My Hometown, Onitsha, “The Dirtiest Place in the World”

Achukwu Onyinye Jane of Anambra State, Nigeria writes about efforts to solve problems with disposal or management of human waste by collecting it to convert to renewable fuel via anaerobic digestion. The group seeks training and equipment required to achieve these goals.

by Achukwu Onyinye Jane (Advanced Biofuels Nigeria/Advanced Biofuels USA) My name is Achukwu Onyinye Jane. My hometown is Onitsha in Onitsha North LGA, Anambra State, Nigeria. I also reside there now. Growing up in my neighborhood, one of the bitter experiences I had was improper garbage and sewage disposal.

A related problem is air pollution that contributed to my being asthmatic today.

We lived in a one-room apartment. My parents were not literate. My father was a chain smoker, he smoked inside the room and my mother cooked with firewood and then on a kerosene stove, so all the smoke filled that room.

Throughout my life, I have witnessed many scenerios where residents dispose of their waste into waterways like gulters streams, rivers, and lakes whenever it rains. In addition to this, some people burned their garbage including excrement, paper, package paper, polythene, plastic bottles and bags etc. They disposed of it using all of the above in their compounds. They also bury excrement in the ground.

Several other scenes that I have witnessed are whenever it rains, people without toilets defecate in a polythene bag and throw it on the road and if a car mistakenly runs over it, the sight becomes horrible to behold.

Still today, refuse, sewage, polythene and plastics litter the streets and waterways of Onitsha as you can see in this video: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IgTQ5DCuoN3dyQhTnYFk0UyvrT918Jpc

How can we solve this problem?

Although the community is bedeviled by so many problems, I have gathered together a group of professionals to put together a project that focuses on fighting a few pressing issues which are improper sewage disposal, open defecation and environmental pollution.

We propose that anaerobic digesters will be installed in two remote villages in Nteje, Oyi LGA and Akpu in Orumba LGA of Anambra State. Also, mobile toilets will be installed in motor parks, markets and road sides.

A partnership with the Anambra State Government would be useful in order to curtail this menace and reduce air and water pollution. At the same time, the sewage will be used as a raw material to produce biogas (methane gas- clean energy) for cooking, as well as co-products such as fertilizer to yield crop productivity and animal feed or for growing insect protein.

Advance Biofuels Nigeria is my brain child, I founded it to help reduce the aforementioned problem. I already did research in Onitsha metropolitan city, Nteje, Awka, Ogbaru and Akpu town, Anambra State, Nigeria and found out the pressing problems of open defecation, improper sewage and refuse disposal.

I then came up with pictures and videos of the problem which you can view here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xcx_cVw5M2cryE-kWYEy9qlVkR54gqTs/view?usp=drivesdk. and here https://drive.google.com/file/d/10c6S9DXwX49zpDdmH_69zu5ob_lJg4AE/view?usp=share_link

Seeing that the issue can't be tackled by me alone, I then formed a team with like-minded people to see that the problem is reduced.

In the fight to reduce air pollution, improper sewage and refuse disposal, I attended many conferences, got in contact with some players in biogas industries for insights and help. However, they were sounding so discouraging because of the country I came from.

This made me recognize and understand the reluctance and drawbacks that non-Nigerians face when trying to do business in Nigeria. They defined "Nigeria as a deep hole that eats money" and "it is a very corrupt country" which is no news. They shared their experience with me of how they were charged huge amounts of money by the Nigerian Government, and were also told that foreigners could not operate alone without partnering with a citizen. Most of them are very sceptical about investing in Nigeria because Nigeria is known as a corrupt country although it has the available raw materials needed.

Our organization, Advanced Biofuels Nigeria, needs different help ranging from donations of equipment to expertise/training. This project could be used as a case study or for technology and social feasibility development or for developing products or systems for sale in similar locations. The links below contain our action plan and needs.

If you can help with training or equipment, please contact me via WhatsApp at 234-703-156-4969

INSTALLATION OF ANAEROBIC BIODIGESTER IN OYI LGA AND ORUMBA SOUTH LGA, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA.

Action Plan for Anaerobic Biodigester in Oyi Local Government Area (LGA) and Orumba South LGA, Anambra State, Nigeria

Proposed Budget

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