Gombe volcano: Villagers refuse relocation

Until recently, that is. Chairman of Funakaye LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Usman Ribadu, was alerted on the development, and he reported the matter to state Ministry of Environment, Water Resource and Urban Planning. The Ministry, under the directive of the governor, invited some experts from Center for Geodesy and Geodeynamics of National Space Research and Development […]

Until recently, that is. Chairman of Funakaye LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Usman Ribadu, was alerted on the development, and he reported the matter to state Ministry of Environment, Water Resource and Urban Planning. The Ministry, under the directive of the governor, invited some experts from Center for Geodesy and Geodeynamics of National Space Research and Development Agency, Toro, Bauchi State and National Environmental Standard Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Gombe.

 

The journey on the rough road leading to Abodagori Rocky Range site lasted almost three hours. Once there, experts made their way to the rocky hill, on which an opening from the top emits gases with a burning plastic odour.

Experts told Weekly Trust that there was a presence and quantity of Sulphur Dioxide at 1.7 ppm, carbon monoxide 4.2 ppm, Hydrogen Sulphate 0.3 ppm and oxide 0.03 ppm while the temperature of the area stood at 307.5 kelvin were found. The Head of Pollution Control and Sanitation of NESREA, Mr. Kingsley Nwugu, who conducted the study at the site, said there were acidic gasses there as well, which could be harmful to people living within the immediate environment of the hill.

One Malam Yahaya Garba told Weekly Trust at ‘the foot of Abodagori Hill that he has been in Ndanajem village for over 35 years and there was never a time that the rocky range emitted smoke, as it has been doing for the past three months.

Garba added that he was not willing to relocate to any place, pleading with government to resolve the problem so that he would continue to take care of his cattle as well as his fertile farm in the area. “I do not want to be relocated to any other place, because I am sure I will not get good, fertile land for farming and grazing as my present place.”

But NESREA’s Nwugu added that in any situation where carbon monoxide mixes with oxygen, people would suffocate, as oxygen would be neutralized. Nwugu also added that his findings also indicated high concentration of sulphur in the gasses as well as other chemical components.

Abom Wilson, a geologist from NESREA, also revealed that because the gasses were escaping through a vent of rocky hill, it is a sign of future volcanic eruptions in the area. He also indicated that the increase in the pressure of air noticed around the area has resulted into the volcanic ash, present in the smoke, also a pointer to a possible volcanic eruption. Wilson further stressed that they are constrained, as they are lacking the equipment that aids in determining the time the volcanic eruption might take place.

Residents of Ndanajem village have been advised to keep 500 meters away from the rocky range as recommendation by a technical report of six agencies that have conducted an investigation which says the area is housing a dormant volcano. The team of experts from National Geological Survey Agency, National Geo-hazard Monitoring Center, Awka, Enugu State, Center for Geodesy and Geodynamics of National Space Research and Development Agency, Toro, Nigerian Metrological Agency, Gombe, National Environmental EnviromentalStandard Regulation Enforcement Agency, Ministry of Water Resource and Environment and National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA) revealed the findings and made the recommendation.

The report also recommended carrying out analysis on populace, animals, plants and drinking water sources around the environment to determine the possibility of hazardous consequence. The report added that the inter-agency investigation is inconclusive, advising on further analysis on the development.

Femi Olugu, principal scientist with Center for Geodesy and Geodeynamics of National Space Research and Development Agency, Toro, Bauchi State, opined that there is need to mobilize equipment to site to be able to find out from the inner structure that led to the opening and the coming out of gasses which could not be ascertained from the surface.

He said the study that would be conducted would help to determine whether the organic activities that resulted into the gasses was depth seated into the earth, and it also enable them to look into the possibility of either there could be a volcanic eruption in the area or not.

Olugu pinpointed that another record that would assist them in their study is that which indicated that there was once a time when Gombe environment had an earthquake, as well as the recent report of tremors in the area.

According to him, if a tremor takes place in any particular area, there could be some fractures that could allow magma to move and that alone is another important factor that could lead to a volcanic eruption. Olugu said there could be a lot of geological activities that could occur as result of the formation of these various gases, and one of them include volcanic eruption.

While many other settlers expressed reluctance at leaving the area, at least one, begged to differ. Adamu Yahaya, another one of the settlers of Ndanajem village for the past 25 years, spoke to Weekly Trust and said he had been seeing smoke coming out from Abodagori Hill for the past three months but he wasn’t bothered. “I didn’t bother to enquire why the hill is emitting smoke ceaselessly for a long period, as I thought somebody must have been bush-burning, as usual,” he said.

Yahaya added that hardly could a day pass without him visiting the bottom of the hill, because that is where he takes his cattle for grazing and nobody has ever told him that the smoke has any harmful effect on human beings. He added that if government decides to relocate them, he would be willing to accept the offer, in as much as he would be provided with another place for grazing and farming.

The Permanent Secretary of Environment, Water Resource and Urban Planning, Abdullahi Mohammad Umar, said as soon as experts have made their findings available to the government, all recommendations would be implemented.