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The Managing Director of Parts Central Limited, Henry Olaoluwa Onifade, has said Nigeria can transform plastic waste, water hyacinth and other marine litter choking its waterways into economic wealth through recycling, biofuels and other value-added processes.
Onifade spoke in Lagos while interacting with maritime journalists during activities marking his birthday in Lagos on Thursday, where he also provided updates on Parts Central’s recently launched waterways clean-up initiative in partnership with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
Declaring that “we don’t have waste anymore; waste is now wealth,” Onifade said the initiative was designed not only to remove waste from Nigeria’s waterways but also to establish sustainable systems for converting recovered materials into useful products.
He explained that biodegradable materials collected during the clean-up would be processed for various applications, including biofuels and other products, while the company is exploring technologies for sorting and processing plastic waste for recycling.
According to him, the objective is to create an economically viable circular economy around Nigeria’s waterways, where environmental pollution can be converted into employment, enterprise and wealth.
Onifade said growing interest from government agencies, ministries, associations and other stakeholders in cleaner waterways showed that the initiative was addressing a critical national challenge.
He cited the stakeholder engagement being organised by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) on reducing plastic pollution in waterways as evidence of increasing attention to the problem.
“We are happy that we can even think of a possible pollution-free waterways and roll it out. Since we rolled it out, we’ve heard of different people, associations, organisations and states that are now talking about it, which is very good for us.
“Our goal is for us to have pollution-free waterways. By God’s grace, we will integrate everybody who has a very good and genuine mindset that pollution-free waterways is possible in Nigeria,” he remarked.
Onifade disclosed that Parts Central was developing a technology-driven database covering ports, jetties, landing sites, riverbanks, dockyards and other locations connected to Nigeria’s inland waterways.
He said the database would help determine the volume of waste generated in different locations and enable the company and relevant government stakeholders to deploy resources effectively.
Every jetty and landing port, he said, would be assessed to determine whether appropriate waste-management facilities were available, while boats and other watercraft would also be incorporated into the data-gathering process.
“It’s not for us to have the data, because if you don’t have data of the people you want to cater for, you don’t know how to cater for them,” he said.
Onifade added that the company had spent considerable time testing different technologies and devices for tackling waterway pollution, with plans to eventually incorporate plastic manufacturers and other stakeholders into the waste-management value chain.
He further disclosed that Parts Central was preparing to extend the clean-up campaign beyond Lagos, with plans to flag off the waterways clean-up exercise in Port Harcourt and Imo State as part of its broader national expansion.
Onifade also defended his transition from partisan politics to business, saying his political experience had strengthened his understanding of public needs and motivated him to pursue practical solutions through enterprise.
“I took my own to the other side. I took it from politics to business,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to embrace the conversion of environmental challenges into economic opportunities, concluding: “No more waste on the waterways; we will now have wealth.”
