President of Metrol Environment and Awareness Initiative, a Kaduna-based non- governmental organisation, Mr Jibril Suleman, has called for concerted efforts to discourage dumping of plastic wastes into rivers and drains.
Making the call in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna, Suleman suggested the intensification of public enlightenment by Ministries of Environment, concerned citizens and environmental non-governmental organisations.
He said efforts should be geared towards raising awareness on dangers associated with dumping of dangerous chemical and plastic wastes into rivers and streams.
He said that for about 10 years, his organisation had been volunteering in cleaning riverbanks of trash and garbage to save aquatic animals from extinction.
According to him, the exercise involves collecting, gathering and hand-picking of plastic, to save many endangered species in rivers.
“Many marine mammals such as crocodiles, turtles, varieties of fish species, craps, etc, have gone into extinction in Nigeria,” he said, adding that some species of fish in the North were no longer been sighted.
He stated that a recent United Nation’s report indicated that around one million animal and plant species were now threatened with extinction.
Also fielding questions from newsmen, the Director, African Climate Reporters, Nurudden Bello, said millions of marine animals died each year from plastic waste alone across the planet.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to participate in beach or community clean-ups, to save marine mammals across the universe.
