Hameed Braimah
The Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority, (BORBDA) and Ologbo Community, in the Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State have agreed to collaborate to stop the harmful human practices that degrade the quality of water on the Ossiomo River, in Ologbo Community, Edo State.
Both parties agreed at the occasion of the 2025 World Water Day celebration at the Ossiomo River-side, Ologbo, that such collaboration was necessary to restore water quality that supports life owing to several years of abuse that has degraded the water quality resulting in low aquatic resources that support life.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of BORBDA, Hon Olufemi Samuel Adekanmbi while speaking at the event, highlighted the significance of the celebration in view of the role rivers play in the sustenance of life and the need to maintain and preserve them.
To ensure the health and well-being of people, the Managing Director said, that “the populace must maintain a clean and safe environmental culture that supports the health of rivers for the benefits of man”.
Hon Adekanmbi said this year’s event with the theme; ‘Clean Rivers, Healthy Communities’ was being marked to draw global attention to the need for Communities to appreciate the usefulness of rivers in the sustenance of life, stressing that “abuses in the forms of harmful human activities, such as pollution, over extraction, damming, deforestation and climate change threaten the health of rivers and their sustainability, thus posing great threat to human health and existence”.
Hon Adekanmbi explained that the theme of this year’s celebration, underscored the critical role clean rivers play in achieving a healthy community, disclosing BORBDA’s commitment to the development of the rivers within its Catchment Area.
“Rivers are the lifeblood of our Planet. They sustain ecosystems, provide water for agricultural and industrial use, supports biodiversity, serves as vital sources of drinking water for billions of people worldwide. They also hold cultural, spiritual and recreational significance enritching lives of communities across the globe”, Adekanmbi emphasized.
Also speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy, Edo State, Dr Washington Osifo, represented by Mr Emma Ofordu, charged communities in the state to imbibe the culture of caring for the health of rivers in their areas by avoiding indiscriminate dumping of wastes in rivers.
The Commissioner frowned at the several harmful human activities on the Ossiomo River which he said include the indiscriminate dumping of saw dust and logs of wood inside the river, a development that has seriously deprived the river of necessary aquatic organisms including fish amongst others.
He said that the State Government has concluded plans to effectively collect and convert all wastes to useful purposes including power generation, just as he advised the people in the community to always separate their wastes for effective management.
Chief Emma Iyase, the Okao of Ologbo Dukedom, represented by Mr Chesley Greg Omoregbe commended the management of BORBDA for the initiative and the choice of the Ossiomo River to sensitise communities on the right attitudes that sustain the health of rivers.
The Okao assured the Agency of their support by sensitising their people against engaging in activities that harm the rivers, just as he also acknowledged the importance of rivers in the sustenance of lives and living.
Highpoints of the ceremony was the symbolic cleaning of the river shoreline of harmful plastic wastes and the planting of some trees by the Managing Director, the representatives of the Commissioner for Water Resources and Energy and the Okao of Ologbo Dukedom.