Teaching Comparative

Clearing the air in Nigeria

We are all probably familiar with the rule of thumb about news from far away: The farther away from you that events happen, the more dramatic they must be to reach you.

Thus, we often hear about little other than violent conflicts, disasters, tragedies, and huge scandals from places like Nigeria.

We hear about the sectarian riots, but sometimes we need to be reminded that more mundane political and policy concerns are also important. Like pollution in Kano.

As with most political, policy, and environmental situations, this one is full of complexities. How many public policy issues could your students identify in this article?

The report comes from the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks.

Motorcycle Pollution Causing Health Risks in Kano City

"Motorcycle emissions in northern Nigeria's Kano city pose serious environmental health risks to residents, according to health and environmental experts, yet the government has refused to pass laws to control the pollution.

"The government insists awareness campaigns are enough to right the problem.


"At two million mopeds or 'achabas' for five million people, the number per capita in Kano exceeds that of any other Nigerian city, according to Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the Kano office of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC).

"However, it is not just the numbers of bikes on the streets that worry residents; it is the levels of pollution they emit.

"'The two million motorcycles plying the roads of Kano produce as many fumes as six million cars - too much for a city of five million people,' said Yusuf Adamu Mohmmed, an environmentalist at Bayero University in Kano...

"The collapse of public transport services in most cities has led to motorbike taxis being adopted as a means of inner-city transport, according to Ibrahim.

"The problem in Kano has been exacerbated by the 2006 government ban on commercial motorbikes in Abuja, which led operators to head to Kano, where moped use doubled in a year, according to FRSC studies.

"Commercial motorcyclists have a habit of adding engine oil to their fuel to make it denser, Ibrahim told IRIN, which means it burns more slowly over a longer period, creating more pollution. Adding the oil can stretch a full tank of petrol to 10 hours of travel as opposed to just seven...

"The density of motorcycle traffic is also increasing the number of accidents in the city, according to the FRCS's Ibrahim, who says bikes cause at least 70 percent of the city's road traffic accidents.

"Kano General Hospital has a ward called the 'achaba ward' where only accident victims from taxi mopeds are hospitalised. 'We receive [no fewer] than 20 cases of 'achaba' accidents a day,' Samira Yakubu, a nurse at the hospital, told IRIN...

"For Sunusi Suleiman, a lawyer in Kano, the solution is simple. 'The government should pass legislation putting a ceiling on the level of emissions from motorbikes... All the government needs to do is firmly enforce the legislation without giving room to cutting corners.'...

"'The government lacks the political will to tackle the problem. Legislation and sensitisation should go hand-in-hand [to curb] this ugly trend. Nothing short of this will work,' stressed environmentalist Yusuf Adamu Mohamed."

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Labels: environment, Nigeria, policy

posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:56 AM