Environment
Expert Tasks Nannies, Caregivers On Clean Environment
A Chief Nursing Officer,
Mrs Jokotola Shode, has said that every nanny and caregiver must provide a clean and hygienic environment for the health and safety of children.
Shode, who is the assistant director, Nursing Services, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, gave the advice at a workshop in Lagos.
The workshop tagged: “Nannies’ Training” was organised by Afribaby Initiative, a non-governmental organisation in Lagos.
She said that being a nanny was more of a calling than a job.
According to her, it involves knowledge of environmental safety and First Aid application.
The assistant director said that many of the nannies lacked motherly and professional skills to make babies safe, happy and healthy.
According to her, many babies and children take ill and contract diseases easily in the hands of untrained nannies as they cannot maintain a clean and hygienic environment.
“Some children have died due to unsafe and dirty environment, some have been permanently deformed and some fell sick indiscriminately because the nannies were unable to supervise the safety of children.
“Nanny is a calling, not a job because nannies are supposed to be educators, ensure child development, child safety and recognise and respond to signs of potential illness,” she said.
Shode also advised owners of nanny centres to affiliate their centres with private or public hospitals in case of health emergencies.
In his remarks, Dr Oscar Odiboh, the Founder of Afribaby, said that training of nannies would improve their services in terms of careful handling of babies in their care.
Odiboh said that such training would update, upgrade and professionalise the practise of baby care for healthy growth and development of babies.
According to him, nanny services are on the increase as many mothers have taken to different careers to make ends meet in the homes.
“There are lots of career mothers and single parents, especially in the cities and commercial towns, who desperately need the services of nannies.
“But, it is unfortunate that these parents leave their babies in the care of untrained nannies who do not know how to handle babies,” Odiboh said.
Nannies and caregivers from orphanage homes, crèches, schools, welfare homes, daycare centres, special homes and private homes participated in the training.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.