Environment
Flood Spreads In Rivers Affects Four LGAs, Renders Thousands Homeless
Over 200,000 persons have been rendered homeless while properties including houses and farmlands are destroyed by flood in four local government areas of Rivers State.
The local government areas are Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Abua/Odual and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.
Sources within the four local government areas informed The Tide that all the coastal communities especially in Ahoada West and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas respectively are under water.
The source further revealed that most of these communities are located in Engenni District of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Ndoni district and Egi kingdom of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.
According to the source, coastal communities which are under water in Ahoada West Local Governemnt Area are Akinima, the council headquarters, Joinkrama I and II, Ikodi, Akianiso, Igovia, Ususu, Isua, Odau and Edagberi, while in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, all the seven communities in Ndoni District which are Asi Azaga, Isukwa, Otikiri Agwe and Ndoni Main town, in Egi Kingdom. The following communities also affected are: Idu Osobile, Kregeni, Obobouru and others.
Sources revealed that some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps are already overstretched with the number of internally displaced persons occupying them.
The Tide also leant that some residents are living in makeshift structures as well as engaging in premature harvesting of crops.
According to the source, some of the residents particularly in Mbiama/Ndoni and Akinima now cook outside and sleep on scaffold materials.
An internally displaced person who stays in one of the camps told The Tide via telephone that the camps are in dire need of mosquitoes nets, food items and potable water.
He stressed the need for the government to come to the aid of communities in the area.
A resident of Idu Osobile commuity, Ejeukwu Joezah told The Tide that his people now sleep on roof tops.
He said people now move round the community with the aid of canoes.
Also speaking, the Eze Egi of Ogbaland, HRM Professor Anele Uzondu Wokoma, called for supports to flood ravaged communities in the area.
Also, an IDP in one of the camps, in Ahoada West, Mr. Ogbam Orugba, told The Tide in an interview that he has lost all his farmlands to the flood. “I have lost everything to the flood. All my farmlands including houses are all under water,” he said.
He stressed the need for the government and public spirited individuals to come to the aide of the people.
Another indigene of the area, silver Oku, said most residents of the affected communities have relocated to communities not affected by the incident.
Oku, who hails from Mbiama claimed that most villagers particularly in Mbiama are living in make shift structures, while some schools writing the National Examination Council (NECO) examination are also relocating to higher grounds to continue the examination.
“I can confirm to you that the flood has brought hardship to many people. We cook along the road in Mbiama and sleep on top of scaffold materials,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs Better Jack Miller, said the women are the worst affected in the incident because they lost all their cassava farms to flood.
“The women are the worst affected because the cassava farms they managed to plant is no more there.
“Infact, people are packing from their homes both women and men,” she said.
She also called on the government to come to the aid of the people of the area.
Meanwhile, the Engenni eminent persons forum, a non-governmental organisation, has lamented the level of destructions caused by perennial flooding in the area.
Chairman of the forum, Dr. Harvey Warman, said the perennial flooding in Engenni kingdom is causing untold hardship to the people.
Warman, however, regretted the lack of support to the people by agencies in charge of disaster management in the country, stressing that despite the billions being voted by both the state and federal government for disaster management in the country, Engennis have not benefitted from it.
According to the elder- statesman, Engenni, which produces 30 per cent of the country’s revenue, is being neglected by successive governments in the country.
Warman, who called on the local, the state and federal governments as well as the Redcross Society to come to the aide of the people, also advised the affected communities to remain resilient assuring that the group would continue to create awareness on their plight.
Meanwhile, the Onueze of Ndoni kingdom, Chief John Ugboma Obi, has likened the current flooding to that of 2012.
He told The Tide that the entire Ndoni kingdom has been submerged by flood.
He also said the road linking the kingdom to the rest of the country has been cut off by water.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has described the incident as one of the worst.
NEMA South South coordinator, Mr Brandon Walson, told The Tide via a telephone interview that roads to most of the affected communities have been cut off by the water.
He also confirmed several destructions caused by the flood.
“I can confirm to you that all the coastal communities especially in two local government areas are under water.
“During our visit to the area, I saw plantain farms destroyed, yam farms destroyed, cassava farms and even okoro farms are all under water.
He said the agency has written to its headquarters for the supply of relief materials for the affected persons and communities.
Walson also told The Tide that they were awaiting response from the chairmen of the four affected local government areas for further assessment of the communities.
Environment
MOSOP Dissociates Self From Protest At HYPREP …Says Clean-Up On Course
The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MoSOP) has condemned the recent protest by Ogoni Youth Federation led by one Legborsi Yaamaabana at the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) office in Port Harcourt.
It also denied involvement in the protest.
MOSOP President,Letam Nkpoka who spoke to newsmen on the issue, said those protesting might be sponsored to tarnish the good works and reputation of the present management of HYPREP as well as the leadership of the organisation.
According to him, his attention was drawn to this protest by the leaders of HYPREP who according to them said they thought the protesters were MOSOP because they were dressed in MOSOP emblem.
“And as it was observed, that as a result of the group wearing the face of Ken Saro-Wiwa printed on a T-shirt to cause trouble at HYPREP office.
“We want to state it clearly that our leader, Ken Saro- Wiwa was an advocate of non-violence struggle/protest and not the sort we are witnessing.
“We also want to use this medium to warn all the perpetrators of the crime to desist from doing so again”.
He said HYPREP is a Mosop project designed for the benefit of the Ogoni people and is highly monitored by MOSOP international, adding that the movement will have nothing to do with those who want to tarnish the good name of MOSOP.
According to him,”Besides, the project coordinator is our son, whom we can approach but we should not be selfish in our demand.
“However, for Legborsi Yaamaabana to wear the face of Ken Saro-Wiwa and be carrying a pot in his hand filled up with fire in the heart of Port Harcourt in a phantom protest is highly condemnable.
“That incident is even an embarrassment to himself,” he said.
He urged Ogoni people to be patient as the clean-up exercise is ongoing.
“We want to appeal to our people to be patient as the clean-up of our land is ongoing..
“We may not have gotten what we want yet, but in due time, we hope to get there”.
Environment
Group Wants Climate Change Courses In Schools Curriculum
A non-governmental organisation, Light Hope Succour World Wide Initiative, has called for the inclusion of climate change courses in school curriculum.
Executive Director of Light Hope Succour World Wide Initiative Miss Evelyn Williams said this at a climate justice training workshop held for students of Quality Concept international Secondary school Rumuolumeni Obio /Akpor local Government Area of Rivers state.
Williams said inclusion of climate change courses in school curriculum will enable pupils and students become aware of those practices that contribute to climate change.
She said time has come for every segment of society to be educated on the effects of climate change, adding educating children at their early years will help them to avoid practices contributing to Climate change.
Evelyn told journalists at the training that the workshop was aimed at educating the pupils about climate change, climate justice, and the role they can play in addressing these issues.
According to her climate change is affecting the Earth, including agriculture leading to food shortages natural disasters including heat wave being experienced in some parts of the world.
She said time has come for humanity to consider some of its activities inorder to reduce the impact of climate change
Evelyn encouraged the students to educate their peers and community members on the impact of climate change.
According to her educating Communities on the impact of climate change and climate justice will enable them take action against every unfriendly environmental activities in their domain.
Recommendations
It is recommended that the school continue to provide climate justice education for its students.
This could include incorporating climate justice into the school curriculum, organizing guest speakers, and providing opportunities for students to participate in climate justice initiatives.
By: John Bibor
·
Environment
‘Nigeria, 19 Others To Double Fossil Fuel Production By 2030’
Report has indicated that Nigeria and 19 other oil producing countries are planning to produce more fossil fuels by the year 2030 as against global demand to limit same as a way of checking global warming.
According to The Tide’s source, this comes despite/ 151 national governments having pledged to achieve net-zero emissions and the latest forecasts, which suggest global coal, oil, and gas demand will peak this decade, even without new policies.
When combined, government’s plans would lead to an increase in global coal production until 2030, and in global oil and gas production until at least 2050, creating an ever-widening fossil fuel production gap over time.
The report noted that given risks and uncertainties of carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide removal, countries should aim for a near total phase-out of coal production and use by 2040, and a combined reduction in oil and gas production and use by three-quarters by 2050 from 2020 levels, at a minimum.
While 17 of the 20 countries featured have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions and many have launched initiatives to cut emissions from fossil fuel production activities none have committed to reduce coal, oil, and gas production in line with limiting warming to 1.5°C.
Governments with greater capacity to transition away from fossil fuels should aim for more ambitious reductions and help support the transition processes in countries with limited resources.
The 2023 Production Gap Report: “Phasing down or phasing up? Top fossil fuel producers plan even more extraction despite climate promises” is produced by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Climate Analytics, E3G, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It assesses/ governments’ planned and projected production of coal, oil, and gas against global levels consistent with the Paris agreement’s temperature/ goal.
July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and most likely the hottest for the past 120,000 years, according to scientists. Across the globe, deadly heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods are costing lives and livelihoods, making clear that human-induced climate change is here. Global carbon dioxide emissions — almost 90 per cent of which comes from fossil fuel — rose to record highs in 2021–2022.
The/ 2023 Production Gap Report provides newly expanded country profiles for 20 major fossil-fuel-producing countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.
These profiles show that most of these governments continue to provide significant policy and financial support for fossil fuel production. “We find that many governments are promoting fossil gas as an essential ‘transition’ fuel but with no apparent plans to transition away from it later,” says Ploy Achakulwisut, a lead author on the report and SEI scientist.
“But science says we must start reducing global coal, oil, and gas production and use now — along with scaling up clean energy, reducing methane emissions from all sources, and other climate actions — to keep the 1.5°C goal alive.”
Despite being the root cause of the climate crisis, fossil fuels have remained largely absent from international climate negotiations until recent years. At COP28 in late 2021, governments committed to accelerate efforts towards “the phase down of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, though they did not agree to address the production of all fossil fuels.
“COP28 could be the pivotal moment where governments finally commit to the phase-out of all fossil fuels and acknowledge the role producers have to play in facilitating a managed and equitable transition,” says Michael Lazarus, a lead author on the report and SEI US Centre Director.
“Governments with the greatest capacities to transition away from fossil fuel production bear the greatest responsibility to do so while providing finance and support to help other countries do the same.”
“Governments’ plans to expand fossil fuel production are undermining the energy transition needed to achieve net-zero emissions, throwing humanity’s future into question,” said UNEP Executive Director, Inger Andersen. “Powering economies with clean and efficient energy is the only way to end energy poverty and bring down emissions at the same time.”
“Starting at COP28, nations must unite behind a managed and equitable phase-out of coal, oil and gas — to ease the turbulence ahead and benefit every person on this planet,” she added.
“Governments are literally doubling down on fossil fuel production; that spells double trouble for people and the planet,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
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