Top 15 Eucharia Oluchi Nwaichi Quotes

We want solutions that are green and based on nature. We aim to do no harm in everything we do.

The power of science is that people can prove that this wasn't done based on bias or someone's personal interests.

Mother nature called on me to be a steward.

Being responsible is more important than fighting. It's more enduring.

We are not here for battle. We just want people to be responsible.

I stayed to work in Niger Delta, because my mission is to make my country great.

We also learn from them. They have planting techniques that we don't know - they teach us how to make the solution work in their area.

People get excited and feel like scientists, because they're working with us researchers to fix the problem.

If you don't engage with people properly, you run the risk of being kidnapped. First I meet the community chief, the women's leader, the youth leaders.

Science is the bedrock of development. The way we live is a biological process. Young girls should be interested in science. Man can crack it; woman can crack it! We have to work hard for what we believe in.

From pilot studies, we have reached 75% to 80% of heavy metals removal and this biological process can be repeated several times over until desired results are achieved.

Crude oil has many components. In the soil, it leaves high concentration of heavy metals, which are inorganic and cannot be degraded by micro-organisms. The current practice by polluters is to use excavations, but that is only shifting the goal post. The goal is to reduce the contaminants to the barest minimum. Polluted land can become viable for agriculture again. I will study a similar process in Poland.

How did you become involved in scientific research?

The environment needs to be protected. The degradation has gone beyond what you can sweep under the carpet. I discovered the indigenes are part of the pollution. They tap into the pipeline and do illegal, artisanal refining, but without the technical know-how.

It feels good. I was always first position in the class for maths and physics. It made me stand out. My father encouraged me, always made me feel like a superstar. I went to as high school specialised in science. I got to love the profession of scientist. I did industrial training (in Nigeria, students have a period of hands on industrial training) with a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and experienced hands on environmental monitoring.