The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • A wedding and a funeral

    A wedding and a funeral

    •IIn a place where things work, 146 boat passengers returning from wedding reception won’t have died

    In one of the great paradoxes of existence, more than 100 people from Egbu community in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State have lost their lives in a boat accident as they returned from a wedding venue. It is assumed that there were about 250 people in the boat. The accident happened around the River Niger.

    The Transition Implementation Committee chairman, Patigi Local Government Area, Ibrahim Liman, said all the 144 survivors apparently swam to safety. The Managing Director, Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, Abubakar Yelwa, claimed that the deaths happened because the victims as usual refused to wear life jackets.

    President Bola Tinubu, the governor of Kwara State, AbduRahman AbduRasaq, and some other governors have sent their condolences to the victims’ families and the traditional head of Patigi, the Etsu Patigi, Alhaji Ibrahim Bologi II. The governor had promised that they would send a team to Lagos State to understudy how their waterways laws work. In the interim, they intend to send about 1,000 life jackets to ‘support safe travels on the water in the area’, he said. This in a way seems like the proverbial hitting the ground when the snake has escaped.

    The above statement is an eloquent testimony about the dysfunctional institutions in the country at all levels. We are appalled that it needed the death of more than a hundred people for the Kwara State government to see the necessity of going to Lagos or any other state for that matter to understudy the waterways safety measures implementation.  In any case, even though the Lagos State waterways seem to be better managed, it is not yet foolproof. The state has recorded many boat mishaps in recent years with casualties too.

    The statement smacks of negligence and the laxity that run through government ministries and agencies even at the federal level. We wonder the role the transport ministry plays in the country. Nigeria has one of the global highest number of road accidents. Our waterways are not run in very responsible and accountable ways because the reports of boat accidents are spread across the country; from Bayelsa to  Taraba, Kogi to Bauchi. Some are even unreported. In all these, there are no statistics, no names to the dead or survivors in a 21st century Nigeria, despite the availability of technology for data collection and record-keeping.

    Read Also: Funeral for Mama Christian

    We cannot understand how governments make revenues from the waterways but cannot keep up with maintaining safety standards and enforcing compliance. The staff that is now claiming that the passengers often resist the use of life jackets  must be held accountable if ensuring compliance is part of his work schedule. This is not the first boat mishap and it will not be the last. Accidents happen but we know that if humans do their works diligently, lives could be saved.

    The fact that Nigerians do not hold leaders accountable at any level is the reason people do not take their duties seriously. Of the past boat mishaps, we are not aware of any serious sanctions on those responsible. How can some staff claim that passengers refuse to wear life jackets on a boat ride? What was the capacity of the boat? What are the names of the passengers? Days after the accident, the numbers are still not conclusively accurate. Whose job is it to regulate the water transportation in Kwara State?

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) seems to act as mere undertakers rather than an emergency management agency. Where was the Kwara State branch of NEMA? What communication gadgets do they have and how do citizens in distress access their assistance? We are disappointed at the dysfunctional system we seem to do nothing about. Governments exist solely for the welfare of the people. There are too many needless deaths in the transport sector that something urgent must be done for the land, sea and air transport systems to be safer than what exists presently.

    We suggest that these deaths must be a turning point in the country. There must be thorough investigations and all those who have been negligent in any way prosecuted and punished adequately to avoid more loss of lives. Nigeria must make deliberate attempts to operate government agencies with the best international standards. This is 2023 and competent and capable individuals must be appointed to do the work in ways that meet standards.

  • Evil fraternity

    Evil fraternity

    •Northeast governors move to upend predecessors who dined with bandits

    Barely a week into the saddle, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani last week delivered a magisterially blunt appraisal of the security challenge in the Northwest zone. He said some former governors frustrated efforts to tackle the menace by cutting out of a unified front by the states and instead chose to fraternise with bandits, who have been formally designated as terrorists by Nigerian law. Affected ex-governors, according to him, adopted an “extremely wrong” approach in managing the affairs of their states and thereby fostered the lingering challenge of insecurity in the zone.

    Sani did not name names, but states in the Northwest are  Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. Former governors are Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Aminu Masari (Katsina), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara). The zone incidentally has an entirely new set of governors who took over on May 29, namely Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abba Yusuf (Kano), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto) and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara).

    Until his inauguration as Kaduna State governor, Sani was a member of the ninth Senate. Speaking while featuring on a Channels Television morning show last week Tuesday, he said efforts to contain insecurity in the Northwest failed because some governors wined and dined with suspected terrorists. “I remember when the Kaduna State Government and some states within the Northwest — and even Niger State, because they have borders with us — came together to work out a framework to tackle this issue of insecurity. We had a joint committee, joint funding, working closely with all the security agencies — the army, the air force and the police,” he stated. “But unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the alliance broke down when some state governors decided to start engaging the bandits and the terrorists, sitting with them, wining and dining with them, compensating them, negotiating with them,” he added.

    The Kaduna State governor spoke against the backdrop of different approaches by states in the zone under the previous dispensation in dealing with the terrorists. Whereas some ex-governors – notably Kaduna’s el-Rufai – advocated a hard hand against the criminals, including carpet-bombing their forest hideouts, some other ex-governors negotiated with them and indeed handed out monetary inducements and social benefits to dissuade their aggression. This, according to Sani, resulted in breakdown of regional alliance and hampered progress in the battle against the terrorists.

    Read Also: Nigerian polo fraternity galvanises support for Tinubu/Shettima

    But there’s new thinking in the hub. “Only two weeks ago, I invited all governors from the Northwest to the Kaduna State Liaison Office in Abuja; I hosted them irrespective of party differences. They all came, we sat down together and came out with a kind of policy framework to tackle the problem of insecurity,” the governor said. “We agreed that we have to have a common approach to the issue and we have to move away from the mistakes made by some previous governors that decided to compromise the operation in the past when they started giving money to the bandits and negotiating with them,” he added. According to him, Northwest governors are in agreement on the need to tackle the problem and plan to reach out to the Niger State Governor Umar Bago “because we have a similar problem.”

    Sani added that the governors are also planning to meet President Bola Tinubu as a group. “In one of my conversations with him, he agreed that I should bring the governors from the zone to meet with him on the issue of insecurity. So, we have to work together with a common agenda, plan and operation. That is the only way we can be able to solve the problem,” he said.

    The governor, in our view, was bang on point. Not that what he said about some ex-governors fraternising with terrorists wasn’t already known, but it was yet instructive that it was acknowledged at such an official level. And Sani was also right about the effect factor. Lack of coordination in the battle against terrorists had weakened efforts by security agents to tackle them down and offered comfort zones for their nefarious exploits. Ex-governors who gave terrorists money in the hope of ‘buying’ security from them only indirectly funded their capacity to perpetrate insecurity. And the ‘soft war’ by way of social isolation of terrorists that should have complemented the ‘hard war’ fought against them by security forces was negated by the dealings of some ex-governors with the same terrorists. It was apparently taking a cue from the executive disposition that some communities awarded chieftaincy titles to terrorist kingpins! There was no way anyone could hope to win the battle against terrorists that way.

    If terrorists will be defeated in the Northeast and elsewhere, the old approach that didn’t work must be firmly discarded; hence, the new governors are encouraged to faithfully pursue the new paradigm they’ve etched out.

  • Experts  make case for safety in workplace 

    Experts  make case for safety in workplace 

    To promote wellbeing and productivity, experts have spoken on the need to create awareness and increase advocacy on safety in the workplace.

    Safety in the workplace was at the centre of discussion at the 8th yearly colloquium organised by The Safety Advocates in memory of a safety icon, Dr. Bamisayo Oluwagbemi . 

    The late Oluwagbemi was the first chartered safety practitioner. 

    The theme of the colloquium was: ‘Redefining Safety Culture: Institutional and Legal Approach for Safer Workplace’. The event held recently at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ikeja.

    In a keynote address delivered by the Director General, Lagos Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, he noted that redefining safety culture through institutional and legal approaches is a critical step towards ensuring safety in the workplace.

    He said’’Safety culture is not just about compliance with regulations but also involves creating an environment where employees are encouraged to report unsafe conditions and near-misses without fear of retaliation.” 

    He mentioned institutional approaches which promote safety in the workplace as creating a safety committee that is responsible for identifying potential hazards and developing strategies to mitigate them.

    “It also involves regular training of employees on how to identify hazards and how to respond in case of an emergency. Employers should understand that building strong relationships where employees believe that they can have honest conversations when safety issues arise and for purposes of feedback contribute to ensuring that safety becomes an integral part of the daily activities in their organisations.”

    Mojola said that organisations should adopt approaches to safety that think about incidents before they occur rather than reacting to work-related accidents.

    The National Coordinator, The Safety Advocates Group, and CEO, Hybrid Group, Dapo Omolade, described the late Oluwagbemi as the foremost health and safety practitioner in Nigeria.

    Read Also: Workplace bullying kills, experts warn

    “We are sending the message out that what Dr. Oluwagbemi stood for was a safe society and to make safety a way of life. Hence, you have approached safety from legal, home, and health perspectives. A lot of people still don’t know a lot about safety and so it is important for everyone to embrace the way of life – safety.”

    The Executive Director, Strategy, and Safety Advocates, Jamiu Badmos, affirmed that Oluwagbemi was the first to be chartered as an Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (ISOH) member who brought safety to the limelight.

    In line with the theme of the event, Badmos noted: “There is a health and safety policy, but today, the law in use is the Factory Act 2004 which is obsolete. “Everywhere in the world, people are transforming their safety policy, hence since 2008, we have been begging the successive government to have operational Health and Safety Act which will put in place leadership commitment.

    “I use this medium to call on the government to quickly have an executive bill on Occupational Health and Safety and let the National Assembly quickly approve it so we don’t lose more lives in Nigeria. Look at our roads and factories, people are dying and when one person dies, you have also killed all the dependents of the person.”

    The CEO, SafetyPlus, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi stressed that a positive safety culture at a workplace is when workers are enlightened to the point that they can freely report a hazard without fear of victimisation.

    “Workers understand the process of accident prevention and are empowered to stop a potential danger. Hence, having risk awareness, fair and just culture, inclusiveness, management commitment, and accountability are key to embracing positive safety culture,” she said.

  • Bawa’s suspension: Kudos to President Tinubu

    Bawa’s suspension: Kudos to President Tinubu

    SIR: The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL hails President Bola Tinubu for approving the indefinite suspension of the chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, AbdulRasheed Bawa, from office.

    The suspension is a welcome development that is long overdue due to the sensitive nature of his office. We had earlier joined other Civil Society Organisations to call on the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari to relieve Bawa of his appointment in order to allow for thorough investigations of allegations leveled against him.

    It should be noted that we wrote the Senate not to confirm him based on the allegations levelled against him when he headed the Port Harcourt office of the anti-graft agency but the then Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, got the National Assembly to confirm him. Moreover, because of the way and manner the immediate past acting chairman of the agency, Ibrahim Magu was eased out of EFCC, we had said that Magu was yet to be removed from the office permanently and that he was still the acting chairman of the agency. So by this action coming from the president, we have been vindicated as we have opposed Bawa’s nomination from the beginning.

    Read Also: Tinubu meets EFCC chairman, Bawa

    It must also be noted clearly, that we are not opposed to the commission’s mandate to fight corruption, but we are opposed to the seeming politicization of the agency under Bawa, its clear fixation on certain individuals in society, needless media trial, alleged corruption within the agency, and the manner in which EFCC officials act above the law by corrupting our judicial processes with impunity.

     We therefore commend President Bola Tinubu for heeding to the yearnings of the people by taking drastic action which the past administration found too difficult to take. This singular action by the president would send a note of warning to all other officials holding one position of authority or the other that they can be called to give account of their stewardship at any time.

    We would like to advise that the selection of the next chairman of the commission should be based on merit and political consideration should be downplayed. This will allow the agency to function and discharge its duties without fear or favour. The good work of fighting corruption to standstill by the agency should also be supported by the government.

    •Tola  Oresanwo,

    For: CACOL, Lagos.

  • Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

    Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

    Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, who clocked 60 last Sunday, didn’t become renowned because her husband, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was elected Ekiti State governor. The fact that a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Leymah Gbowee, describes her as her mentor is a testament of her influence in Africa and beyond. 

    Her story is interesting. 

    After youth service, she hung around Lagos for a while looking for work. Journalism excited her. She did a couple of stories for The Guardian. But she later opted to take up an admission at the University of Ife to do a Masters in History in 1986. And that was where she met her husband, John Kayode Fayemi, who was Ekiti State governor. She left Ife in 1988 and went to England. With her citizenship of the United Kingdom (UK), she was able to secure a job with the British Civil Service in February 1989. In May 1989, Fayemi joined her in England and they got married on September 2, 1989.

    She soon realised that the British civil service was too small to accommodate her dream and so in January 1991, she left the civil service to start work at Akina Mama wa Africa (AMWA), where she was for 10 years. In 2001, she moved to Accra, Ghana to start the African Women Development Fund (AWFD) and was there for ten years roughly. While at AWDF, she had to deal with people like the legendary Nelson Mandela, Gracia Marcel, Belinda Gates, President of Rockefeller and the President of Ford Foundation. One of her mentees, Leyman Roberta Gbowee, ended up winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

    By the time she berthed in Ekiti in October 2010, she had practically seen all. Having operated at the international scene for some two decades, she was fully made to function as the wife of governor. Little wonder Senator Babafemi Ojudu then said the Ekiti people voted for one governor and got an extra in his wife.

    Read Also: Erelu Okin receives honorary US citizenship

    On April 5, 2011, she was presented with the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of philanthropy. She joined the rank of past winners such as the late Nelson Mandela, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Sheela Pattel, Fazle Hasan and Queen Raina of Jordan.

    She was a 2007 recipient of the prestigious ‘Changing the face of Philanthropy’ award from the Women’s Funding Network, USA, a Synergos Senior Fellow, as well as the 2000/2001 holder of the Dame Nita Barrow Distinguished Visitorship at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) University of Toronto.

    She was Co-Chair International Network of Women’s Funds (2004-2006), Honorary President, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) (2003-2005) and Trustee, Comic Relief (UK). She also served as a resource person to UN agencies such as UNIFEM, UNDP, UN/ECA (Addis Ababa) and several other regional and international bodies. She served as an Adviser to Global Fund for Women (USA), an Editorial Board Member of Alliance Magazine (UK), a board member of Resource Alliance (UK), an Advisory Board member of Realising Rights – The Ethical Globalisation Initiative, a member of the African Feminist Forum Working Group, a board member of the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund, a board member of the Women’s Funding Network (USA), and Co-Chair of the newly established African Grantmakers Network. She Chaired the Advisory Board of the Nigerian Women’s Trust fund, which was set up by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

    She has come a long way and still has a long way to go. 

    Happy 60th birthday, Erelu!

  • NPFL: Anyansi-Agwu admits tension in Enyimba’s Super 6 glory

    NPFL: Anyansi-Agwu admits tension in Enyimba’s Super 6 glory

    Enyimba FC chairman Felix Anyansi expressed optimism on the abilities of teams that qualified through the tension-soaked Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) championship Play-Offs to creditably represent the country at upcoming continental tournaments, writes TAOFEEK BABALOLA.

    He is an old hand in the tough Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) terrain yet chairman of Enyimba International FC, Felix Anyansi-Agwu has admitted the difficulties associated at winning the novel Super 6 Play-Offs at the end of the abridged 2022/2023 season.

    In what was a difficult engagement among six best teams from the abridged season, the Anyansi-Agwu led Enyimba was confirmed winners only on the last day of the tension-engrossing mini tournament held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan in Lagos.

    Prior to the Super 6 Play-Offs, the 2022/2023 season abridged league format of Group A and B produced Enyimba and five other clubs after emerging top three teams in their respective groups.

    Bendel Insurance, Remo Stars, Enyimba qualified from Group A with 34 points, 33 points and 32points respectively, while Rivers United, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars qualified from Group B with 34 points, 30 points, 27 points respectively to book spots for the play-offs.

    But after the round-robin tournament, there was little to choose among the gladiators as the best three teams on the long finished jointly on nine points consequently the inevitable best goal advantage was used to decide the eventual winners as well as the country’s hope bearers for the next continental assignments.

    Enyimba finished on top with (+4) goal advantage while Remo Stars came second with (+3) and Rivers United secured third position following their (+2) goal advantage.

    Consequently, Enyimba and Remo Stars will feature in the 2023/24 CAF Champions League, while Rivers United will represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup.

    Yet despite guiding Enyimba to their record ninth domestic title via the NPFL Championship Play-Offs, Anyansi-Agwu argued that the full season-long league is better than the abridged league format adopted by the Interim Management Company (IMC), even as he admitted the competitiveness of the Super 6.

    “The competition (NPFL season play-offs champions) will produce a champions no doubt but I don’t think it is the best than having a league for the whole season; that is when the real champions can emerge,” Anyansi-Agwu who doubles as the vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) told NationSport prior to the final Matchday

    Read Also: NPFL Play-Offs: fIMC outlines conditions for Enyimba’s ₦100m prize money

    He added: “Of course, any champion that comes out of here is still champion but would we prefer to play a complete season league?

    “Yes. When you play the whole 36 matches, it brings out the best because it goes with quality.

    “When you have a team prepared with quality players, they will all keep putting in their best, and as the league progresses, everything will starting evolving around the team.

    “That is why it is actually better to play from the beginning to the end for the whole season.”

    Anyansi-Agwu who guided Enyimba to two CAF Champions League titles in 2003 and 2004, commended the IMC for the successful hosting of the season’s ending NPFL championship Play-offs.

    He expressed confident that all clubs that emerged winners from the tourney will represent the country well in the continental championship.

    He said: “The Super 6 was very colourful and full of tension and everybody enjoyed it. The administrators were also under pressure because everybody wanted to win.

    “I have been through this for a very long time at a different occasion. It is a welcome development and very entertaining. People were happy. It was very difficult to have these big teams playing at the same time. So it was good.

    “The teams played very well and the standard was high. I think the champions it produced will represent the country very well.”

    One of the reasons for the adoption of the abridged league format by the IMC was to unify NPFL calendar with other leagues in the continent as the 2023/2024 season would expectedly start in August.

    “Of course, it is a way to go. The abridged league and the play-offs were done in good faith and it would help our teams to have a long playing time before the commencement of the continental competitions,” Anyansi-Agwu said.

    The two-time CAF Champions League winners previously won the league title in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2019.

    Also, Enyimba FC have now won each of the last two NPFL abridged seasons (2019, 2023).

  • Pollution: community cries to Fed Govt, Delta

    Pollution: community cries to Fed Govt, Delta

    The Polububo-Tsekelewu riverine community in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State has called on the Federal and Delta State governments, as well as the international community to save oil producing communities across the Niger Delta from worsening environmental pollution.

    The people spoke through their monarch, Mesack Ubabiri, Bini Pere IV, the Agadagba of Egbema Kingdom, to commemorate the World Environmental Day, themed ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution’.

    Lamenting that problems associated with the menace was already getting out of hand, the monarch emphasised the need for all stakeholders to take urgent and deliberate steps in cleaning the environment.

    “The situation is already causing untold hardship to residents of Egbema Kingdom,” he lamented.

    The monarch therefore called on President Bola Tinubu; Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and multinationals operating in the area to intervene. 

    Read Also: World Environment Day: How Nigeria can combat plastic waste pollution – AfDB

    President-General of Polububo-Tsekelewu community Dr Bright Abulu, as well as environmental activists – Mrs. Ibiba Don-Pedro and Henry Eferegbo, appealed for collaborative efforts to address the problem of waste pollution and environmental degradation in the community.

    Chairman of the community’s Health and Environmental Committee Anthony Tiemo, and Secretary Isaac Clarkson, reiterated the need for governments and oil majors to pay urgent attention to the pollution in Polububo-Tsekelewu to avert a looming health disaster.

    They also called on governments and oil giants to stop gas flaring, plant trees, build standard health facilities, roads, housing units, and provide potable water to mitigate existing challenges in the community.

     “We are appealing to the Federal and State governments, as well as the multi-national oil companies operating in the community, to help us solve the massive waste pollution and environmental degradation in the community,” Clarkson added.

  • Why we met Fubara in Rivers, by British envoy

    Why we met Fubara in Rivers, by British envoy

    The British Deputy High Commissioner (Lagos), Mr. Ben Llewellyn-Jones Obe, has said he led a delegation meet Rivers State Governor, Siminialayi Fubara, to seek partnership with the government.

    Mr. Llewellyn-Jones said such partnership was intended to promote the state’s economic growth through diverse business investments and wealth-creation initiatives.

    A statement by Fubara’s media aide, Boniface Onyedi, said the envoy spoke after meeting the governor in the Government House, Port Harcourt. The meeting, it said, was to intimate the governor of planned expansion of business development and investment opportunities by British companies operating in Rivers. 

    Read Also: Rivers safe for investments, says Fubara

    The statement added: “The meeting was to discuss ways to improve basic public services, enhance security, create job opportunities and help the economy grow.” 

    Llewellyn-Jones added that the initiative was also to foster a better and stronger diplomatic relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

    He acknowledged that there were already many British companies doing business in the state and contributing to its economy.

    “It is however pertinent to review and seek encouraging conditions to expand bilateral opportunities in the state,” he added.

  • Group marks 10th anniversary with environmental sanitation in Lagos community

    Group marks 10th anniversary with environmental sanitation in Lagos community

    Group marks 10th anniversary with environmental sanitation in Lagos community

    The Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles Champions Group last weekend organised an environmental sanitation and awareness programme in the Lafiaji community, Lagos State.

    The group, which consists of various financial institutions such as commercial banks, development financial institutions, and mortgage banks, is dedicated to promoting sustainability in the industry.

    They took the initiative to conduct the clean-up and raise awareness in the community.

    “We have a lot of plastic waste in the ocean and this is just one of the initiatives that the NBSP have come up with to beat or address this solution,” Kosiso Iwugo, Sustainable Finance Associate at Access Corporation said in her address.
    “We organised this clean-up at the Lafiaji beach in a bid to protect the environment, protect marine life, address the issues of biodiversity loss and raise awareness on climate change, especially on the importance of having clean beaches.
    ”
    “We are also encouraging the residents to use less plastic where possible. If there are other alternatives to plastic; be it paper bags that you can use to pack or to store items, you don’t always have to use plastic because plastic takes a very long while to decay and that’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for the ocean so we are encouraging a lot of people to do that,” Kosiso said.

    Read Also: Unsafe water, sanitation and disease burden

    Similarly, Sodiq Jinad, principal plogga, Plogging Nigeria, said: “Unarguably the problem of plastic pollution is a multifaceted problem in the sense that it requires a multi-prong approach in order to address it; ranging from sensitisation and publicity just like what we are doing today to things like recycling, and upcycling which actually address the problem of plastic pollution. Sensitizations like this is an effective strategy towards improving environmental sustainability, addressing plastic pollution and ensuring a better environment.”

    It’s very important that all institutions; the private sector government and other relevant stakeholders tie into the issue of sustainability so that we can have a better planet, live a better society for all to live in, Sodiq said.
    ,

    There’s research that says by 2050, we will have more plastic in the ocean than fishes and right now, the fish we consume contain some microplastic and that’s not good for our health in the long run it will have some health hazards and we don’t want that to continue according to Yemi Akinrelere, team lead, Sustainability Polaris Bank.

    “On getting into this environment. I noticed a lot of plastic waste and some other waste by the beach side and it seems the community are not even aware of what it takes to clean up this waste and knowing fully well that they are not just wastes that can be condemned, they can still be used for other things and that’s part of the reason why we’re here today,” Akinrelere said.

    When it comes to addressing waste generation at its source, Omotara Olajumoke, a mobile crane operator and volunteer, emphasised the importance of influencing people’s behavior.

    She said: “We made an effort to connect with individuals in their homes, encourage them and also educate them on how to separate trash, such as plastics, cartons, cans, and similar items. Money can also serve as a motivating factor for people to keep their surroundings clean, aside from the humanitarian aspect, when they are compensated in exchange for wastes that can be recycled.”

  • Freeing up resources for development

    Freeing up resources for development

    SIR: Two things among others that will be of utmost significance primarily in freeing up resources for the new administration in the arduous task of repositioning the country for socio-economic renaissance are the removal of fuel subsidy and the implementation of the Oronsaye Report. Thankfully, the former has just materialized.

    Both thorny subjects have occupied the attention of the past administrations with committees set up, raising considerable hope in the attempt to plug waste but all soon ended in damp squib.

    The path to the definitive removal of fuel subsidy wasn’t straightforward.  Recall when the apostles of fuel subsidy removal were only a handful- they were lone voices in the wilderness preaching the message of disentanglement from a contrivance that is bound to hobble the progress of the nation. For their foresight they got flogged. The Goodluck Jonathan administration’s attempt at pulling the plug on the scheme became a lightning rod for elite condemnation. The protest which was a parade of illustrious citizens forced the administration to cringe.

    In the eight years of the Buhari administration, subsidy payment gulped about N11.4 trillion. They were periods of missed opportunities in light of the huge amount of resources that would have been invaluable were they to be channelled to critical sectors of the economy.

    It’s a crying shame that knowing full well the extent of the heist perpetrated under the banner of fuel subsidy, nothing forceful was done in going against the few that worked against the interest of millions of fellow citizens.

    Read Also: ‘Nigerians should be patient with Tinubu over subsidy removal’

    It remains to be seen how the government will act to sweeten the bitter pill. Already, disquiet is all over. Therefore, government’s intervention need be urgent and fast before desperation sets in.

    The Oronsaye Report which recommended the merger, abolition and reduction of MDAs remains another difficult proposition yet significant in reducing the cost of governance in the country which is among the highest in the world. The past administrations wriggled out of the responsibility of its implementation despite making loud commitment.

    The limp economy needs an urgent rejuvenating shot. The 2023 tells it all about the nation’s fiscal health. More than 60% of the budget will finance personal costs (N4.99 trillion), overheads (N1.11 trillion) and debt repayments (N6.31trillion) leaving little for investment in critical sectors of the economy.

    Many difficult areas requiring the kind of courage that accompanied the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy exist. However, there’s no auspicious time to implementing the Oronsaye report. The reform and elimination of wastes which the implementation of the report will inaugurate would do a great service to the country’s financial purse. It would be a step in the right direction.

    The last administration could have executed the report given its enormous goodwill but it evinced an unmitigated absence of the needed courage. So, I think the present administration will need to show the way by first running a singularly lean cabinet as token of  its commitment towards cutting the cost of governance before embarking on bigger challenges in that direction. 

    •Abachi Ungbo,

    abachi007@yahoo.com