300 mw from hydropower, wind and geothermal sources.
It has an array of projects under construction, including the $4.1 billion Grand Renaissance Dam along its share of the Nile River that will churn out 6,000 mw at full capacity upon completion within the next 10 years.
But the country’s power ambitions have also caused disputes.
Egypt – solely dependent on the Nile – is concerned that the Renaissance Dam will reduce the river’s flow.
Both countries are currently at odds over the project’s technical details.
Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, and three other senior engineers with Shell companies in Nigeria have been conferred with the fellowship of The Nigerian Society of Engineers, the highest professional recognition in engineering practice in Nigeria.
L-R: President, The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Otis Oliver Anyaeji; Engineering Manager, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Debo Oladunjoye; and Managing Director of SNEPCo, Bayo Ojulari at the investiture of Oladunjoye and Ojulari as Fellows of the Nigeria Society of Engineers in Abuja
The three others are SNEPCo’s Engineering Manager, Debo Oladunjoye; Projects Delivery and Assurance Manager of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Walter Egemba; and Project Manager, Bonga South West Project, Woji Weli, who bagged the NSE fellowship early in the year.
Each of the four conferees has nearly three decades of engineering practice in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and overseas.
“We found them worthy not only in knowledge and character, but also in practice, experience and professionalism to deserve their admission into the board of fellows of the distinguished society of engineers,” said NSE President, Oliver Anyaeji, at the conferment ceremony in Abuja on Friday, December, 15, 2017.
Ojulari’s honour came barely a year after he received the prestigious PSRG-Richardson Special Achievement Award in Health, Security, Safety and Environment (HSSE), and also the 2016 Professional Award by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), an association of indigenous technical oilfield service companies.
Speaking shortly after his induction as an NSE fellow, Ojulari described the recognition by the engineering body as a further challenge to do more for the profession through selfless service to the oil and gas industry for the development of Nigeria.
L-R: Projects Delivery and Assurance Manager of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Walter Egemba; Project Manager Bonga South West of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Woji Weli; Vice President, Shell Nigeria and Gabon, Peter Costello; Managing Director of SNEPCo, Bayo Ojulari; and SNEPCo Engineering Manager, Debo Oladunjoye; at a reception by Costello for them as Fellows of the Nigeria Society of Engineers in Lagos
“I thank Shell for giving me the opportunity to attain this level of professionalism but the best gratitude is to rededicate myself to further development of local capacity in the Nigerian oil and gas industry in a manner that demonstrates exemplary leadership and professional discipline,” he said.
Reacting to the conferment of NSE fellowship on four engineers of Shell companies in Nigeria within a year, Shell’s Vice President, Nigeria and Gabon, Peter Costello, commended the NSE for seeing the value that Shell companies and their crop of professional engineers bring not only to the profession but also to Nigeria. “This goes a long way to validate Shell’s commitment to indigenous manpower development and its encouragement and support to staff to attain the peak in their professional careers,” said Costello who is also an engineer with decades of experience.
