Ecotales
Ecology: Seven Lagos Pupils Set For Ghana Tour
Seven pupils from Lagos State are to go on ecological tour of Ghana for their excellent performances and contributions to environmental issues, Mrs Adetokunbo Agbesanwa, has said.
Agbesanwa, Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Babatunde Fashola on School Advocacy and Environment, made this known in an interview with newsmen on Saturday in Lagos.
She said the pupils, aged between eight and 13 years, would embark on the tour on May 31.
Agbesanwa said Lagos State Schools Environmental Advocacy Programme (LSEAP), in collaboration with Aero Contractor, a leading Airline in Nigeria, were the official sponsors of the tour.
The governor’s aide described the trip as an incentive for the pupils who performed brilliantly in various competitions on environment-related issues.
“These children are from public schools and from not well-to-do backgrounds; they have done excellently well.
“Recently, Ghana has been receiving visitors who are interested in the vegetation and the nature reserves where, within relatively short distances, one can experience tropical forests, marine and savannah ecosystems.
“These natural resources and other features that form the basis of the country’s ecotourism are enormous and have added economic and social value to the standard of living of the people,” she said.
Agbesanwa said the six-day eco programme to Ghana would enable the children to learn and know the latest ways of combating environmental hazards.
“ The short distance is to enable the children to have a feel of the latest innovations and strategy of combating environmental challenges in Africa and West Africa as a whole,’’ she said.
Agbesanwa expressed gratitude to the sponsor, Aero Contractor, for the support and encouragement of children in the promotion of environmental and education programmes.
“ The private sector sponsorship of such things should be encouraged because the state government cannot do it all alone, corporate bodies should invest in such course.
“The children interested in environmental issues should be encouraged to be more concern about how to preserve and care for our mother nature and reduce effect that may affect it,’’ she said.
The source reports that children, who have been identified as champions and veritable agents of change for their peers, were being encouraged by LSEAP to go for school exchange programmes and eco tours abroad.
This is to broaden their knowledge and make them more informed agents of change in their schools and communities.
In October 2012, 10 children selected as champions from both the public and private schools and five officials were sponsored by the state government on tour of Germany.
The source reports that children, who benefited from the programme, are currently leading the environment-related clubs in their schools and local government areas to combat climate change.
The Coordinator of Rivers
State Sanitation Marshalls, Prince Sodin Akiaba has warned residents of Port Harcourt and it environs against dumping of refuse into drainages.
Speaking in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Prince Akiabo blamed uses of flooding in parts of Port Harcourt especially in the Mile III area of the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into the gutters.
He said that with the approach of the rainy season, there is need for caution on the part of the people against indiscriminate refuse disposal.
Prince Akiaba said that the situation could lead to massive flooding across the city thereby creating health problem for the people.
He said that there is need for neighbourhood vigilantees to check this situation.
“Every street in Port Harcourt should formed a vigilantee to monitor refuse disposal in their street.
“This is the only way to stop the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drains,” he said.
The coordinator said that the sanitation marshalls can help the government to check this trend, if approval is given to that effect by the government.
He used the occasion to commend the Rivers State Ministry of Environment and the Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority for the efforts in keeping the city clean, but noted that the two agencies need to work with stakeholders for effective result.
L-R: Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Environment, Mr Taofeek Folami, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello and his Information counterpart, Mr Lateef Ibirogba, at a briefing by Bello on the activities of the ministry in Lagos, recently.
The National Oil Spill De
tection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has called on the military to establish an Oil Spill Response Base (OSRB) for quick intervention during oil spill emergencies.
Mr Peter Idabor, the Director General of the agency, made the call during a courtesy visit to Vice Admiral Usman Jibril, the Chief of Naval Staff, in Abuja.
Idabor said the base, if established, would serve as a veritable security for quick response and intervention by the agency during oil spill emergencies.
He recalled the Bonga oil spill incident and commended the Navy for providing a vessel to NOSDRA that ensured quick response.
According to him, crises usually occurred between affected communities and companies involved during oil spill emergencies.
He said partnership with the Navy had become critical due to its role in providing security to the maritime environment.
“It has become more critical for us to partner with the Nigerian Navy, especially when it has to do with issues relating to oil spill in this country.
“When there is a large oil spill, there is usually conflict between the community and the company involved.
“In most cases, it is sabotage and in such cases, we require the military to come in at certain point.’’
He said that most of the deaths in the Niger Delta had positive correlations with oil spillage.
He explained that people were at the risk of being affected by eating food that come from such polluted environment.
He also said the life span of most Nigerians was shortening due to the effect oil spill on the ecosystem.
“The attitudes of our oil explorers, especially when spills occur, it does not bother them that over a million of chemicals are spilled into the sea, which is very dangerous to health.
“The oil spill contaminate our aquatic resources and it affects the entire food chain as long as we survive on the food chain.’’
Responding, Jibril said the Navy was familiar with the operation of the agency, adding that it would support NOSDRA to stop oil spill in the country.
He said the force was also aware of the effects of oil spill to aquatic life and the environment.
The Navy Chief also commended the agency’s cooperation with the military, saying “you have reduced spillage and its attendant effects in the country within this few days.
“We are ready to contribute to stop oil spillage and we are ready to give to you information about spillage whenever they occur.
“Our new boats that we are importing from China have facilities to contain oil spillage.’’
He however, said the delay in the release of boats to the agency was to control their misuse and advised the agency’s management to henceforth, put in its administrative request at their time of need.
He gave an assurance that the Navy would reduce administrative bottlenecks to enable the agency to access the facility during emergencies.
Jibril, however, sought the support of NOSDRA in the provision of infrastructure to the force, saying, “we need to support one another to achieve our goals.
“We have the human capital base to do what we are trained to do; what we need more is the infrastructure and we call on other organisations to support us too.’’
Mr James Buchan, the
General Manager (Operations) of Cross River State Water Board, said more than N300 million owed it by various consumers in the state posed a challenge to its operations.
Buchan said this in an interview with the newsmen in Calabar last week, saying that the board was worried about the debt.
He said the board spent an average of N25 million monthly on diesel and chemicals to sustain water supply, urging the consumers who owed to settle their bills.
The general manager said that the state government paid its water bills regularly, urging the consumer’s to emulate the government by paying their bills to avoid disconnection.
Buchan further advised the consumers to always make genuine complaints about the services of the board to guarantee uninterrupted clean water supply.
The manager also urged consumers to shun illegal connection and to report to the board, those, including its staff members, who engaged in fraudulent activities.
“We want to supply to the public well treated water, we want to provide 24 hours service to the people, but we can only do this with the help of the people,’’ he said.
Buchan promised that Geographic Information System had been put in place to streamline the operations of the board and improve services.
He said the board was also worried over the damage of its pipelines worth more than N300 million by road construction companies in the state.
Buchan said the board had, however, drawn the attention of the officials of the concerned construction companies to the development.