Opinion
Clean Energy For Cleaner Earth
The modern world in the 21st century needs to jellyroll its old ways and practices that have caused environmental degradation, pollution, global warming, ozone layer depletion, culminating in climate change. These ways and practices include greenhouse gases emissions, deforestation which is common in the Third World, air pollution from fossil fuels, desertification, etc; hence the need to embrace cleaner fuel, cleaner energy and cleaner environment.
The earth is witnessing more natural disasters now than at any period of time occasioned by human factors and natural effects. Deforestation, caused by tree felling without replacement for the purpose of cooking or energy source which is still rampant in developing countries. There is also the melting of glaciers caused by increase in temperature that swells the volume of oceans and seas around the world. Heat wave is now in a greater magnitude in Europe, the Americas and North Africa as recent reports show than at any other time. It also includes the Tsunamis of 2011, especially the one that hit Japan and other Islands in Asia, and the Fikushima nuclear disaster with so devastating effect.
The world should not forget in a hurry Hurricane Katrina of 2005 that caused unimaginable catastrophe to the people of USA. There had been some other disasters like typhoons and cyclones affecting the United States and Central America. Only recently, there were wildfires in Canada, the United States and parts of Europe, including Australia. Wildfires also devastated the Amazon forest in Brazil some years ago.
This year, countries like Germany, Belgium and parts of the Netherlands experienced heavy flooding with the water (flood) level reaching very high levels and causing terrible devastation to homes, business, schools, power lines and communication facilities. Also, there has been unusual torrential rainfall coupled with thunder storm/rainstorm leaving in its wake massive destruction of homes and livelihoods in Africa and Asia, particularly South East Asia, West Africa and Latin American countries.
The green house gases emissions which is most common in the advanced countries of the northern hemisphere sometimes described as high income nations, have contributed a lot to ozone layer depletion and global warming. And they are not doing much to cut back emissions level as agreed in the protocols adopted at the World Climate Convention of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Kyoto Climate Convention in Japan and other such conventions.
Declining green vegetation and inadequate forest resource in most of our urban and rural settlements due to urbanisation and massive construction of roads, buildings, dams and power stations and other harmful human activities as deforestation for different purposes have all contributed in no small measure to cause global warming and environmental degradation.
In this millennium, governments all over the world and humans have done much harm to the environment and the ecosystem than any other. Also to be blamed is the global dependence and use of fossil fuel for running industries, machines and automobiles and to power homes and factories. Added to the above factor is the reluctance or unwillingness of governments to take a more pragmatic approach and action against harmful acts and practices that degrade the environment and pollute the air, atmosphere thereby contributing to ozone layer depletion and climate change.
Worthy of mention is the action of the President Barak Obama’s administration of the United States, who took a hard stand and came on heavily on the oil giants British Petroleum (BP) when they polluted the Gulf of Mexico from their negligence. He ordered them to clean up the environment, pay compensation for the damage and to stop all of their operations.
Our ecosystem, marine life, the wetlands, seas, oceans and rivers, the animals, insects, birds, microbes and micro-organisms, including the green vegetation would thrive well and better with cleaner environment. Any wonder, the new paradigm is cleaner fuels, cleaner energy and cleaner environment. This new modern technology that has been embraced and put in use by some advanced countries of the world includes wind energy, solar energy and gas-powered energy, nuclear energy etc.
The cleaner energy and cleaner fuels (also known as renewable energy) have come to stay and have done so much good to mitigate climate change, ozone layer depletion and global warming. This renewable energy is the energy for the future and the right way for the world to go. Environmental friendliness and respect for the rights of the environment will guarantee cleaner and healthier air/atmosphere with a safer and better ecosystem. Also, the bio-diversity will be preserved.
Also in parts of the world or countries that enjoy sunshine for some parts of the year. This solar energy is clean, safe, convenient, very reliable and environmentally friendly; likewise the wind energy, which is derived from windmills driven by the force of the wind and generates power by the force that drives the turbines to produce electricity. You can have many windmills in a location called wind farm, and their combined force can power a large town or city. Again this energy is clean, convenient, reliable safe and environmentally friendly.
Similarly, nuclear energy which is got from uranium can be used to generate electricity by a nuclear reactor that can power large towns, cities and industries. To generate electricity for peaceful purpose not for military purpose and you would need to get approval from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It is also a clean, reliable, convenient and environmentally friendly mode of generating electricity.
Ayooso is a public affairs analyst
Of course, stories like this are not strange in our society where cultism and gangsterism is now the order of the day. Many of our young ones, particularly the young men have become thugs, kidnappers, terrorists, rapists, drug addicts, bullies and all that. And as each day passes, you wonder what the future holds for Nigeria with this crop of people.
This challenge was the main topic for discussion at a youth training programme recently. The parents, guests and speakers were perturbed that our young men and boys are going astray. A good number of them have become internet fraudsters, many are out of school, some have become a big problem unto the country, making our villages and towns very insecure and difficult to dwell in. From the presentations and contributions, it was obvious that many of our young men have issues and need help. And the big question was, who will save our boys?
I particularly liked the perspective of one of the guest speakers, a psychologist, to the issue. He heaped the bulk of the blame on the society, families and parents. According to him, generations of the male children both in Nigeria and elsewhere have been raised to suppress their emotions. They are brought up to believe that being a male, they are not supposed to let out their emotions even when they are hurting. He said phrases like “be a man; men don’t cry; why are you behaving like a woman?’’ and many others depict that being a male, you are supposed to behave like a superhuman, you are discouraged from sharing your feelings with anyone.
The implication, according to him, is that with such mentality, many men have no option than to express their emotion through anger or other unruly behavior. At any little provocation the person is ready to bring down the roof. Some do not mind inflicting injuries on others or even killing as it was in the case of Kunle. Just for a mere misunderstanding broken bottles and other dangerous weapons were being brandished by everyone.
The psychologist went further to point out that in a society like ours where there are high expectations from the male child, some of them are bound to get involved in all manner of crime – internet fraudster, kidnapping for money, name it. He painted a scenario where two people, a young man and a young woman will graduate from the university at the same time. The woman may immediately get married and from then going forward, her husband will be expected to cater for virtually all her needs while on the other hand, her male counterpart’s preoccupation will be how to get a job, rent a house, get married and start his own family. Not measuring up to this high expectation, some young men get frustrated and take out their frustration on people around the and the society at any given time.
He also highlighted the problem of poor parental upbringing, deteriorating family values, socio-cultural norms among other
I cannot agree more with the psychologist. Yes, criminality or defiance has no sex barrier. Both male and female are involved in the negative acts but what is the percentage of both sexes? How many females are among the agberos in our various motor parks across the country many of who make a living from hooliganism and thuggery? What is the percentage of the female sex among the homeless almajiri children seen mostly in the northern parts of the country? Recently I saw a squalor where some teenage almajiris live and I immediately concurred with the people who say that it may take a very long time to end Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in the country as those are avenues for them to protest against an unfair society in addition of the semblance of family tie these street kids get from them.
Some of these motor park touts under the umbrella of NURTW who have today become a menace to the society are creations of some desperate politicians and other moneybags who allegedly have them on their pay roll and use them as private army and tools for destruction during elections. Perhaps that is the reason why the threats of proscribing the union by Lagos State law makers and a similar call by many concerned citizens across the country have never come to be.
Our leaders have capitalized on the high unemployment rate in the country to take advantage of the young ones. Many experts and researches have posited that unemployment is the root of violence in Nigeria as unemployed youths are more likely to be perpetrators as well as victims of crime.
Therefore, it is high time we began paying more attention to our boys than we currently do. Many of these boys are hurting, some are daily being abused at different places by different people even women but they can’t speak up because “they are men”. Pertinent issues concerning the girl child are constantly being brought to the lime light both locally and globally. Currently we have the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence with the theme: Orange the world: End violence against women now and one is just imagining how good it will be for similar attention to be paid on the issues concerning the male child, especially their emotional issues by parents, family members and the larger society. I have no doubt that that will do the country a whole lot of good.
of the College to quickly absolve their students from the act that led to the eventual death of the junior student, blaming it on injury he sustained while playing football. The question many have asked is, if the kid sustained such a life threatening injury, did the school notify his parents? Did the school treat him? And what degree of treatment was given to him? Many parents that have children in boarding houses know that when a child sustains a certain level of injury or when he is suffering from certain illness, the attention of their parents is usually sought and sometimes they are asked to take their child to their family doctor for better treatment.
For the parents of some of the alleged culprits who have reportedly flown their children abroad thereby protecting them from justice and correction, it is rather a big shame. This kind of cover up is probably what they have been doing that resulted in their children now being murderers. It is in their best interest to bring those children back to answer for their crime to avoid more shameful acts from these children in years to come. If only other parents who have the habit of covering the wrongs of their children will learn from Dowen College incident.
Lizzy Ozioko,
Oroigwe.
Nigeria’s Problems Will Increase If…
The Vice-president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, told a group that visited him in Abuja. “it is wrong” for Nigeria, which is the largest economy in Africa, to break apart. We must never relent in ensuring that we keep to the ideals of the country and we don’t lose sight of what we are trying to achieve here,”
“People who suggest that the country breaks up, whatever may be the reason for their views, are certainly not correct and we must say so to them at every turn, the unity of this country is important for all of the different ethnicities, religions, everybody. Whatever the group or ideology, unity is important for every one of us.
“If you fragment, the problems are going to multiply, poverty will multiply.”
It is always interesting hearing such beautiful sermons, particularly from our leader. And truly, Osinbajo is not wrong. Remaining as one big country has its enormous advantages. But what worries many people is that beyond these inspirational talks, our leaders are doing little or nothing to unite the citizens. The drafters of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution, knowing how heterogeneous the country is, provided for federal character which states that people from one particular region or tribe should not dominate any government establishment. Rather, people from every part of the country should be given equal opportunity to serve the nation. Is that what is obtainable in Nigeria today? Is every Nigerian treated equally or some are regarded as sacred cows while others are regarded as second class citizens?
So, our leaders should learn to walk the talk. If they want the agitation for the division of the country to stop, there should be an inclusive government where people of all tribes, regions and religions are treated equally. What accrues from the abundant resources in the country should also be used for the development of the nation.
Eric Giadom,
Bodo City.
Wike’s Award To A PhD Graduate
Please permit me to use this medium to thank our able Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his show of benevolence towards a student of the Rivers State University (RSU) living with disability during the last weekend’s convocation ceremony of the institution.
For bagging a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, for not seeing his condition as a barrier to attain that height of academic excellence, the governor honoured James Daniel with N50 million and an automatic teaching appointment in the prestigious university.
Obviously, by this singular act, the governor has changed the fortune of the disabled doctor. I join other well-meaning people both within and outside the state to thank the Governor for the life changing gesture. My prayer is that God should reward him and keep him alive and strong to continue the good work he is doing for the state.
To other physically challenged persons in the state, Dr Daniel should be a source of inspiration to you all. If this young man should come this far despite all odds, why can’t others follow in his footsteps? This same goes for other able bodied men and women in the state who instead of struggling to develop themselves, take to kidnapping, cultism and other manner of crime. It’s time for them to have a rethink.
Amanda Tokini,
RSU, Port Harcourt.
On November 10, 1995, the Nigerian military government of General Sani Abacha executed Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders after a deeply controversial trial. Their deaths marked one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s history. At a time when fear silenced citizens and sycophancy flourished around military power, Saro-Wiwa chose to confront tyranny. Many Nigerians retreated into silence, while others praised the regime to secure favour. He knew the risks, yet refused to abandon a people whose land had been devastated by oil exploration and whose lives remained trapped in poverty. His courage arose from the conviction that public responsibility sometimes demands resistance to authority. Saro-Wiwa understood that speaking against a military government could lead to imprisonment or death.
Nonetheless, he believed the suffering of the Ogoni people demanded a courageous response. While oil was extracted from their land, they were left with polluted rivers, damaged farmland, declining livelihoods and an environment hostile to human survival. Fishing grounds and sources of livelihood were threatened, while the people struggled to secure basic amenities. The wealth beneath their soil brought neither adequate development nor a fair share of national resources. For him, silence in the face of injustice would have amounted to complicity. Through the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), he organised a peaceful campaign that took the Ogoni question to the international community. MOSOP gave ordinary people an organised platform through which to express their grievances and insist on recognition.
The Ogoni Bill of Rights, presented to the Federal Government in 1990, demanded political autonomy, economic justice, environmental protection and control over the people’s resources. The campaign exposed the human and ecological costs of oil operations, particularly those associated with Shell, and challenged the apparent alliance between corporate interests and an unresponsive State. The Ogoni struggle became a defining expression of minority rights and environmental justice in Nigeria and Africa. Saro-Wiwa’s writings and mobilisation drew attention to communities treated as expendable because of their limited population and political influence. He argued that numerical strength should never determine a people’s value or rights.
A minority community does not become less deserving of justice because it cannot command electoral numbers or political power. In Nigeria, every ethnic group deserves dignity, protection and a fair opportunity to benefit from the commonwealth. Rather than respond to peaceful agitation with dialogue, the Abacha regime resorted to repression. Ogoni leaders were harassed, detained and killed; others fled into exile. The crisis intensified after four Ogoni chiefs were killed in May 1994. Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders were arrested, tried by a special tribunal and executed despite international appeals for clemency and serious concerns about the trial’s fairness. The executions drew worldwide condemnation and intensified scrutiny of Nigeria’s human-rights record and oil companies in the Niger Delta.
They demonstrated the danger of using State institutions to suppress peaceful demands. The proceedings remain a reminder of the need for judicial independence and due process. Saro-Wiwa’s courage rested on the conviction that justice must be pursued despite the cost. His method combined non-violent resistance, public education and grassroots organisation. His struggle recalled the civil-rights campaign of Martin Luther King Jr. and the power of peaceful mobilisation against injustice. Saro-Wiwa linked environmental degradation to political exclusion, economic exploitation and the denial of democratic rights. Oil-producing communities, he insisted, should not remain zones from which wealth is removed to develop other parts of the country.
Their people must benefit through roads, schools, healthcare, jobs and clean water. Resource extraction carries a duty to protect host communities. His argument extended to the structure of the Nigerian federation. He challenged a revenue-allocation system that made oil-producing communities bear the environmental and social costs of extraction without commensurate benefits. Like advocates of fiscal federalism, he believed resources should be managed and shared equitably. He envisaged a society in which no community would be disadvantaged by its size, ethnicity, political affiliation, culture or religion. His vision was a country bound together by justice and equal citizenship. Saro-Wiwa was also a gifted writer, dramatist and public intellectual.
Through books, essays, plays and television, he documented Nigerian society’s contradictions and challenged abuses of power. His popular television series, Basi and Company, demonstrated his creative range, while his leadership of the Association of Nigerian Authors encouraged writers to engage national questions. He believed literature should not be detached from society’s struggles. His pen exposed environmental injustice, political repression and the dangers of silencing courageous voices. He used storytelling, satire and drama to shape public consciousness and expose social contradictions. His literary achievements gave his activism wider reach and made the Ogoni experience part of national conversation. His commitment to the Ogoni people extended beyond the oil question.
During the Civil War, he worked to protect his vulnerable community. He urged younger generations to reject subservience and complacency and pursue change through lawful, peaceful means. Citizens, he believed, must not surrender their responsibility to challenge wrong doing. An injury to one community threatens the rights and security of all. The return to democratic government in 1999 and the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) are among developments that have kept the region’s demands in public view. Saro-Wiwa did not create these institutions, but his movement helped expose the urgency of intervention and sustain pressure for redress.
His death made it harder to ignore the Niger Delta’s environmental and political grievances. Yet, interventionist institutions do not prove that the original demands have been met. Their effectiveness depends on competent leadership, transparent spending, measurable outcomes and community participation. Yet, thirty-one years after his execution, the central concerns of the Ogoni struggle remain unresolved. The HYPREP-led clean-up has offered hope, but many residents await meaningful improvements. Questions persist about the programme’s pace, quality and transparency, and whether its benefits reach ordinary people. A clean-up should be judged not by ceremonies or contracts, but by restored land and waterways, safe drinking water, improved livelihoods and better public health.
It must include long-term monitoring to ensure treated sites remain safe. Residents deserve information about contamination, remediation methods and completion timelines. Reports that water projects in Gwara and Ebubu Communities, in Khana and Eleme Local Government Areas respectively, failed weeks after commissioning have raised further concerns. If confirmed, the failures would indicate weaknesses in supervision, procurement and quality control.
To be continued in our next edition.
Taneh Beemene
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established in 1973, after the Nigerian Civil War, to promote national unity, reconciliation and integration. By deploying graduates beyond their States of origin, its founders hoped to encourage understanding among Nigeria’s diverse peoples and help rebuild a divided country. However, the difficulties confronting corps members and their families now demand a comprehensive review. For many graduates, national service has become a period of uncertainty, financial pressure and exposure to risks. Parents who have spent years financing their children’s education must still find money for transportation, camp necessities, accommodation, feeding and other expenses. The monthly allowance may provide some relief, but often cannot meet the cost of living, especially where the place of primary assignment offers no accommodation or support.
Security is another serious concern. Corps members may be posted to communities affected by kidnapping, communal violence, insurgency or other threats. Government cannot eliminate every danger, but it must assess locations, provide reliable security information and avoid deployments where safety cannot reasonably be assured. National service should promote patriotism, not expose graduates to preventable harm. There is also the problem of securing meaningful places of primary assignment. A graduate trained in engineering may perform duties unrelated to engineering; a journalist may spend the year in an office with no opportunity to practise journalism. Graduates in agriculture, health, education and other specialised fields may likewise be assigned routine tasks that contribute little or nothing to their professional growth. Some depend on personal contacts or incur expenses to obtain suitable placements.
A year is significant for a young graduate entering a competitive labour market. National service should not be merely a compulsory waiting period before the search for employment begins. It should help bridge the gap between academic learning and practical work. The time has therefore come to review the structure of NYSC, not necessarily abolish it. I propose that the one-year programme should become vocational and professionally oriented. Graduates should, as far as practicable, be posted to institutions where they can gain supervised experience in their fields of study. Teachers should serve in schools; health graduates in suitable health facilities; engineers in technical organisations and public works departments; agricultural graduates in farms and extension services; and communication graduates in media and public information establishments.
NYSC should partner with ministries, state and local governments, private companies, professional bodies, universities, hospitals, schools and credible organisations to identify genuine training opportunities. Each member should have defined duties, a supervisor and clear learning objectives. At the end of the year, each should receive a record of duties performed and competencies acquired. The reform must also address remuneration and welfare. Corps members should receive fair pay that reflects the demands of their placements, while host organisations should provide reasonable support where possible. Government must establish transparent funding arrangements so that the new system does not become another burden imposed on employers or parents. Transport or accommodation assistance should be considered for difficult postings.
Graduates seeking jobs after service would have more than a discharge certificate: they would possess practical experience, workplace discipline and demonstrable skills. Employers would gain access to young people who have received supervised preparation. However, professional relevance should not erase the scheme’s founding objective of national integration. Inter-State deployment can remain, provided it is balanced with security, suitable placements and the availability of basic facilities. Where a safe and meaningful placement cannot be guaranteed outside a graduate’s State, an alternative should be considered. Orientation and community development activities can continue to promote cultural exchange, citizenship and service.
The Federal Government and NYSC management should convene consultations involving corps members, parents, universities, employers, security agencies and State Governments. Decisions should be based on evidence and the experiences of serving and former corps members. NYSC was created to help rebuild a nation divided by war. Its ideals remain important, but institutions must adapt to changing realities. Success should not be measured only by the number of graduates mobilised or certificates issued. It should also be measured by the skills acquired, the contribution made and whether young Nigerians complete their service safely and with dignity. It can better preserve the scheme’s founding ideals while meeting today’s economic and professional needs. A vocationally driven; adequately remunerated NYSC would turn national service from a costly obligation into a bridge between education, employment and national development. The purpose should not simply be to occupy graduates for twelve months, but to prepare them to work, serve and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s future.
Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
Quote: “Democracy is not
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