Upcoming Post: Mining Activity Contaminating the Osun river

The Osun river is one of the several rivers ascribed in local Yorùbá mythology to have been women who turned into flowing water after a traumatic event frightened or angered them. The Goddess Osun is said to inhabit the grove after being metamorphosised into a river while the river meanders within the Osun-Osogbo Sacred grove.
This river plays a major role in the lives of traditional worshipers and locals as water from this river is believed to have traditional healing powers. During the annual Osun Osogbo festival, and any other day, worshipers and tourists fetch water from this river as a healing concoction. However, in 2018, the water from the Osun river began to wear a muddy colour as opposed to its former clear appearance. At first, locals thought that the changes in the river were a result of flooding and would only be a temporary issue, however, the issue persisted and the river remains muddy and polluted till present.
It was later revealed that the muddy colour of the river was a result of gold mining activities and contamination of high levels of mercury, lead and cyanide as a result of the abrasive gold mining activities taking place at the upper course of the river. These activities have lead to the death of over 400 children from lead poisoning in the small Bagega community with a population of 7000 people.