Environment
Groups Mobilise Volunteers To Clean Up Lagos
A global civic organisation, Let’s Do It World (LDIW), in collaboration with Green Janitors, on Saturday mobilised community volunteers to Clean-up Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise is in commemoration of the World Clean-up Day.
World Clean-up Day is celebrated on September 17 annually.
It is the outcome of a massive volunteer initiative, pioneered in Estonia in 2008, when 50,000 volunteers cleaned up their homes in five hours.
LDIW coordinates and supports the global movement, inspiring and empowering leaders to raise awareness and move countries toward sustainable solutions for the environment.
The LDIW Coordinator for Africa, Mr Gafar Odubote, said at the event that the clean-up was being carried simultaneously across many countries to create environmental sustainability awareness.
He said that getting residents involved in environmental sanitation would enhance sustainability.
“The World Clean-up Day is uniting millions of volunteers in 191 countries to clean up their environments; Nigeria is one of these countries,” he said.
The coordinator said that the clean-up was being carried out simultaneously all over the world and across the 36 states of Nigeria.
“In Lagos State, we have close to 30 or 40 clean-up sites. It is also going on at the beachfront, offshore and on the land.
“The importance of the clean-up is to demonstrate that people can come together to create a massive change in our environment through sustainable actions.
“People coming out to show that we can clean up environment is a way to heighten awareness that the environment is important to us,” Odubote said.
Ms Suliyat Oguns, Team Lead of Green Janitors, urged the volunteers to make environmental sanitation regular to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment.
“Today, we commemorate the International World Clean-up Day, and we are celebrating it as a team under Green Janitors in Bariga.
“We are in partnership with Junior Club International, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Leo’s Club and Sustainable Development Advocates of the University of Lagos.
“Clean-up is not just for Sept. 17. Let us all ensure that after this event, everybody in our environment gets to know that once we clean up, it is going to reflect in our environment.
“The thing we are actually fighting for is a world without wastes, that is our final goal,” she said.
She said that the group desired that Nigerians should know the essence of maintaining a clean environment.
“Reuse, reduce and recycle. We do not have to waste materials that can be converted to other uses.
“The host community for today’s clean-up is Akoka Community, people have come massively to volunteer in the exercise,” Oguns said.
Commending the efforts of the groups, Mr Adegboyega Adefuwa , Environment Supervisor, Bariga Local Government, called on the community members to take clean-up as a personal responsibility.
“The exercise is a laudable programme being supported by the executive Chairman of the Bariga LGA, Mr Kolade Alabi, for the well-being of our environment.
Some stakeholders in Okoroagu community in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state have blamed the perennial erosion in the community on the poor conditions of their road.
They are therefore calling for the rehabilitation of their road.
They said this in an interview with The Tide, at okoroagu.Speaking to The Tide,the Ochimba of Okoroagu community, Eze Marcus Amadi said the poor conditions of their road has retarded the growth and development of the community.
According to Eze Amadi,”The government has neglected us, they have forgotten about us, we have been writing letters to the government, both to the NDDC to come and repair our road for us, we are on our knees pleading to them to come help us out, at least they should just dredge the road for us”
Continuing he said”If the government comes today to repair our road, nobody will say they shouldn’t.
“Nobody will obstruct them. We have been shouting and crying that our road is not good, the road is affecting the community economically and socially in the sense that, there is no way we can carry our crops out because of erosion.
“Erosion have taken over the road, making it difficult for us to access other communities especially during rainfall you see people falling down and getting injured inside the river which we call Mmiri Ehe in our language, which reaches our waist line during raining season. Our people can not go to other market to sell their products due to the bad road”he saidAlso speaking,Chairman Community Development Committee( CDC )Okoroagu , Hon. Elvis Nwaobasi decried the situation of the road, stressing that economic activities are being affected as movement of goods and services have gradually slowed down in the area.
” The road have affected our women so badly, they are no longer going to the other neighboring markets to sell their Agric produce because of the nature of the road.
“This road has also affected us in many ways, it has affected our educational system, security system, it has also affected our health system, because with the nature of that road, people cannot access our health facilities in the community, with the nature of that road, people cannot access our school, with nature of the road, people cannot come in and do business in our community, we cannot access the road because of the neglect of the road.
“People are using our road for excuses to come in and invest and do businesses. People who come to our market to buy our products are no longer coming because of the nature of the road.” I am pleading with the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayig Fubara to please come to the aid of Okoroagu and repair our road. I am pleading with the Rivers State House of Assembly, we are suffering too much because of this road. We have been neglected and abandoned for years, the government should please come to our aid” he said.Also the women leader of Okoroagu community, Mrs. Anthonia Nweke blamed some politicians from the area for abandoning the people of Okoroagu
“Our road has been abandoned, overlooked, with no attention, mostly the higher politicians of the place, we have been abandoned for years”
In furtherance to the commitment of the Federal Government through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) to the full implementation of the recommendations of the UN Environment Programme Report on Ogoni Environment, the Project has commenced processes to designating Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site.
Labaran Ahmed, National Focal Point for Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment, who is leading the process for collection of field samples, said the move will converse biodiversity, enhance livelihood, attract ecotourism and further earn global recognition for Ogoni Wetlands.The UNEP Report envisages that this would provide the Government with a roadmap for restoration and sustainable management of the Ogoni wetland, bring the site unto international among others.Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, represented by Director Technical Services, Professor Damien-Paul Aguiyi said the project further attests to the Federal government’s commitment through HYPREP to implementing the UNEP Report simultaneously.Nigeria is a signatory to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction(BBNJ) Agreement for how research on marine genetic resources must be conducted and documented, ensuring transparency and the equitable distribution of benefits.
Environment
Tribunal Acknowledges losses in Rare species Across the globe …urges for government Action
It was noted that the choice by the Brazilian government to host COP30 serves as a symbol of the importance of the Amazon. They denounced the current and future impacts of the expansion of the extractivist frontier, deforestation, fossil fuels and large-scale mining. It was urged that the Amazon, with its ecosystems, animal, plant species, and rich biodiversity, natural medicines and its vital and reproductive cycles, should be considered as a subject of rights together with the Indigenous Peoples, and other communities that inhabit it.
The co-president and judge of the tribunal, Nnimmo Bassey, while delivering the verdict, noted that the defence of the rights of Nature is the right way to carry out real climate action and that there is no climate justice without the rights of Nature.
The tribunal stressed the need to phase out fossil fuels and quickly move to renewable energy as a way that protects both communities and ecosystems from false solutions that merely benefit financial speculators and compound climate injustices. The Tribunal also urged the United Nations to adopt the pledge as a blueprint for international environmental law.
A copy of the declaration obtained by The Tide revealed that,Judges at the Tribunal included Ana Alfinito of Brazil, Nnimmo Bassey ( Nigeria), Enrique Viale (Argentina), Shannon Biggs (USA), Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation, USA), Tom Goldtooth (USA), Princes Esmeralda (Belgium), Cormac Cullinan (South Africa), Patricia Gualings (Ecuador), Francesco Martone (Italy) Tzeporah Berman (USA), Ashish Katharine (India), Osprey Orielle Lake (USA), Pooven Moodley (South Africa) and Felicio Pontes (Brazil)
