Abattoirs should be operated in a healthy environment
The health of citizens should concern every responsible and responsive government, especially when it comes to what they consume daily. Unfortunately, this is not the case in many parts of the country. That is the narrative the ‘ABIS Digital Market Place’ seeks to change by modernising the protein supply chain in Nigeria, using technology to solve the inefficiencies that plague livestock, meat, seafood, and poultry market. “It is a digital ecosystem designed to connect producers, processors, distributors, businesses, and consumers through a secure, transparent, and efficient platform,” according to ABIS Co-founder, Iliyasu Gashinbaki. “We have already established an export-ready processing facility supported by a modern laboratory.”
We commend the promoters of this initiative. On several occasions on this page, we have had cause to express serious concerns over the manner of producing, handling, and transporting beef from abattoirs to the different points of sale across Nigeria. And there appears to be no credible step by the authorities to arrest the problem. This may also explain why members of the Nigerian business and political elites, as various studies have shown, prefer imported, frozen poultry products, even when no one can also guarantee the safety of these foreign products.
Except Lagos and a few other states which have made remarkable efforts towards ensuring a healthy and hygienic condition by upgrading some of their abattoirs over the years to suit their laws, such facilities stink in many of our cities: butchers are still killing cows and preparing carcasses of their meat on the wet, dirty, muddy floors. Indeed, across Nigeria, the vicinity of most abattoirs is littered with heaps of stinking waste materials. Using wheelbarrows, motorbikes and rickety vehicles for transporting beef are also common sights. Besides, most of the abattoirs are in unacceptable condition, with the beef almost always left in open spaces that attract all kinds of flies and other contaminants.
Besides, after these animals are slaughtered, the fur is burnt off in the open, using firewood and lorry tyres, each producing smoke continuously on a daily basis. These tyres constitute the greater part of the fuel. Apart from the hazard it poses to the health of consumers, the practice pollutes the area. The environmental implication of such a practice is better imagined. In all, the abattoirs are generally being operated under unhygienic conditions, mainly due to a lack of certain basic amenities.
We therefore reinstate our position that the manner in which animal carcasses are handled during slaughter, loading and transportation from the abattoir to various points of sale must change.
Although medical experts differ somewhat as to the exact causes of the cancer scourge in the country, there seems to be some agreement that the habit of the people could be complicit. Increased awareness campaigns, improvements in public health are all likely to lead to a decrease in the incidence of this killer disease. We think that the public as well as the critical stakeholders in the business should be adequately enlightened on how to handle beef. This should be the responsibility of the health and environment authorities at both the federal and state levels. By so doing, we will be able to save our people from cheap deaths.
Since statistics indicate that Nigerians consume over 300 million kilogrammes of beef a year, establishing modern abattoirs through private investments like that of ‘ABIS Digital Market Place’ is a step in the right direction.