The Nation Newspaper

Tag: environment

  • Minister woos children on clean environment campaign

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mallam Muhammed Bello has urged children in the FCT to encourage their parents to maintain a clean environment.

    Bello who spoke with the Students Parliament in the FCT, urged them to enact laws to encourage children to ensure that their parents clean their environments.

    The minister made the plea in Abuja when he met with the 7th Assembly of the FCT Students Parliament led by its Speaker, Master Oral Nwaka.

    Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Muhammed Sule stated this in a press statement.

    He said, “FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has urged the Students’ Parliament in the Federal Capital Territory to enact laws to encourage all the children in the Territory to ensure that their parents keep the environment clean.

    “The Minister said that the law to be enacted should ensure that every morning, everybody cleans his house and to also ensure that all the refuse is dumped in designated areas or dustbins.

    “We need laws from your parliament that will encourage all the children in the FCT to ensure that their parents keep the surroundings clean; to ensure that every morning, everybody cleans his house; to ensure that all the refuse is dumped in designated areas and also to encourage everybody to use dustbins.”

    According to him, “Since I came in as the Minister, one of my greatest challenges is how dirty the environment is, especially in the Area Councils. If you are able to do that during your tenure in office, you would have done a great service to us”.

    “Malam Bello promised to provide the Students’ Parliament with a bus and driver to be conveying the Parliamentarians to all official functions.

    “In addition to that, the Permanent Secretary told me that by the grace of God, he will buy you one bus and I’m sure the Social Development Secretariat will make sure that it employs a very good driver who will take care of that bus for you and also make sure that the bus is fueled at any time, so that you don’t have to ask for any bus anywhere again” he stressed.

    “Speaking earlier, the Speaker of 7th FCT Student’s Parliament, Master Oral Nwaka said the they are representatives of millions of children in FCT and promised to represent their interests very well to ensure that the children live to be good leaders of tomorrow.

    According to him, “we had our sitting this morning on the theme of this year’s Children’s Day, which is “Protecting the Rights of the Child and Child Marriage.”

    Master Nwaka added, “We want to make a passionate plea to the Hon. Minister, our dear Daddy to support the parliament as we aim at being a role model to other such parliaments across the country. We start by requesting a bus that can be conveying us to places we carry out our advocacies.”

     

  • ‘Our environment is safe from pollution’

    The Ogun State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Bolaji Oyeleye, has urged residents not to worry about environmental pollution from industrial waste. He spoke with The Nation at  2016 Ogun Investor’s Forum in Abeokuta.

    According to Oyeleye, the state has in place relevant agencies that are saddled with the responsibilities of taking care of the environment, and also monitoring of companies operating in the state.

    “We have an agency known as the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) which has the responsibility of making sure that environmental standards are adhered to  in terms of emission, waste management  and the operations of these companies. So, we are very much committed in that respect and we are doing what we are supposed to do in terms of monitoring the activities of these companies,” he explained.

    One of the set standards for companies borders on regulation of industrial emission and effluent. For instance, the Commissioner disclosed that his ministry go against companies that do not have waste treatment plants (WTP). This is to ensure that set standards that ought to be followed before discharging effluents into the environment. Companies that have not provided these facilities within their business premises, he explained, are being encouraged to do so.

    Besides, at the onset, when industries come to set up their industries in the state, Oyeleye explained, they were requested to put up road furniture which includes trees and light in their areas of operations.

    The Commissioner admitted that alongside industrialisation comes the challenge to preserve nature. This, he said, is why the state encourages and participate actively in the establishment of parks in the state and also encourage people to plant trees. He said that there is a lot of advocacy going into tree planting in the state to ensure that the ecosystem is well preserved.

    “Basically, people will be encouraged to replace and replenish some the trees that will have to go to make way for the industries and development generally. This is why on daily basis people are enlightened on the need to encourage and ensure greenery around them,” Oyeleye explained.

    He said the state is compliant to the COP 21 programme- a global programme on climate change, because issues of environment are very much encouraged even at the highest level of governance in the state. This explains why the state had a delegation led by the governor, Ibikunle Amosun, to the COP21 programme in France last year.

    At the event, he said, the state was able to promote one of her programmes which centers on reforestation of 180,000 hectares of land in the state.

  • Association seeks good environment for boat operators

    The Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transport of Nigeria (ATBOWTON) on Monday called on the Lagos State Government to provide an enabling environment for boat operators to thrive in the country.

    The ATBOWTON National President, Mr Ganiyu Balogun, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that government’s policies had not helped the growth of the industry.

    Balogun said some association members had, sometime in the past, wanted to develop the sector by providing capacity building and infrastructure but they were hindered by government’s policies.

    He urged the state to also be flexible in its policies’ implementation to encourage positive development in water transportation.

    Balogun urged the state government to earmark portions of land in every local government area as dumpsites to minimise dumping of refuse into the waterways by the public.

    He said throwing faeces into the waterways could also be curbed, if public toilets were provided at strategic locations all over the state and the country also.

    “Dumping of refuse and faeces in the waterways pollutes the waterways and causes it to smell; and this has always deterred the average tourist from plying the waterways.

    “Apart from this, when refuse and feaces get into the boats’ engines, it destroys them. We need to have a neat and organised society,’’ Balogun said.

    He, however, lauded the Lagos State Government for deploying marine police officers to functional jetties that in the state.

    “Each of the jetties is now being manned by two marine policemen, and this has drastically reduced the crime rate.

    “We love this development but we want more friendly laws that will enable us take water transportation to the next level,’’ Balogun added.

  • How govt will grow MSMEs, create friendly business environment

    How govt will grow MSMEs, create friendly business environment

    The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has prioritised support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Minister, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, has said.

    He said because MSMEs constituted over 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), his ministry was determined to support the sector to make it thrive.

    According to him, the support entails training, capacity building and ultimately, financing.

    Enelamah said this at the weekend while delivering the keynote address at the Fourth Great Place to Work Awards in Lagos.

    He said the ministry “will also seek to proactively attract investment both local and international.”

    H reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment at creating jobs and boosting productivity by fostering an enabling environment that supports the private sector and other stakeholders in creating jobs for the teeming population.

    Enelamah said: “This enabling environment would include consistent policies that would engender trust and help people plan their businesses better; corporate infrastructure and physical infrastructure such as power, roads, and rail etc. And of course, other infrastructure, which deals with institutions, rule of law, policies that you can rely on to build your businesses.”

    He also said the ministry’s commitment to creating an enabling environment involves progressively making it easier for businesses to operate.

    “We do not believe that the tag or the saying that Nigeria is a difficult place to do business, which is something we talk about quite often, is a good one,” he said.

    The Minister explained that his ministry will do this by implementing policies that remove the bottlenecks and roadblocks that make business hard or slow in Nigeria or unfriendly.

    “We want to create a friendly business environment. And I believe it can be done by a collective effort,” he said.

    Enelamah noted that having served in the private sector, one of the things that has become obvious is that creating a friendly business environment has to be a partnership of all the major stakeholders.

    He further said to boost productivity, his ministry plans to introduce sector policies that encourage local manufacturing and production of goods.

    “Our people are resourceful. When Nigerians go abroad they do very well. There must be something we can do better in our environment and that is something we are committed at doing,” he said.

  • NGO educates pupils on clean environment

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Friends of the Environment, has engaged secondary school pupils in Mushin, Lagos State, at a one-day seminar on the benefits of clean environment.

    The event with the theme: “Operation catch them young,” held at the Community Senior School, Mushin, was aimed at making the pupils to understand the importance of preserving their environment and the detriment of harming it.

    The Chairman on the occasion, Dr Samuel Akintayo, an insurance practitioner, said the event’s objective was to educate the pupils on their future.

    Akintayo said: “The youth are very important, so is our environment. Therefore, we are to keep our environment very clean to make Nigeria what it is supposed to be. Besides, to become something great in life, our environment matters. When these students become leaders of tomorrow, we will be certain of a clean environment, both in the financial, educational and economical sectors, among others. If all these institutions are clean, then we are assured of a clean nation. If we travel to other countries, it won’t be a new thing because we have a clean nation.”

    The Vice Principal of the school, Mrs. Ololade Taiwo, cautioned against acts that are capable of polluting the environment. She noted that the effects of noise and abandoned vehicles harm the social environment where plants, animals and humans live.

    Founder and co-ordinator of the NGO, Mrs. Iyabo Akinsiju said the organisation is aimed at upgrading the community and initiating a change of heart among the citizens.

    She said with their little efforts, children can change things for the better. “The environment is the only thing the rich and the poor share which cannot be dictated by the government; therefore, such a place needs to be given fair treatment. We believe if we get to the younger ones, we have reached the older ones. My advice to the young ones is to imbibe the habit of keeping a clean environment and try not to live in a polluted one,” she said.

    Happiness Nwankwo, an SSS 2 pupil at the seminar, said the eevnt has taught her the need for cleanliness and engaging in consistent environmental cleaning, both at home and school.

    Similarly, an SSS3 pupil of Itire Community Senior Secondary School, Itire, Blessing Okafor, said she has learnt the importance of maintaining a clean environment as well as the consequences of having a bad one.

    The pupils were also taught songs about the environment and were asked to teach their friends and colleagues, while the SS1 and SS2 class prefects were made ambassadors of the environment.

  • Houses get notices for dirty environment

    Houses get notices for dirty environment

    Residents of Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State have been enjoined to take the monthly environmental sanitation seriously or face sanctions.

    The council’s Executive Secretary, Adekunle Adeokun, who gave the advice, ordered that all houses on Alhaja Kofoworola Crescent except House 40, be served notices for not cleaning their surroundings.

    He spoke during an unscheduled visit to Kofoworola, Modupe, Olu-Akerele and Regina Coker Streets, and Alhaja Kofoworola Crescent during Saturday’s environmental sanitation.

    Adeokun, who led the council’s officials on the inspection condemned the blocked, dirty drainages and environment, and vowed to punish defaulters.

    “I am not too pleased that on Alhaja Kofoworola Crescent; only House 40 complied with the sanitation. Others chose to do nothing. It is quite unfortunate that this is happening in one of the reserved areas in our council, where the elites reside. Look at the drainages and see grasses beside their houses. It is shameful that some people are living here and they can’t observe simple hygiene.

    “We have taken a decision that all the houses, except House 40, be served notices to come to the council. We are going to impose sanctions on them.

    “When we see them, at the first instance, we will ask them to go and comply within seven days. But if they fail to do so, then, appropriate action will be taken.

    During the tour The Nation observed that there are illegal structures and shanties on Modupe Street; some buildings are also sinking.

    The drainages, are also blocked, leaving the streets flooded whenever it rains.

    The team also visited the new Alade Market site were shops have been built for the relocation of 500 traders.

    Adeokun, who hinted that the project will be commissioned by the end of this month, said there were 300 lock up shops and 200 KAA clamps.

    “We are relocating about 500 traders from Alade Market to the new site. We are targeting May ending for the commissioning. This new site has three access roads to avoid causing traffic and inconveniencing residents.

    “More than 400 traders have complied by paying the necessary fees. For the lock up shops, allocation fee is N150,000 while the fee for allocating the KAA clamp is N50,000 and over 400 traders have complied. We are not going to encourage the use of ‘I pass my neighbour generators’ here. So, the facility will include a 360KVA generator which will be maintained and fuelled by the council,” he said.

  • Environment agency cleans up Umuahia

    Environment agency cleans up Umuahia

    Mountains of refuse are giving way in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, thanks to the state Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA).

    The agency has come to life after months of inactivity, a situation which left the capital city with heaps of refuse and not a little stench in many places.

    The agency has been complaining of having rickety vehicles in its fleet to evacuate refuse which in most cases are in the process of breaking down especially when their services are needed most.

    To solve the problem, the Okezie Ikpeazu administration purchased several new refuse disposal trucks which are awaiting delivery to the environment agency.

    Worried by the heaps of waste on the streets and roads, the general manager of ASEPA, Prince Ikechukwu Apugo set up a task force to oversee the evacuation of the unsightly mountains in the state.

    Apugo with his ASEPA team launched the task force on sanitation in major streets of the state capital where the members of the task force were seen dismantling the refuse mountains to the joy and admiration of the residents of Umuahia.

    The task force which went into work was seen clearing heaps of refuse along Warri and Owerri roads in Umuahia, including dislodging of illegal traders and transporters who have turned the two roads into illegal motor parks.

    Speaking with newsmen during the launch of the refuse disposal task force, the general manager of ASEPA, Apugo said that the era when people dump refuse indiscriminately and littering the streets with sachet water packs is over.

    Represented by the deputy director of information in the agency, Mrs Chioma Daphine, Apugo said that the task force is empowered to arrest those who have formed the ugly habit of littering the streets, including those who throw refuse from their vehicles.

    Apugo announced that a mobile court has been formed for the immediate trial of any one found littering the streets of the state capital, including setting fire on the receptacle buckets.

    He said that the law prohibiting under aged children from dumping refuse in the ASEPA bins is still in place, stressing that the children who are underage find it difficult to dump refuse into the bins because of their height, leaving it on the road instead.

    The ASEPA boss frowned at the continued trading along major roads in the city despite the relocation of the city main market to Ubani-Ibeku which is on the outskirts of the capital city.

    He assured that the task force with the compliments of his office will ensure that the state government aim of restoring sanity and environmental cleanliness of Umuahia is achieved with the shortest period.

    In his speech, the leader of the sanitation taskforce Nduka Awomukwu assured that the team will not compromise standards in achieving its mandate and called on the residents to give them maximum support to achieve results.

     

  • Lagos to enforce Okada restriction, street trading laws

    Lagos to enforce Okada restriction, street trading laws

    The Lagos State Government at the weekend said it would henceforth strictly enforce the law on environmental offences, restriction of operation of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada on certain routes and street trading.

    Rising from the monthly Security Council Meeting attended heads of all security agencies in the state and chaired by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the Government urged residents to willfully comply with the extant laws in the state to make the enforcement of the law easier.

    Briefing Government House Correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, urged the public to desist from patronising traders especially where street trading is not allowed.

    Owoseni also counseled Lagosians to stop patronising commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada operators on routes where the law restricts them from plying.

    Owoseni, who briefed journalists alongside heads of the Army, Navy, Airforce and other security agencies in state, said: “The Council appraised the security situation in the state and looked at the challenges we are still having and from discussions and conclusions that were made, the Council agreed that lot of progress had been made.”

    “We have covered lot of miles regarding security and safety in the state. For now, the State is relatively peaceful.

    “We want to sustain that tempo; we want to improve on that tempo. We have looked at those areas we need to improve upon and basically those were the issues the Council considered,” Owoseni said.

    When asked on the directive by Governor Ambode at the Town Hall Meeting in Ikorodu last week that Okada should not ply Mile 12-Ikorodu route, the Commissioner said: “Yes, we deliberated on that and I can tell you that we specifically considered the need to improve on enforcement of the laws of the state, especially the areas where we have been having challenges with members of the public with regard to enforcement. ”

    “Specifically, I’m talking about the street trading, the restriction of commercial motorcyclists to certain areas. You see, there is need to have the buy-in of members of the public in all these and the Council considered the need for us to still tell the citizens that in as much as we want to enforce, there is also need for members of the public to willfully comply with extant laws of the State.

    “When they comply and conform to the laws, it will be easier for security agencies to enforce. Where the law says there should not be street trading, people should not patronise street traders; where the law says Okada should not ply certain routes, people should not patronise commercial motorcyclists in those areas.

    “But most importantly, as the Security Council has always emphasised , there is need for everyone to be security conscious and raise awareness about security in their surroundings,” Owoseni said.

  • SHODEX: ANOTHER NAME FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

    THE most important thing about global warming is this. Whether humans are responsible for the bulk of climate change is going to be left to the scientists, but it’s all our responsibility to leave this planet in better shape for the future generations than we found it,” says Mike Huckabee.

    With the global concerns about climate change around the world, some Nigerian governments have evolved pro-active measures to protect humanity from environmental hazards and natural disasters, but need I say that all hands must be on deck if Mike Huckabee’s remark is anything to go by.

    Indeed, at this stage of life, how does one dance for so long a time without dissipating unnecessary energy for rejoicing? How does one avoid the quicksand kind of stage, knowing the stage is as important as the dancer, if not more important. After all, Marlee Matlin reasoned that “the Earth does not belong to us: we belong to the Earth.”

    We may have an inkling of the fact that climate change is a terrible problem that absolutely needs to be solved. Bill gates may have described the situation as deserving of huge priority; Babatunde Raji Fashola may have launched a climate change summit in 2009, however, we need to dig deep and continuously reflect on the threat posed by the increasing world population and attendant use of natural resources.

    How do we do this? knowing that old habit is the greatest threat to the new ways of life we envision, it is pertinent to engage experts’ advice at all times to help in the process of reorientation: governments, through their civil responsibilities – corporate organisations through their CSR, most of which lately, benefit the individual than the society, unfortunately – children and young adults especially, through their lifestyle.

    Need I say that this experts’ advice has helped in shaping actions and policies regarding the Lagos environment such as the Eko Atlantic City project, a measure against sea level rise; tree planting campaign; the creation of gardens, and improved waste management system, among others.

    Undoubtedly, Cross River State has a remarkable green culture that is worthy of emulation. Of particular mention are the activities by the incumbent Governor Ben Ayade who happens to be an environmental scientist. Ayade has demonstrated how important it is to protect the environment by encouraging tree planting, waste management and continuous sensitisation of his people, reason he is adopting ‘Climate Change’ as the theme of the annual Carnival Calabar and Festival back-to-back.

    The Cross River State helmsman believes that it is not enough for a government to manage crises such as deaths and sicknesses, but it is more important to prevent them so as to reduce the mortality rate. “The only essence of life is enjoyment and once you take away happiness from a man, you have taken away the reason to live,” he said.

    The challenge is more for a mega-city like Lagos which is said to generate 10,000 tons of waste every day, with 70 percent being organic waste. Isn’t this one of the reasons the mortality rate appears high when we consider how long our parents live in the villages? I believe that one can indeed enjoy the best variety of life in a mega-city, taking into cognizance, among other things, the climate change; a phenomenon that has the power to define the success or failure of man’s socio-economic and political being.

    Interestingly, another environmental scientist that I know happens to be Mr. Olusola Adekoya, owner of Shodex Garden, who is using the occasion of his 54th birthday to donate trees and clean up Greenland Estate, Maryland, Lagos through the Nature Protection and Environmental Improvement Initiative (NAPEIIN).

    Prior to his birthday, school children who visit his garden on excursion are usually given trees to plant at home; what a best way to start a ‘revolution’. But perhaps the surprise for me was that when Shodex invited me and a few friends for his birthday, the last thing I expected was a formal occasion where we had to listen to talk on Waste Management and Climate Change from two experts. And that ends it. No music, no ceremonies. But I did gain some knowledge that the rice and stew he didn’t offer at the event.

    “Birthdays are wonderful days of celebration. For some, it’s a day to be celebrated, while for others it’s a day to give back.

    “I am of the opinion that we should always give back to the environment at every opportunity…

    “I want to use this opportunity to add value to all those who are around me and what better way to start than from my immediate surroundings. I will be leading a team that will consist of our N.G.O (NAPEIIN) and my friends and family to clean Greenland Estate in Mende, and I will also be donating trees to help combat climate change and contribute my quota to making a paradise of our once so beautiful earth.

    “Rather than host a party, I will want all my well-wishers to join me as we get our hands dirty, so our children can enjoy a clean earth,” he said.

  • Lassa Fever: Rotary mulls cleaner environment

    Lassa Fever: Rotary mulls cleaner environment

    With an increasing concern about a clean and disease free environment, the need to ensure a safer environmental condition has become the business of all. Now, in keying into this campaign for a cleaner and safer environment, the Rotary Club of Ikeja, District 9110, has donated environmental/sanitary equipment to the Obada/Ipodo market community in Ikeja, Lagos State. Items donated include big waste disposal bins of different sizes, rakes, modern brooms, parkers and packs of face masks.

    The President, Rotary Club, Ikeja District 9110, Mr. Tosin Kadiri, while making the presentation, explained that the choice of donating sanitary items was borne out of the passion and need to consciously imbibe a culture of having a clean and healthy environment in the people.

    According to him, the recent outbreak of Lassa fever can be linked to the preponderance of unclean environment. He also warn against the Zika Virus, which is currently ravaging countries of South America.

    “We just finished battling Ebola and almost immediately, we are been faced with another disease-Lassa fever. We all know Lassa fever is as a result of filthy environment, and if we don’t have a very filthy environment we won’t have rats everywhere,” kadiri said.

    Explaining its choice of items donated, the Club president explained that a need assessment was carried out on the community and it was discovered that the Obada Ipodo market lack waste disposal bins. “They don’t have a central collection point where they can put their waste and if you don’t dispose your waste properly that is the beginning of all these problems. So with this discovery the Club now decided to procure the sanitary items for them,” he explained.

    Presenting the items, a past president of the Club, Mr. Bintan Famutimi, admonished the market men and women to make the best use of the items so as to encourage the club to continue to do more for them.

    A representative of the Executive Secretary of Ikeja Local Government, Dr. Matthew Ebuloku, expressed his gratitude to the club for the kind gesture and also implored them to continue to do more for the society.