The Federal Government has been urged to adopt satellite-based water quality monitoring systems to safeguard Nigeria’s critical lakes from worsening environmental degradation.
A Nigerian geospatial researcher at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Eniola Onatayo, made the call in a statement on Tuesday, warning that millions of Nigerians who depend on lakes for drinking water, fishing and farming face growing health and economic risks without systematic surveillance.
Onatayo stated that millions of Nigerians who depend on lakes for drinking water, fishing, and farming face serious health and economic risks without systematic water quality surveillance.
“Nigeria has demonstrated that it can effectively use satellite technology for environmental monitoring,” she stated.
“Now we need to build on that success by developing specialised water quality algorithms for our critical lakes like Chad, Kainji, Jebba and Oguta. The Federal Government should also adopt satellite-based water quality monitoring to protect the country’s most critical lakes from worsening environmental degradation,” added Onatayo, who noted that while Nigeria’s space agency currently deploys satellites to monitor land use and natural disasters, water quality parameters are vital for public health and remain largely untracked.
She stated that this is dangerous in a country where over 66 million people still lack access to safe drinking water and waterborne diseases continue to claim thousands of lives annually.
Onatayo, whose groundbreaking research in New York’s Finger Lakes region developed machine learning models to detect harmful algal blooms and track water clarity from space, has already tested her methods on Nigerian lakes.
She revealed that her preliminary analysis of Lake Kainji uncovered seasonal algal blooms linked to upstream agricultural practices, trends that conventional monitoring had missed.
She said, “The same techniques we use to monitor lakes in New York work remarkably well for Nigerian lakes. We already have satellite coverage. What we lack are the specialised algorithms and institutional frameworks to put them to use.
“Nigeria’s major lakes face mounting pressures: Lake Chad has shrunk by over 90 per cent since the 1960s; Kainji and Jebba are increasingly contaminated by industrial discharge, while Oguta Lake suffers from oil exploration and urban runoff. Yet, most of them still lack comprehensive water quality monitoring systems.
“The economic stakes are equally high. Nigeria’s inland fisheries are valued at over N84bn annually, with the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands alone sustaining more than a million people through fishing, farming and grazing. Onatayo argued that early detection of water quality problems could prevent devastating fish kills and protect rural livelihoods: “Satellite monitoring systems pay for themselves within two years through avoided losses and improved resource management.
“Every day we delay implementation, we’re putting millions of Nigerians at risk. The technology exists, and the need is urgent. Nigeria must act now to protect its most precious water resources.”
Onatayo further emphasised the importance of building local capacity, urging Nigerian universities and government agencies to establish remote sensing laboratories, train scientists, and establish technical partnerships to ensure the sustainable deployment of the technology. Schneider targets power solutions for small businesses.
