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Tag: environment

  • Amosun suspends council chair for dirty environment

    Amosun suspends council chair for dirty environment

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has suspended the Chairman of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Bashiru Oladele Adeniji, for three weeks, over dirty environment in the council.

    It was learnt the governor suspended Adeniji yesterday on Ilo-Awela Road when he was travelling to Ipokia.

    A source said the governor and his convoy was on Ilo-Awela road enroute Ipokia, came across several vehicles driving against traffic and accosted one of them in a Sienna vehicle.

    Amosun, who is known for adherence to traffic rules and clean environment, alighted from his vehicle and interrogated the driver, who reportedly said it was because of the dirty environment in the area.

    The source added: “The driver of the Sienna car told the governor that he deliberately took one way because of the dirty environment, which he said he disliked.

    “The driver showed the governor piles of refuse on different parts of the road, which a rain flood reportedly caused and which he called an eye sore.”

    Amosun was said to have handed over the erring driver to the State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) for disciplinary action.

    The governor reportedly held the council chairman responsible for the dirty environment.

    It was learnt street hawkers almost took over everywhere, creating hectic traffic.

    At Ado-Odo/Ota council cleaning in and out of their offices.

    The Ilo-Awela road was filled with sanitary inspection workers on either side of the road down to the Toll gate.

  • Garlands for EnviroNews at 8th environment lecture

    EnviroNews Nigeria, an online publication, will today be conferred with the “2017 Environmental Media Excellence Award”, at the 8th Environment Outreach Magazine Public Lecture and Environmental Awards holding in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    The 2017 Environmental Awards is to honour individuals and corporate bodies that have distinguished themselves in various fields of environmental management.

    The awards include Environmental Stewardship Award; Environmental Legislative Excellence Award; Environmental Awareness Creation Award; Environmental Media Excellence Award; Environmental Protection and Support Award; Environmental Governance Award, and Community Development and Nature Conservation Award.

    According to the host and Publisher of the Environment Outreach Magazine, Chief Noble Akenge, the theme of this year’s lecture is: “Nigeria’s Depleting Forests and Its Implication for Forest Resources and Climate Change”.

    The lecture will be delivered by an expert, Professor Hilary Inyang, a former Vice Chancellor, Botswana University of Science and Technology, Papalye. The Conservator-General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Musa Goni, will chair the occasion while Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State is Special Guest of Honour.

    Others expected at the event include the Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, Cross River State, (Dr) Mrs. Alice Ekwu; Commissioner for Environment, Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Iniobong Essien; other State Commissioners for Environment; top Government Functionaries, the Academia; Civil Society Organisations (CSOs); representatives of various environmental groups, traditional rulers and members of the public.

  • Lagos flood: Curse of a neglected environment

    SIR: For years, the Lagos State government invested in various efforts to preserve the environment recorded in the areas of education and series of actions geared towards environmental sustainability awareness, including proper waste management, a heavily-sustained tree planting exercise and an annual environmental conference which purpose was to highlight issues, discuss current researches and proffer solutions to burning environmental problems.

    These activities are no longer top priority and clear reasons have not been advanced as to why renewed efforts have been halted. Today, most Lagos residents are concerned about the never-ending dumping of waste on major roads and around the inner cities, which in the event of the slightest rainfall, blocks the drainage systems causing serious hardship for residents.  The services of the waste disposal agency seem inaccessible in most parts of the city and the potential danger of this development can only be left to the imagination.

    To make matters worse, following a recent court ruling, the monthly environmental sanitation exercise was terminated. The impact of this legal action on the environment is yet to be fully contextualized, but will certainly lead to further degradation of the environment. Some had argued that the monthly sanitation exercise was an unnecessary action by the state government to restrict movement. But, put side by side the benefits to the well-being and health of the environment, this decision needs to be revisited.

    For some climate change deniers, the effort and monies spent in raising environmental awareness in order to reverse the growing impact of climate change is, to their way of thinking, wasted resources. As concerned citizens of a planet in trouble, we should recognize that this position is not in the best interest of humanity. Every human being on earth is expected to show some level of concern about the environment as the only sustainable factor to human existence.

    It should be emphasized that to slow down the negative impact of climate change, the effort to reverse the burning of fossil fuel and reduce carbon emission must be sustained. All efforts, including political efforts and lobbying, must be focused on building alternative energy models, new and green production processes and working towards a cleaner planet through investment in clean energy and green production technologies. Industrialization should no longer be carbon-based or carbon-driven.

    The effort to substitute high-carbon technologies with low-carbon ones has begun and should be properly keyed into by all levels of government and non-government institutions. The cost of neglecting the environment is huge and has implications bordering on health, food security and security of lives and property. The health aspect is the most troubling. With the recent outbreak of cholera in Lagos, resulting from contaminated drinking water due to flooding, serious attention is therefore required from all concerned.

    There is an urgent need for the Lagos State government to encourage researchers, who are interested, to investigate and proffer solutions to wide ranging causes and consequences, and to provide clear cut mitigation strategies to deal with environmental disasters as resulting from climate change.

    The annual climate change conference should be sustained and improved upon, with partnership extended to global agencies like R20, an agency founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger with its objective being to help sub-national governments around the world to develop and communicate low-carbon and climate-resilient economic development projects. In Nigeria, only Delta and Ogun state governments are members of this agency.

    Teaching of environmental sustainability in mostly secondary schools must be revisited as a way to galvanize the young and future policy makers into the broad consciousness of the need to preserve the environment. There used to be Climate Clubs in schools. These initiatives should equally be supported by corporate organizations in an effort to fulfill corporate citizenship responsibility to Lagos State.

    Climate change is not just an environmental problem. It is a development problem that is directly linked to and responsible for multiple crises plaguing the world today.

     

    • Victor Ikem,

    Environment Communication and Research Group, Lagos,

  • Kaduna school advocates cleaner environment

    Kaduna-based Jordan Science Academy, at the weekend, embarked on sanitation to raise awareness on the importance of preserving the environment by keeping it clean.

    The awareness campaign was carried out to inculcate the culture of cleanliness among the people of Unguwar Dosa in Kaduna North council.

    Teachers and pupils went round the community, sweeping streets and sensitising residents on the need to properly dispose dirt from their homes.

    The school’s Administrative Officer, Fadilah Ismail, said the exercise would inculcate the culture of community service in their kids, and complement the government’s effort at improving the integrity of the environment.

    “We are aware of the government’s effort at keeping the state clean. So, what we are doing today is to join hands in creating the awareness. If the environment is clean, it will eliminate diseases and prevent epidemic outbreaks.

    “Apart from that, it is important to also inculcate in the children, the habit of keeping their environment clean. As you can see, both the primary and secondary sections are involved in this campaign and we hope to make it an annual event,” she said.

  • ‘Nigeria has good business environment’

    ‘Nigeria has good business environment’

    Nigeria is a place to be and establish business, Mr Taoboika, a Canadian, has said. He spoke during an interview with Southwest Report.

    Taoboika, who was visiting Nigeria for the first time, condemned the negative way Nigeria is being portrayed by other countries, saying that the country is very peaceful, despite terrorism and other criminalities that are not peculiar to it.

    Taoboika, who is a Video producer, described Nigerians as loving, caring and accommodating, urging other countries not to disassociate themselves from them.

    He urged the world leaders to embrace peace and unity and encourage their children to marry anybody of their choice from any part of the world. This, he added, would end ethnic and tribal problems in the world.

    Taoboika’s visit coincided with his traditional wedding to his heartthrob, Miss Cynthia Amaka Ekwuefi, in Lagos.

    Taoboika described his wife, who is indigenous to Enugu State, as the best lady he ever met. He promised to live with her forever. He also described his in-laws as accommodating, loving and non-discriminating. He prayed to God to give them long life.

    The wedding began with prayers, and breaking of kola nuts in accordance with Igbo customs and traditions. The carnival-like event was a showcase for pristine Igbo traditions which were on display. Friends and colleagues of the couple came together in celebration of the union.

    Taoboika and his friends were ushered to the venue to pay homage to his in-laws, after which he sat down in the midst of the family before his wife was ushered in; accompanied by her bridal train to greet her husband and his families.

    Chief Peter Ekwuefi, described the day as one of the most remarkable for the family.

    On why he allowed his daughter to marry a white man, he said gone were the days when parents chose life partners for their children, adding that what parents need to do is to support and pray for their children.

    He urged parents to train their children in the way of the Lord, give them good education, and support them to detect their future career in their early stages of life.

    He appealed to youths to shun all forms of criminality.

    “Marriage is an institution, not what someone would engage in and run out tomorrow. Marriage is an everlasting agreement,’’ Chief Ekwuefi added.

  • Scores walk for clean environment

    Scores of environment conscious people have commemorated this year World Environment Day in Kwara state by staging a walk in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The walk which was organised by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Vicfold Recyclers in conjunction with the state ministry of environment kicked off at the popular Post Office area, went through Murtala Muhammed way and ended at the Ipata Market.

    Some of the participants wore hand gloves and picked refuse in gutters, putting them in nylon bags. They also urged shop owners along the highways on the need to keep their environment clean.

    Speaking with The Nation, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vicfold Recyclers, Amusa T. Victor said his organisation was celebrating the day with such sensitisation.

    He lamented people’s awful approach to waste disposal and management generally in the country.

    He said, “Everybody does not like waste. People don’t want to see waste. People’s attitude to waste management and disposal has been terrible. That is why we are raising awareness on the involvement of all in waste disposal, as government alone cannot do all things. It all boils down to our attitude to our environment.

    “Members of the public are encouraged to take good care of their waste. There are better good values that can be given to waste. As they say, a man’s waste is another person’s treasure. We should appreciate our environment by keeping it clean always. We should make sure we don’t liter our environment with wastes and we should not block the drains. And then a big no to air pollution, people should stop burning waste as it does not do us any good.

    “I am advising that in commemoration of the world environment day, let there be an improvement of how people take care of their environment. It will do us a world of good. We are connecting to nature.”

    On the exercise, Mr. Victor added that “we are celebrating the World Environment Day today. We are all out to raise awareness about protecting our environment and getting people involved. That is why I am saying this is our planet and our home. Everyone needs to play his role.

    “Vicfold Recyclers is a social enterprise and what we do is to give value for waste. We actually give people reward in exchange for their waste. We collect waste especially solid waste in exchange for gift items like electronics and cash and even food items.”

  • Battling to keep the environment

    Nnimmo Bassey is a well-known environmental activist who has chosen to champion the fight to safeguard the environment.  Over the years, he has written series of articles and books on the need to preserve the environment and for oil companies to do the needful to ensure that the health of the people is preserved.  This book titled, Oil Politics – Echoes of Ecological Wars, is a collection of articles and papers either published in newspapers or presented at different fora by Bassey.

    The articles range from issues on the Niger Delta environmental degradation, to gas flaring, oil pollution, gas emission, flooding, desertification, bush burning, the felling of trees and those other man-made actions that help to deplete the face of the earth.  From different essays, talks, blog posts and numerous other hot topics on the environmental issues facing Nigeria and other places in the world, Bassey has been able to show truly that global warming is no fluke.  As it is in Mexico, so it is in Nigeria where oil companies operate with impunity and with little or no regards to the wellbeing and health concerns of the people.

    What Bassey has done in all the articles is to let the world see those actions that have been taken by different people over the years that have jeopardized the ecosystem.  And people like the late Ken Saro-Wiwa had risen against the oil companies and other multinationals in the Niger Delta to sit up and save the environment.  This was why Saro-wiwa and others spearheaded the war.  They tagged it ecological assault on local communities in Nigeria.  It was for this, that Saro-wiwa, a novelist, a human rights activist, an Ogoni leader lost his life.  Yet, the likes of Bassey who live with these terrible environmental conditions have also risen to the occasion, writing, believing also that this timely agitation, and intervention can help to redraw attention to the global mess taking place in the Niger Delta areas of Nigeria.

    In order to let the world see and worry about what needs to be done to salvage these communities, the author deliberately includes old articles on these issues.  He says invariably – “the fact is that the issues that I consider here are unresolved and continuous.  What happened decades ago are still happening today.  The demands of local communities for environmental remediation and the halting of destructive extraction remain unheeded today as they were then.  The international corporations still operate behind military shields.  Demands for social inclusion by local communities are still met with brute force.  While progress has been made on some fronts as a result of determined vigilance of the suffering communities, there remains much to be done”.

    These indeed, set the tone for this collection.  It serves as a reminder to the powers that be that nature is at a point of extinction if human beings do not wake up to save it.  In eight different sections, Bassey carefully crafts the issues and how they can be handled to make the situation better.  Port one titled Echoes of an ecological war, is quite explicit on the issues it dwells on.  It makes it clear that environmental pollution whether in the Niger Delta or elsewhere breeds death and destruction.  The article written to mark the 15th anniversary of the death of Ken Saro-wiwa who was killed in 1995 by the Late General Sani Abacha harps on the need for change.  The author says – “the dominant predatory production and consumption patterns in the world, and the myth that crude oil is a cheap form of energy has meant perpetual death sentence on communities where there is crude oil and gas.  If men like Saro-wiwa had stayed silent and allowed the pattern of environmental degradation by oil extractive activities to go on unchallenged in Ogoni land, it is conceivable that things would have been worse by now”.  Therefore, with less than 40 percent of crude oil still in the soil, it is foolishness to insist that we can go on driving on dregs through eternity.”

    With this statement of fact, the author captures in parenthesis the whole hullaballoo about the myth of oil and its attendant consequences.  Is it a curse or a blessing?  Has oil really brought the desired good to the people the way it should be?  Why is it that activists like Nmimmo Bassey and others have been relentless in this fight?  It is also because the whole of Africa is neck deep in this crisis.  In an article titled Africa in the vice-grip of the climate crisis, he points out what global warming is doing to weaken the ecological system.  Nature is being threatened all over Africa.  And Bassey says so thus:  “for Africa, perhaps more than anywhere else, climate impacts are not merely environmental.  Climate change impacts diverse realms of life and living.  These include poverty, hunger, peace, security, human rights, health and socio economic aspects”.  There’s therefore the need to buckle up to save humanity from all these incongruous situations.  To make this work, all the bilateral and governmental treaties signed to this effect must be implemented forthwith.  It is not enough to agree in principle to save a nation from itself, yet there is no concrete working plan to that effect.  This is one of the reasons it has been quite difficult to achieve much in this regard either by the government or by the corporate bodies.

    In parts two and three, emphasis is placed on violence in the land, and the extractives and transparency occasioned by the various tendencies of ecological problems.  Where there is injustice, where there is the obvious fact that the locals are not being properly taken care of; where there are health issues, of course, the people would react.  That also leads to the problem of drilling in the dark to avoid the ire of the local people.  Yet the wickedness entrenched in this format is unprecedented.  When the people also react, they are charged with manslaughter and the like.

    Invariably, the issues raised here are grave and weighty.  Bassey did not mince words or hold back anything.  He is fearless, he is forthright, he is deliberate.  For him this battle is continuous and it has to be won to restore the lives of the streams, the rivers, the farms, the forests, the faunas, name it.  Therefore, let the gas laws be made to work.  Where is the biofuel policy?  Is it functioning?  If not, why not?  How about the Petroleum Industry Bill?  Where is it today?  Who then controls the excesses of Shell, and other oil corporations tormenting Nigeria’s environments?  Bassey wants the whole world to know; to come into this matter in order to save the Niger Delta areas and others.  The government of the day must take the battle with the seriousness it deserves so that oil will no longer be a curse but a huge and monumental blessing.

  • For the love of the environment, mankind

    For the love of the environment, mankind

    This year’s World Environment Day (WED) presented another opportunity for stakeholders and environmentalists to set new agenda for a sustainable and liveable world. At the WED celebration in Lagos, the government, civil societies and students, among others, spoke with one voice in support of the environment, MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

    Any harm done to the environment is harm done to humanity.”

    This is a saying credited to Pope Francis in the global environmental circle. It has since become a  cliche for awakening the consciousness of man on the urgent need to protect the environment believed to be more endangered with the increasing threat of climate change.

    It was, therefore, not surprising when top government functionaries, including environmentalists, non-governmental organisations, students and other stakeholders converged on the Kanu Ndubuisi Park, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, to celebrate this year’s World Environment Day (WED).

    The theme was: “Connecting people to Nature.”

    The President, Waste Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON), Professor Oladele Osibanjo, in a lecture delivered at the event, noted that since its debut in 1973, WED has become the United Nations’ standard vehicle for motivating worldwide appreciation and plan for the protection of man’s common heritage – the environment.

    “What we are celebrating today started worldwide in 1973, arising from the decision of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972. It has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues such as marine pollution and global warming, tsunami of electronic waste dumping in developing countries, healthy consumption, wildlife crime and other environmental crimes,” he explained, adding that it had grown to become a global platform for public outreach.

    In a similar vein, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment Dr. Babatunde Adejare said this year’s theme impelled Nigerians and other lovers of the environment to get outdoors and into nature; appreciate its beauty and importance, and, consequently, take forward the call to protect the Earth.

    “This theme invites us as stakeholders in the environment to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways of experiencing, cherishing and sustaining this vital relationship with nature,” he observed, adding that most importantly, stakeholders must be sincere enough to increase awareness among the public on the importance of the country’s natural endowments.

    Adejare further noted that scientific advances and growing environmental challenges, such as global warming and wetlands encroachment, are helping to understand the countless ways in which natural systems support human prosperity and well-being.

    Therefore, he contended, there is the need to improve on the environment and for mankind to start taking responsibility for his behaviour and its impact on the environment. This, he said, is why the current administration in the state stimulates the appreciation of nature through the establishment and maintenance of gardens and parks as well as beautification of loops, open spaces and roundabouts across the state.

    He further said the commitment of the state to sustainable management of its environment was being demonstrated through various laudable plans and programmes such as the “Cleaner Lagos Initiative”, which encapsulates the ongoing broad reforms in the solid waste management sector; the annual Tree Planting Day through which over seven million trees of various species have been planted  to enrich the state’s biodiversity; the identification/tagging and enumeration of trees in the Lagos metropolis; the identification and protection of wetlands and the 10-year framework of programmes for sustainable consumption and production patterns, among others.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Mr. Adeyemi Saliu, buttressed Adejare’s submissions. He explained that the Cleaner Lagos Initiative was embedded in many components. He listed some of them to include, but not limited to, residential waste collection and processing; commercial and industrial waste collection; primary, secondary and tertiary all-year-round drainage maintenance; manual and mechanised street sweeping; provision of engineered sanitary landfills; transfer loading stations and material recovery facilities among others. These efforts, he explained, have come to redefine environmental management in Lagos State.

    Saliu noted benefits inherent to include attainment of clean and hygienic state; sanitary disposal of hazardous waste; deployment of modernised equipment such as 600 brand new compactors and over 900,000 bins that will be electronically tracked; and the creation of over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, plus the employment of 27,500 community sanitation workers to sweep inner streets in all the 377 wards of the state, in addition to the mechanised sweeping of  highways.

    An environmentalist and member of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, said WED was “a celebration of mother nature”. He expressed happiness that children were being introduced to the need for sustainable environment.

    “If we do not take care of our environment, it will come back to haunt us,” Majekodunmi said.

     

    Reasons for WED

    Osibanjo, a professor of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry, in his lecture, disclosed that WED’s annual celebration aimed at successfully attaining carbon neutrality in the atmosphere by focusing on forest management; reduce greenhouse effects; promote bio-fuels production by planting on degraded lands; use of hydro-power to enhance electricity production; encourage the public to use solar water heaters; produce energy through solar sources; developing new drainage systems; promoting coral reefs and mangroves restoration to prevent flooding and erosion, including other ways of environmental preservation.

     

    Ecosystem

    The Ecosystem, according to the professor,  is the sum total of interacting living organisms and the non-living environment in an area e.g. forests, grasslands, rivers, coastal and deep seas water, islands, mountains, even cities. It provides mankind with vast goods and services, otherwise known as “ecological services” (e.g. Forest Ecosystem) which are rarely appreciated by mankind because no monetary values have been placed on them.

    He said values have now been assigned to the ecosystem. This explained why economists have now estimated annual values of some of these services to humans to help policy makers take them into action. It is only in recent years that economists have developed mechanisms for placing financial values on nature and natural /ecosystem services.

    Osibanjo regreted that there was no Nigerian data to deploy in the computation of the quantum of contribution from nature’s resources toward prevailing recession in the country. He blamed this on man’s connection to nature, which is being exploited  without caring to tend or nurture it in a sustainable way to enable it provide goods and services in the future.

     

    Challenges

    Osibanjo said factors affecting climate variability are a major concern for environmentalists and stakeholders as they constitute huge challenges for sustainable environment in the country. These factors include desertification, which he said is now migrating southward at about 0.5 kilometer per annum; multi-media pollution; flood disasters; erosion; poverty; climate change and global warming; environment induced social conflicts, like what is being experienced  in the Niger Delta area of the country as a result of oil spillage; devastation of the ecosystems and recently herdsmen migration from the northern parts of the country whose grazing activities are destroying farmlands in the middle belt and southern states of the country.

    Besides, are the associated risk of poor municipal solid waste management,including indiscriminate landfilling and open burning. He added that the uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gases (methane and carbon dioxide), into the atmosphere causes global warming, as well as dioxin and furan emissions.

    Stakeholder at the event expressed concern that when industries declare billions of naira profits annually, they should be taken up on the toll the effect of their operations has taken on their host communities and environs. “How many workers or communities nearby fell sick arising from unclean air or water pollution from such industry’s activities? How realistic and effective  is their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme? How many nature reserve parks  or nature conservation projects are the company sponsoring or supporting etc?” Osibanjo submitted.

    The Head, Sustainability and Corporate Brand, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mrs. Temitope Oguntokun, aptly captured the entire essence of the gathering with her parting shot. Drawing from the words of an environmental activist, Wendell Barry, she said: “the earth is all that we all have in common, so let us continue to protect it.”

    And as this year’s WED challenged mankind, stakeholders are unanimous that there is a need to continue to find fun and exciting ways to cherish the vital relationship of man with nature.

  • Degradation of Akwa Ibom environment

    SIR: The present state of the Akwa Ibom environment- especially the oil producing areas- is appalling. Though natural phenomena like erosion, flood and climate change are major factors which adversely affect the environment, consequences of human activities like gas flaring and oil spillage have threatened an imminent collapse of our ecosystem.

    The situation is worsened by the lack of commitment in rectifying the anomaly. This laissez-faire attitude has continued unabated despite outcry by the victims as well as relevant environment protection laws.

    While stakeholders, especially the trans-national oil companies, have exhibited zero concern for the well-being of their operational domain and its inhabitants, the victims of these acts of degradation are left to their fate. This has led to countless litigation against the oil companies.

    I had first-hand experience of the damage done to the Akwa Ibom environment in early 2016, when I joined few colleagues on a fact finding mission to Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of the state.

    Eastern Obolo, despite being the highest crude oil producer in Akwa Ibom State, is perhaps the most underdeveloped place in the state. It plays host to oil firms including Exxon Mobil, Shell Petroleum Development Company and Amni International Petroleum Development Company.

    Crops planted on Eastern Obolo soil are diseased because the land is poisoned by oil activities. Their waters aren’t fit for consumption because of oil spillage. No development projects like roads, hospitals and electricity. Throughout our over six hour tour of Eastern Obolo, our mobile phones barely had access to network.

    The chairman, Eastern Obolo Traditional Rulers’ Council, His Royal Highness, Job Job, revealed that of an estimated 4,000 oil spill in the Niger Delta region from 1956 to date, Eastern Obolo recorded 145 oil spills with 65 incidences not admitted to by the oil firms; as well as gas flaring, environmental degeneration and diseases.

    Similar scenarios are replicated throughout the state.

    The level of environmental degradation in Akwa Ibom has reached an unbearable level. Paying lip service to the problem isn’t the solution. The state government should realize that it has the environmental protection and waste management agency law in its kitty. Enforcing the law will compel the oil producing companies to respect our environment, and invariably respect us, the indigenes. Government must prove her supremacy in this issue.

    To curtail future mishaps, no exploration of natural resources must be carried out without a fool-proof Environmental Impact Assessment. An immediate halt on gas flaring and paying of compensation to victims must be carried out.

    Recently, the Akwa Ibom State government dragged an oil services company, Globestar Engineering Nigeria Limited to court over failure to pay whooping N65billion tax liabilities. Multinational companies must pay tax unfailingly. Corporate social responsibilities must also be made to be compulsory for such companies.

    Akwa Ibom State government must press ahead with the agitation for relocation of headquarters of oil exploration companies to the state.   Also, telecommunication companies should henceforth desist from installing telecommunication masts near residential areas because of the adverse health effects.

    On their part, Akwa Ibom people must sanitize their immediate environment to avoid contracting diseases which breed in dirty environments.

     

    • Ofonime Honesty,

    Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

  • ‘Keep your environment clean’

    In a bid to  ensure clean environment in Lagos, the Lagos Mainland Lion Club has erected four street sign posts “Clean Nigeria” in four Lagos communities.

    The programme brought together members of the club to the unveiling of the Clean Nigeria street sign in Alagomeji, Yaba, Abule Oja, and Jibowu Roundabout.

    Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, the 2nd Vice-President of the Lion Club District Governor Dupe Dada said the erection of the sign post was to create awareness and advocacy on clean environment and sanitation.

    She said it was evident that parts of Lagos are dirty, a situation that portends dangerous health implications on the people if stakeholders refuse to play their part in making the state not only peaceful but also safe to live in.

    “We are committed to clean environment and we are working with the local governments and other relevant stakeholders in Lagos State to make it a reality”, she said.

    She noted that Lions Club is celebrating its Centennial and it is working on the common goal of serving 100 million people through our pro-people programmes.