Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, spoke with select journalists about what the Dapo Abiodun administration is doing to combat environmental issues in the state and improve the health and well-being of its people. **Paul Omorogbe** shares excerpts:

On climate change, we’d like to know the Ogun State government’s approach to this issue.

The government’s position is to align with the national policy direction when it comes to climate change. This national policy is embedded in the global agreement known as the Paris Agreement, which was endorsed by this government.

This means that all our policies should focus on reducing carbon footprints. Ogun State is a sub-national government, and a very important component in this agreement. Why are we important? We have the highest number of industries in Nigeria. This is where we have the highest gaseous emissions, outside of the oil-producing areas.

So, our policy direction is to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. If we have our policy well entrenched, it will reduce carbon emissions and the national carbon footprint. This will allow Nigeria to move closer to the target set by the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Our policy is to ensure that we contribute our own quota, to ensure that we reach the goal faster, well before the 2030 target.

How exactly does the government plan to reduce air pollution?

We’re invoking the polluter pays principle, whereby if you are polluting, you will pay. For industries that are not reducing their emissions, we make them pay. We have emission standards in place, and we collect data from all industries. If you are not reducing your emissions, you will pay for it.

Additionally, we have the issue of vehicles. Ogun State is the gateway to other parts of Nigeria. We have one of the highest vehicular densities in intercity transportation, especially along the **Lagos-Ibadan Expressway**. The vehicular density there is far above 250 vehicles per hour, which is very high. In Ogun State, there is a vehicular emission fee that is collected. So, the **polluter pays principle** is being applied to incentivize the reduction of emissions.

For industries and companies that have deployed enough technology to reduce their emissions, we reward them annually with the Governor’s Award to encourage more industries to reduce their emissions.

What about mitigation?

Our mitigation strategy focuses on planting enough trees. Ogun State has one one of the largest forest covers in Nigeria, and we are the only state in Nigeria with a Ministry of Forestry. This underscores the importance we give to both mitigation and adaptation.

We increase our forest reserves annually by planting trees. We have a **tree planting day** in the first week of August every year. Through this, we ensure that we increase the number of trees planted both in urban and rural areas.

We are not just mitigating the industrial and vehicular emissions within Ogun State, but also for all the contiguous states. As you know, air travels, so we are able to provide a carbon sink where we capture carbon. Therefore, by improving the air quality in Ogun State, we are contributing significantly to Nigeria’s forest cover.

Still on air pollution, consider areas like Agbara and Ewekoro. One of the challenges in these areas is air pollution from industries and cement factories and how this affects the health of the people. Residents have left farming for other businesses. What is being done about this?

Well, the cement industry is one of the highest carbon-emitting industries in the world. Ogun State has the highest number of cement industries in Nigeria. Apart from cement, we also have the highest number of non-oil extractive industries in Nigeria.

To address the question about the cement industry specifically: Three-quarters of Ogun State is underlain by limestone.

Lafarge Cement has two factories here in Sagamu and Ewekoro. We also have other industries like BUA and Dangote, Dangote has the biggest factory at Ibeshe, and we also have International Cement in Ogun State.

For the Ewekoro area, we took what we call the stack records. We hired internationally reputable consultants to analyze the emissions coming from the stacks. What we found in Ewekoro was within permissible limits. However, where Ewekoro had a problem was at their mining site. They were unable to control the dust generated at the mining site, not from the stack. Where they did have a stack problem was at the Sagamu factory, and we shut them down.

Up to today, Sagamu factory is not working. We shut it down two years ago, and we told them until they complete the installation of their precipitator, they will not open that factory.

The factory at Ewekoro, however, has the scrubber and precipitator installed, but the pollution still comes from the mine. We are working with them to resolve that issue.

Interestingly, when we investigated further, we found that the land where people were farming actually belongs to Lafarge. Because Lafarge had not been mining there for years, people started using it as farmland. Lafarge confirmed that the land belongs to them, but since they weren’t using it, they allowed temporary farming. We were able to resolve this community issue.

What happened at Ibeshe was worse than what is going on at Ewekoro, but we were able to intervene there. I was there, along with the Minister of Environment, and we gave Dangote clear instructions on what to do to avoid any backslide.

We are supporting the cement industry in their decarbonisation program. To achieve this, we are working with them to convert refuse into refuse-derived fuel, which will be a main component of their energy transition program. This will help reduce the amount of fossil fuel used in their plants. We are working with McKenzie, a global organization, and Manufacture Africa, a British government-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), on this initiative.

We are using refuse not just from Ogun State, but also from other contiguous states. We are making significant progress in this direction and are pitching it at COP29, the upcoming Climate Change Summit in Azerbaijan.

At the border towns with Lagos, there’s something that happens along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which is open defecation. It’s a serious issue. We want to know how your ministry is handling that issue.

Open defecation is a multifaceted issue. Factors include lack of toilet infrastructure, social values, and the lack of consequences for such behavior. For example, in Kara, the particular area you mentioned, the issue isn’t just a lack of infrastructure. It’s more about social values. Many of the people in Kara have been displaced, and despite the availability of public toilets, some still prefer to engage in open defecation. It’s a psychological issue for some, where they find relief from it and smoking weed.

To change this habit, we need to have proper enforcement. We are already making progress. I was there two days ago, and the situation has significantly improved. We now have people policing the area 24/7. When someone is caught, they go through community service, where they clean the area as a deterrent.

Regarding infrastructure, we’ve populated the area with six new public toilets.From Berger to the Nigerian Tribune office, you will see six newly constructed public toilets with yellow roofs on both sides of the road.

The next step is to put up signages around the area to raise awareness. We are also working on criminalising open defecation. So, it’s not just community service anymore. Some individuals may face jail terms if they persist. We are doing everything we can to eradicate this behavior in the area.

Where else in Ogun State has open defecation been a significant issue?

The cases of open defecation are localised, primarily in areas with non-indigenous populations. For instance, in Abeokuta, the issue is concentrated in areas inhabited by non-indigenous people. We believe that social habits may have contributed to this, but we will not allow the degradation of our environment with such behavior.

WASH Strategy in Ogun State

One of the significant achievements we’ve made is implementing the **WASH** (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Program. Ogun State has the first local government in the Southwest to be declared open defecation-free: **Ikenne Local Government**. We followed the UNICEF protocol to ensure that every household has a functional toilet, and we successfully achieved this.

We are now scaling this up across the state. We are installing more public toilets throughout Ogun State to ensure that there’s no excuse for open defecation.

Our public toilets in Ogun State are unique. They use sewage in a **bio-reactor** to generate electricity, providing an innovative solution to waste management.

We are also tightening laws to ensure that all restaurants and petrol stations in Ogun State make their toilets available for public use. If they fail to comply, we can seal their premises. We are giving people the tools to report any facility that denies access to toilets, and we will enforce the law.

Our target is to ensure that by June next year, at least 10 more local governments in Ogun State will be declared open defecation-free (ODF).