Debunking misleading claim about GMO food debate for Nigeria
Di 14 minutes video wey Dr Chinonso Egemba do, explain some science wey dey behind Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and arguments wey follow am, gada millions of views across platforms and thousands of comments.
Di response to di video show how di issues im raise for di video still dey cause confusion and dey show misleading claims of health risks wey dey with GM foods as e dey circulate for social media.
For im reaction, Dr Egemba tell BBC say im believe say di way pipo react to di video fit be sake of long time conspiracy theories wey dem bin don believe.
Some critics accuse am say dem pay am to promote genetically modified foods or im dey work secretly for foreign pipo including Bill Gates, im reject dose claims.
"Pipo don already dey tink say I dey work for Bill Gates secretly", na so e tok. "Well for di record, I no dey work for any GMO corporation. My platform dey built on education, and I go continue to do di hard work wey be to educate Nigerians."
Wetin be GM crops?
For 2016, Nigeria start to sell im first genetically modified crop, BT cotton. Dis lead to approval of oda genetically modified crops, PBR Cowpae and TELA Maize for oda years to use address food insecurity.
Across di world, GMO products don dey available since di 1990s.
Di process of genetically modifying crops or plants dey defined as to change di genetic materials of organisms in ways wey no dey hapun naturally, dis dey hapun through introduction of gene from oda species of di plant.
Dem dey use di technique to help growers to develop crops wey dey more resistant to tins like disease and drought.
Scientists dey identify di organism wey get di trait dem dey look for, dem go copy di gene and den put am inside di DNA of di new plant.
Why Nigeria dey grow GMO foods.
Nigeria approve di sale and consumption of GM crops, like variants of maize and cowpeas, for pest control and to fight food crises wey dey come from harsh weather conditions wey dey fight harvesting, na so Dr Yemisi Asagbra, Director General of di National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) tell BBC.
"Dem dey take di genes from organism for di soil and put am inside dis seeds for dem to dey able to withstand insect infestation and ready to fight drought", na so she tok.
Nigeria Biosafety Regulations dey mandate make producers dey label modified products, so pipo fit choose.
Health organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) say di evidence wey dey ground now, show say GMO foods no dey likely to cause risk and "e no ever show any effects on human health… sake of di consumption of such foods by di general population for di Monte wia dem bin don approve am".
However, some uncertainty and scepticism dey about di technology wey dey behind di use of GMOs, na dis, pipo wey dey spread misinformation dey use.
For Nigeria, social media influencers dey push misleading claim about GMO foods, including di one wey dem tok say GMO foods dey cause cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, no evidence dey wey show say if pesin eat GMO foods, e fit cause cancer.
Dia website tok say, "we don dey change genes of living tins for hundreds of years by choosing specific plants and animals to get certain outcomes. Dis na wetin we dey call artificial selection. Modern genetic modification dey like na quicker version of artificial selection. Scientists agree say GM foods dey as safe as non GM foods".
Meanwhile, one old video wey pipo dey share evritime for X and WhatsApp groups for Nigeria contain claim say Russia President Vladimir Putin ban GM foods and dey label any pesin wey grow am as "terrorist".
Tight laws and restrictions dey against GMO-related technology and produce for Russia, but dem no completely ban am. For example, di kontri dey allow di cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered plants for scientific research.
Opposition to GMO for Russia no plenti again. For April, President Putin give instructions to cabinet ministers make dem consider to develop fast growing GM-trees to increase Russia wood export, according to official report.
Di video also tok say genetically modified foods fit damage pesin DNA.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA na molecule wey dey carry genetic instructions for development functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms.
"From all di research, I don consult, evidence no dey to show say GMOs dey change consumer DNA", na so Dr Olumide Adebesin tell BBC. Im dey teach cell biology and genetics for di Nigerian University of Lagos.
Prof Cathie Martin, wey be group leader for independent research institute for plants, genetics and microbial science, John Innes Centre UK tok say, claims say GMOs dey cause cancer and dey change DNA dey unfounded and no get scientific evidence to support am. "Pesin no fit get chlorophyll sake of plant wey im eat", na so she tok. "We no be green."
Prof Martin counter anoda viral claim wey tok say GMO seeds stop local seeds from growing: "I neva see such, as a farmer, I don grow plenti GM plants and plenti of non GM plants for same soil."
Bill Gates agenda?
Di online debate also tok about impact on farming and claims say dem dey force GMO products on farmers, e come be like na issue of corporate control.
Ajisefinni Ayodeji, wey be smallholder farmer and president of farmers cooperative for Kwara state, western Nigeria, say farmers dey worried say GMOs fit comot power of Nigeria foods and marginalize local farmers.
E dey see push for GMOs as something wey foreigners dey push for and ask weda agricultural workers get training to handle genetically engineered crops wella.
Some critics dey tok say to add GMO products into Nigeria food system na part of agenda by international companies or specifically Bill Gates, di American businessman, to take control of Nigeria farming.
Di Bill and Melinda Gates foundation don back agricultural research for Nigeria, including di production of genetically modified TELA maize wey dem develop and produce locally from di Institute for Agricultural Research for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and involve di US Agency for International Development and di African Agricultural Technology Foundation.
Kabir Ibrahim wey dey lead All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) one of di largest groups of her kind for di kontri, support di use of GM crops and say much of di alarm na result of targeted misinformation.
E say no farmer dey forced to plant modified crops.
"Na your choice, you get choice to use GMO crops or not. And you get choice to even eat dem or no eat dem.," na so e tell BBC.
Mr Ibrahim wey dey cultivate GM cowpea and maize say many Nigerian farmers want to get access to GM seeds, no be small number.
Despite di kasala wey di video burst, Dr Egemba say e dey happy di way di mata raise toks, say e help plenti pipo to dey equipped to make dia own decisions.
"Wetin I bin want na make pipo know about di topic" na so e explain.
Wen lack of education or information dey about particular topic, human beings dey act in fear."
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Niger claims rare Mars meteorite was ‘trafficked' out of Africa
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BBC News
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Mars rock wey dem find for Niger sell for millions in New York - now di kontri dey find ansas
"Brazen! E dey brazen!" Prof Paul Sereno tok dis on di phone line from Chicago. E make no effort to disguise im anger becos one rare meteorite from Mars wey dem discover two years ago in West African nation of Niger, dem end up to auction am off in New York last month to one unnamed buyer. Di palaeontologist, e get close connection wit di kontri, believe say make dem return am to Niger. Dis millions-of-years-old piece of di Red Planet, di largest ever wey dem find on Earth, fetch $4.3m (£3.2m) for Sotheby. Like di buyer, di seller also dey anonymous. But e dey unclear if any of dis money go reach Niger. Fragments of extraterrestrial material wey make am to Earth don inspire some reverence among humans – some end up as religious objects, odas as curiosities for display. More recently, many don become di subject of scientific study. Di trade in meteorites don dey compared to di art market, wit aesthetics and rarity affecting di price. At first, sense of surprise surround di public display of dis extraordinary Martian find – less dan 400 of di 50,000 meteorites wey dem discover come from our planetary neighbour. Di photographs wey Sotheby take of di 24.7kg (54lb) rock – appear in di lights to glow silver and red – compound dis feeling. But den some pipo start to ask questions about how e end up under di auctioneer hammer. Di goment of Niger inside one statement, "express doubts about di legality of di export, raising concern about possible illicit international trafficking". Sotheby strongly disagree, e tok say dem follow di correct procedures, but Niger don launch investigation into di circumstances of di discovery and sale of di meteorite, wey dem don name NWA 16788 (NWA standing for north-west Africa). Dem no make di information about how e end up for world-renowed US auction house for public One Italian academic article wey dem publish last year tok say e dem find am on 16 November 2023 in di Sahara Desert in Niger Agadez region, 90km (56 miles) to di west of di Chirfa Oasis, by "one meteorite hunter, wey im identity remain undisclose". Meteorites fit fall anywia on Earth, but becos of di favourable climate for preservation and di lack of human disturbance, di Sahara don become one prime spot for dia discovery. Pipo scour di inhospitable landscape stretching across several kontris in di hope of finding one to sell on. According to di Italian article, NWA 16788, "na local community sell am to international dealer" and den dem transfer am to private gallery in di Italian city of Arezzo. In di acknowledgements, di authors thank Luca Cableri, name am as di owner of di meteorite. Di University of Florence magazine describe di pesin as "important Italian gallery owner". One team of scientists wey Giovanni Pratesi, mineralogy professor at di university, lead examine am to learn more about di structure and wia e come from. Di meteorite den briefly on display last year in Italy, including at di Italian Space Agency in Rome. Dem see am next in New York last month, minus two slices dey stay in Italy for more research. Sotheby tok say NWA 16788 wey dem "export from Niger and transport in line wit all relevant international procedures. "As wit everything we sell, all relevant documentation dey in order at each stage of dia journey, in accordance wit best practice and di requirement of di kontris involve." One tok-tok pesin add say Sotheby dey aware of report say Niger dey investigate di export of di meteorite and "we are reviewing di information available to us in light of di question wey dem raise". Prof Sereno, wey found di organisation Niger Heritage one decade ago, dey convinced dem break Nigerien law. Di academic wit di University of Chicago, don spend years uncovering di kontri vast deposits of dinosaur bones in di Sahara, campaigns to get Niger cultural and natural heritage – including anything wey fall from outer space - return. One stunning museum on di island for River Niger, e dey run through di capital, Niamey, plan to house dis artefacts. "International law tok say you no fit simply take sometin wey dey important to di heritage of di kontri - weda na cultural item, physical item, natural item, extraterrestrial item - out of di kontri. You know we don move on from colonial times wen all dis dey okay," Prof Sereno tok. One series of global agreements, including under di UN cultural organisation Unesco, don try to regulate di trade of dis objects. But, according to one 2019 study by international law expert Max Gounelle, wen e come to meteorites, while dem fit dey included, some ambiguity remain about weda dem dey covered by dis agreements. Dem leave am to individual states to clarify di position. Niger pass e own law in 1997 aim at protecting dia heritage. Prof Sereno point to one section wit detailed list of all di categories includind. "Mineralogical specimens" wey dem mention among di art works, architecture and archaeological find but dem no specifically mention meteorites. Inside one statement on di Sotheby's sale, Niger admit say e neva "get specific legislation on meteorites" - one line wey di auction house also point out. But e remain unclear how pesin fit get such heavy, conspicuous artefact out of di kontri without di authorities clearly noticing. Morocco don face similar issue wit di huge number of meteorites - more dan 1,000 - wey dem don find within di borders. More dan two decades ago di kontri experience wetin author Helen Gordon describe as "Saharan gold rush", fuel in part by laxer regulations and more stable political environment dan some of dia neighbours. 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Debunking misleading claim about GMO food debate for Nigeria
Debate ontop use of genetically modified foods for Nigeria don come back for group chats and social media feeds afta one health influencer do video wey go viral. Di 14 minutes video wey Dr Chinonso Egemba do, explain some science wey dey behind Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and arguments wey follow am, gada millions of views across platforms and thousands of comments. Di response to di video show how di issues im raise for di video still dey cause confusion and dey show misleading claims of health risks wey dey with GM foods as e dey circulate for social media. For im reaction, Dr Egemba tell BBC say im believe say di way pipo react to di video fit be sake of long time conspiracy theories wey dem bin don believe. Some critics accuse am say dem pay am to promote genetically modified foods or im dey work secretly for foreign pipo including Bill Gates, im reject dose claims. "Pipo don already dey tink say I dey work for Bill Gates secretly", na so e tok. "Well for di record, I no dey work for any GMO corporation. My platform dey built on education, and I go continue to do di hard work wey be to educate Nigerians." Wetin be GM crops? For 2016, Nigeria start to sell im first genetically modified crop, BT cotton. Dis lead to approval of oda genetically modified crops, PBR Cowpae and TELA Maize for oda years to use address food insecurity. Across di world, GMO products don dey available since di 1990s. Di process of genetically modifying crops or plants dey defined as to change di genetic materials of organisms in ways wey no dey hapun naturally, dis dey hapun through introduction of gene from oda species of di plant. Dem dey use di technique to help growers to develop crops wey dey more resistant to tins like disease and drought. Scientists dey identify di organism wey get di trait dem dey look for, dem go copy di gene and den put am inside di DNA of di new plant. Why Nigeria dey grow GMO foods. Nigeria approve di sale and consumption of GM crops, like variants of maize and cowpeas, for pest control and to fight food crises wey dey come from harsh weather conditions wey dey fight harvesting, na so Dr Yemisi Asagbra, Director General of di National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) tell BBC. "Dem dey take di genes from organism for di soil and put am inside dis seeds for dem to dey able to withstand insect infestation and ready to fight drought", na so she tok. Nigeria Biosafety Regulations dey mandate make producers dey label modified products, so pipo fit choose. Health organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) say di evidence wey dey ground now, show say GMO foods no dey likely to cause risk and "e no ever show any effects on human health… sake of di consumption of such foods by di general population for di Monte wia dem bin don approve am". However, some uncertainty and scepticism dey about di technology wey dey behind di use of GMOs, na dis, pipo wey dey spread misinformation dey use. For Nigeria, social media influencers dey push misleading claim about GMO foods, including di one wey dem tok say GMO foods dey cause cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, no evidence dey wey show say if pesin eat GMO foods, e fit cause cancer. Dia website tok say, "we don dey change genes of living tins for hundreds of years by choosing specific plants and animals to get certain outcomes. Dis na wetin we dey call artificial selection. Modern genetic modification dey like na quicker version of artificial selection. Scientists agree say GM foods dey as safe as non GM foods". Meanwhile, one old video wey pipo dey share evritime for X and WhatsApp groups for Nigeria contain claim say Russia President Vladimir Putin ban GM foods and dey label any pesin wey grow am as "terrorist". Tight laws and restrictions dey against GMO-related technology and produce for Russia, but dem no completely ban am. For example, di kontri dey allow di cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered plants for scientific research. Opposition to GMO for Russia no plenti again. For April, President Putin give instructions to cabinet ministers make dem consider to develop fast growing GM-trees to increase Russia wood export, according to official report. Di video also tok say genetically modified foods fit damage pesin DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA na molecule wey dey carry genetic instructions for development functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms. "From all di research, I don consult, evidence no dey to show say GMOs dey change consumer DNA", na so Dr Olumide Adebesin tell BBC. Im dey teach cell biology and genetics for di Nigerian University of Lagos. Prof Cathie Martin, wey be group leader for independent research institute for plants, genetics and microbial science, John Innes Centre UK tok say, claims say GMOs dey cause cancer and dey change DNA dey unfounded and no get scientific evidence to support am. "Pesin no fit get chlorophyll sake of plant wey im eat", na so she tok. "We no be green." Prof Martin counter anoda viral claim wey tok say GMO seeds stop local seeds from growing: "I neva see such, as a farmer, I don grow plenti GM plants and plenti of non GM plants for same soil." Bill Gates agenda? Di online debate also tok about impact on farming and claims say dem dey force GMO products on farmers, e come be like na issue of corporate control. Ajisefinni Ayodeji, wey be smallholder farmer and president of farmers cooperative for Kwara state, western Nigeria, say farmers dey worried say GMOs fit comot power of Nigeria foods and marginalize local farmers. E dey see push for GMOs as something wey foreigners dey push for and ask weda agricultural workers get training to handle genetically engineered crops wella. Some critics dey tok say to add GMO products into Nigeria food system na part of agenda by international companies or specifically Bill Gates, di American businessman, to take control of Nigeria farming. Di Bill and Melinda Gates foundation don back agricultural research for Nigeria, including di production of genetically modified TELA maize wey dem develop and produce locally from di Institute for Agricultural Research for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and involve di US Agency for International Development and di African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Kabir Ibrahim wey dey lead All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) one of di largest groups of her kind for di kontri, support di use of GM crops and say much of di alarm na result of targeted misinformation. E say no farmer dey forced to plant modified crops. "Na your choice, you get choice to use GMO crops or not. And you get choice to even eat dem or no eat dem.," na so e tell BBC. Mr Ibrahim wey dey cultivate GM cowpea and maize say many Nigerian farmers want to get access to GM seeds, no be small number. Despite di kasala wey di video burst, Dr Egemba say e dey happy di way di mata raise toks, say e help plenti pipo to dey equipped to make dia own decisions. "Wetin I bin want na make pipo know about di topic" na so e explain. Wen lack of education or information dey about particular topic, human beings dey act in fear."
