For a long time, residents and farmers in Kajola-Ijesa, a community in Atakumosa West Local Government Area of Osun State and Ibala-Ijesa, another community in Obokun LGA among others have relied on River Osun traversing their settlements for daily needs.
But recently, the Osun River flowing from Ekiti State, through the communities, appeared to have lost its colourless state and changed to brown, raising concerns from residents. After several months to unravel the mystery behind the change of the river’s colour, some residents of Ibala-Ijesa and Kajola Ijesa, while speaking withsaid they eventually discovered that the river may have been contaminated by artisanal miners operating in neighbouring communities of Ilowa, Iponda, Ilase-Ijesa and some other settlements in the area.
“The first thing we did was to team up with another youth–based organisation in Osun State to advocate urgent action from the Osun State government in April 2021. We therefore decided to go scientific about the problem by determining what elements are in the water that makes it polluted. “For us as an organisation whose foundation is rooted in data, we are afraid that this data is the scariest in recent times and there have been many questions coming to our minds.
“What about the farmland effect? What about the farms that use water from the Osun River for irrigation purposes? That means, even if you live in a government residential area, you are also at risk of cancer and other effects of heavy metals. He also explained that miners were not allowed to operate in Kajola-Ijesa, but blamed illegal mining operations going on in Ilowa, Iponda and Ilase-Ijesa communities for the contamination. He also called on the state government to take urgent steps towards returning the river to its previous state.
Oluwasanmi said, “Many residents stopped drinking the water when it changed colour. We have been sourcing drinking water from other sources. People are scared and other options of getting water are being considered. Saka Oladimeji and Tayo Agboola, both farmers in a village under Ibala-Ijesa, said that miners in the area appeared above the law considering the manner they operate. They also blamed them for engaging in mining operations at the sites near the bank of Osun River in the area.
You guys stop telling this wicked govt where our mineral resources are... They will steal and talk for themselves... The mineral is best left on touched
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