A tourism expert, Conservator and Managing Director, Ogba Zoological Gardens and Nature Park, Benin City, Edo State, Mr Andy Osa Ehanire said his decision to support the closure of the burrow pit close to the Zoological Garden by the Edo State Government was borne out of his patriotism to safeguard the Ogba Zoological gardens and its environment from environmental hazards and disasters.
Mr Ehanire was reported to have stated this in an interview with Newsmaker in Benin City while responding to allegations leveled against him by some leaders of Oko Community that he was standing as an encumbrance against the sandfiing and reclaiming of the burrow pit “which poses serious environmental threats to some of the houses surrounding the area.”
Mr Ehanire reportedly said he decided to rally round the Edo State Government to avoid impending environmental disasters that will occur if surrounding communities of the Zoological Garden were allowed to fill the burrow pit with huge refuse to reclaim it.
“Nobody is against sandfilling. It has to be clean and safe materials but not refuse. The use of refuse will cause disease, nuisance and above all, will be an international disgrace to think about using ten big problems to solve a little one.
“This burrow pit existed for years before we came here. It was government that acquired it to excavate some sand for construction and long before we came here, government itself closed it down when it became an environmental hazard. But soon after we came to revive the Zoo in the year 2000, government also gave licences to some private people from Oko Community to resume excavation again.
“Knowing this further excavation was clearly unsustainable and dangerous – since they had dug the site up to the underground water table, which is what feeds the Benin aquifer….All the borehole water we are drinking is from the water table, in fact the source of Ogba river is not far from there. They are all part of the same watershed. This is among the reasons why Ogba Forest Reserve was created – to protect a very delicate ecosystem.
“This Reserve was meant to become a Nature Park, but luckily, the Zoo was carved out of this Reserve at its closest section to Benin urban area.
“However, with pressure on land for development purposes, this Reserve has been eaten up from its initial 53 square kilometres to less than 1 km, which is now within the Zoo. There are also now massive incursions into the little that are left in the zoo that preserves the rare ecological treasures that have gained international conservation attention. So it was this same Oko Community that was involved in mining the sand from this burrow pit to a dangerous level before we mounted pressure for its closure. Having created a huge crater that is now threatening some house in the vicinity, they now want to use refuse to fill it back, thereby polluting the water table and contaminating the underground drinking water in Benin.
The Managing Director of Ogba Zoological Gardens added that: “We faced antagonism from Oko Community when we agitated that the burrow pit be closed down permanently. Now we are again faced with antagonism by the same community for letting them see reasons why using refuse to fill the burrow pit which is a very dangerous idea.
“That place is supposed to become an ecological protected zone that needs careful planning and not where government will just give it to somebody or a community who wants to acquire it for pure commercial interest without knowing the ecological consequences.
“Apart from that, we are the closest people to that place, while people that are saying they have interest now are not close to it, are living in other parts of town.
“We are the ones that will suffer any environmental consequences, so any body wanting to come there for whatever project necessitates an environmental impact assessment, EIA, but we are not aware if such was conducted, since we ought to have been involved.
“Even in the middle of the dry season, there’s water in that burrow pit being fed from the underground. There are different animals, plant species, and exotic ones that are thriving in that place.
The burrow pit had acquired a mini ecosystem that has been attracting researchers. The Zoo is a specialised conservation facility of government, and being closest to this burrow pit should have been the first port of call for any intervention in that vicinity. Nobody consulted us about any plans for the utilisation of that place until we saw convoys of refuse trucks with their smelly cargo on New Year Day despoiling such a pristine environment. It was then we heard that someone had acquired the place.
Mr Ehanire alleged that some of the community leaders around that axis waiting to reclaim the burrow pit “are only thinking of filling it by making it a huge refuse dump. The smell alone will close down the zoo. Houses in the area, even up to NPDC will be affected. So who are those looking for solutions without knowledge and foresight? Such should never be allowed to lead government into such disgraceful thinking.
“They started on New Year day, January 1st. They brought huge smelling cargo to start to fill the place with refuse – all kinds of refuse that nobody knows where it originated from, including toxic stuff.
“Even ten thousand truck loads of refuse cannot fill this burrow pit. Ogba stream is just a few metres from the site, and the spillover will be inevitable. A community has sold all its lands and should not seek desperate measures that will hurt the present and the future of generations to come. Putting it simply: you cannot eat your cake and have it.”
Recall that some Community leaders of Oko Community including Mr Sunny Osazee, Mr Harrison Edeko , the youth Secretary, and the youth Chairman, Mr Sunday Ogbede alleged that the MD of Ogba Zoological garden was frustrating the community efforts in reclaiming the burrow pit, adding that if not reclaimed would lead to the collapse of several houses in the area
” This man called Ehanire, the MD of Ogba Zoological gardens is stopping our lawyer, Dele Edokpaye, from addressing the gully.
” If this raining season meets the gully, so many houses will be destroyed. Please, we are calling on relevant stakeholders and the government to intervene in this matter, and call Mr Ehanire to allow us to fill the gully in order to avert impending environmental hazards.”
https://ewsmakers.blogspot.com/2025/02/why-am-against-reclaiming-of-burrow-pit.html?m=1
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