Dear President Muhammad Buhari(elect),
My name is Edwin Obaje and today 19th of may, I’m a year older, I hope you wish me a happy birthday when and if this letter gets to you, it’s my heartfelt desire that you get to read it. Also, your acknowledgement of the receipt of this letter and promise to take immediate action when you get to office as it concerns the content of this letter will be a wonderful birthday gift to me which I’ll cherish for a life time.
As a child right activist, I’ve been personally monitoring events around the country as they affect the total well being of the Nigerian child but none has burdened my heart like that of the recurring sad stories of children being infected and dying from lead poisoning. First, in Zamfara state and now in Niger state. Just recently 28 children have died from lead poisoning from illegal gold mining in Rafi area of Niger state, action must be taken quickly if they are not to suffer irreversible neurological damage.
Doctors Without Borders (DWB), an international NGO has been treating children from a 2010 mass lead poisoning in Zamfara state that killed 400 kids and left many paralyzed, blind and with learning disabilities because of a three-year delay in government funding for a clean up. DWB have claimed they have cured 2,688 of 5,451 people infected and hope to complete treatment next year. They have had most success in the worst affected village of Bagega where all but 189 of 1426 people have had the lead leached from their bodies.
Mr President-elect, It will be of interest to you to know that all those newly infected in Niger State are under the age of 5 years which is the age range of children with the lowest immunity against foreign infection or invasion, 43 per cent of the 65 sickened children are dying. The new mining sites which were found to contain leaded ores are often brought home for crushing and processing and are associated with this devastating impact of this outbreak, the fact that villagers make up to ten times as much from gold than from farming is the major factor encouraging illegal mining in these states. It has been discovered that Zamfara state where the processing area was found contains over 100,000 parts per million of lead which is far above 400 parts per million which the UN considers safe
Sir, the root cause of this lead poisoning crisis has been identified as unsafe mining and ore processing. People who engage in mining and ore processing must be given access to facilities and programs to allow them safely mine and process ore without exposing themselves or others to toxic lead. I therefore, On this my birthday passionately appeal to your incoming government to provide full support to these organizations especially the Doctors without Borders that are risking their lives and investing their time and resources to help curtail this crisis as previous Governments efforts to forbid artisanal mining have failed.
I hope you’ll wish me a happy birthday, but your wish for me can only come through if you’ll sincerely regard this passionate request as a national emergency in defense of the rights of the Nigerian children as adopted by the United Nations 1989 convention of the rights of the child which Nigeria is signatory as you begin your historic journey of change.
Our leaders of tomorrow depend on you; posterity beckons on you, save the children and save our future. Congrats on your election and thank you for taking time to read this.
EDWIN OBAJE
(May 19, 2015)
On behalf of affected Children