Pollution Crisis: The Devastating Impact of Sand Dredging and Oil Exploration on Esaba River”

By Moses Darah

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I fondly remember the Esaba River as a pristine and dark waterway. My mother and I would paddle through the Esaba-Oleri River to Aladja, Isaba and Ovwian markets, quenching our thirst with its pure waters.

In its heyday, the Esaba River was a lifeline for many. Its waters served as a source of drinking water for the indigenes, a place for bathing, laundry and toilet for those without access to proper sanitation.

As an avid fisherman, I spent hours hooking fish and using ‘shoshi’, ‘eghore’ and ‘igen’ to catch ighweri, ikokolo, ephoro, efen and ehe. But today, the Esaba River tells a different story. The waters are polluted, courtesy of rampant illegal sand dredging and oil exploration. For the past ten years, the water is no longer dark but rather murky and brown, due to the devastating effects of pollution from illegal sand dredging and oil exploration.

The water pollution poses severe health risks to humans and wildlife alike, devastating the fish population and disrupting the delicate ecosystem of the Esaba River.

This is to call on the Delta State Commissioner for Environment, Hon Tommy Ejiro Jamani to take immediate action, addressing these environmental atrocities and finding lasting solutions to restore the Esaba River to its former glory.