"GMOs In Nigeria: The silent part"
“GMOs, finally approved to be
grown in Nigeria” a not so surprising news after all. The country has in recent
times been trotting in the darkness of instability and economic uncertainty and
it’s just not a big surprise that the oil rich nation would make room for such
a decision as to approving the much controversial new wonder of biotechnology
that many and more advanced countries in the world have out rightly banned.
This rather fast approval which from reports took just a record time of two
months from the time of application by Monsato could make the country the
fastest endorser of GMO in the world. This seems just like another timely error
with potential future consequences.
The approval authorization reads
thus” After a thorough analysis of the application dossier, risk management
plan prepared in connection with the assessment of the application for the
permit , it is unlikely that the proposed release will cause adverse impact on
the environment and on human health . A permit is therefore granted to the
Monsato Agriculture Nigeria Ltd as applied for“[1]
authoritatively signed by the Director General /chief Executive officer of the
National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Signed on the 1st of
May 2016.
In the light of the National
Biosafety management board granting the permit to Monsato, it only seems normal
to assume that every possible risk assessment test had been carried out within the
context of confined trials. But upon reflecting on the details of the approval
which only has a confidential base on the risk management plans as provided by
the applying body (Monsato) and which means that the risks would only be
assessed after undergoing massive commercial field trials across the country,
one can only reason out a not too clearly drawn objective of the National
Biosafety management in providing the permit in the first instance without a
proper and prior testing conducted by the agency itself.
Clearly, the institution is
definitely putting the country at risk by subjecting its national responsibility
to the mere speculative integrity of a foreign body that has overtime been a
subject of worldwide criticism for its controversial history. Monsato has been
noted for introducing to the world some dangerous chemical compounds like DDT,
Agent Orange, and Saccharin, all of which have been known to have a commonness
of negative impact on human health. Now that the company has assumed yet
another role of spear heading the move for the global acceptance of GMOs, it is
expected for any country approached to weigh out any decision to be taken on
the scale of precautions. Unfortunately, recent development has put Nigeria on
the spotlight of been unhealthily receptive and desperate.
While there have been quite a lot
of reports debunking the not-safe labeling on GMOs, still a larger percentage
hold the conviction that they are not safe. Although it doesn’t entirely look
like a well pronounced divided world, but the outright banning of GMOs in most
countries (Importation and cultivation) and the constant call for labeling of
food products of GMO origin say a lot about the acceptance level globally.
Current events in Nigeria place
the country in the spotlight of economic instability, which has further
exasperated the poverty level among the teeming population. So, the likelihood
of desperation for alternatives for survival is not so far-fetched even in the
face of consequential dangers. But then, in the view of instances of misguided
priority of institutions meant to protect the choices of the populace, one
would wonder where the fate of the common man lies.
[1] https://nnimmobassey.net/2016/06/28/verifiedgmos-are-officially-approved-to-be-grown-in-nigeria/
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