8 J MARCH, 201:1
SA1URDAY TRJBUNE
Environment
with Ebenezer Adurokiya
080601U609. 08076340028. ebenH@f-.duroklyaOgmail.com
Government lacks Political Will To Tackle H Environmental Issues ---PrQf 0siJ:x1ry0 ow
can Ute proble'" of 'nd ' .c'-!",'notc ~ dUpMaL rNNIltUw of tel.rco"'u.nlc oHon o ,.d .encrotln. plClnt. In ,--14.nllol
1ft"'" _
be Ctubed'7
Professor Oladele Osibanjo is Q ueteran environmentalist and Director oif Basel di Centrefor Training and Technology Transfer for the Co nven ti on Coo rnating i\frican Region under the Federa l Ministry of Environment, University of lbadan Linkage Centre. Cornered at the recent NESREA workshop in lbadan. he spoke on various challenges corifronting the environment.
ad habits ct.c hard. We need In '_ ense public: .~ ..ld pubbc:aUOn i:Jr die peqJIe to know lhal the cmrtronmenl III dtclr Itvdthood. If the etlvtronmcnt III <k:s~ then ~ haI~ no I.ape. nothing. Many cI our pcopk ont) IhJnk of thetT c:onftllkna:. they don't plaice value 01 1 their envtronment ~Ie Just say "that tree. rut tt." thq: think that "If I cut dawn thtII lrft, how many medktllII values ~ then: in tt? 'Iow many.spcdal bWds 1M: on It? l low about Ule aoiI prokC:Uon func:tJon tt gtvm? So. f t neal lwan:neee and that ill ....hy NESREA ahould be c:ommended ror putllng logether the 24
p reyenUn: alnlleglu bl Inc:hlnc people how to prot«:t the environment rrom home.. then It ac:IM)OI by tuc:.h1n& relev.nt
.t
IUbjeClS We n«d to ~ back 10 the draWing boen:I and atop paying Up aervk:e because UICft: III ~ 10 .,. Ekauee of de!Icrt enc:n.c:hmcnt. we I . . . . ~ what we cd deaert rd\tgI'cL A lot of people an mowtng down from the North and now. we drink from I lot dour r1VCI'1 nle reason b UUIl Vi!: have polluted ewcijwhat:. Ira rntIft cxpcnstvc 10 get )'OW'" t.atth Intad In urt.n c:.cntns than In the vtllagrea
1IQ1'
c:an'
_la""""
When I was a chid. I U8td 10 go .. Id fetch ...~ta from ~ 10 drtn..L now moll 01 the watU1l ~ poItuted In \A"ban InWI.. 90. where then III Ule futUft? What God has gIYm ... ~UlIC we don' take the enwonment .moua. In our nrllleu abaodan to juSt . .tWy oundYca. we have cut our OCM to Iplle OUT race If the envtronmc:.nt III d$nJfed. . , hl.ft notlq left. the fu~ 01 our c:.hIkIrftI and ptdclUklrm III not gurutmtecd and r1811t now. there Ie I kit of ~gnof'''ncc c:onccrnlng envtronmcntai lNue8 Nlgttlllna .~ expoRd to uwe: c:hemlc:a'- It home and wcrtpbIce ~y. rK*tc fruen generating aets. smote from r1dlcty \"ChJdca. and now four.year-olda have CIlfICItr. and we 1I11rtouc.r " 10 .prttual Ittacka. We.y the wttked haft done tbdr wont. Whe:rea. tf. our lIdt 01 c:ommltmcnt to c:.nrif'QIuOCI' lIl protccUon. Hour do we mo.kc erurironmen(o' regulaI:ton. work In W..-mlng}ullfllc qf ~ It can wc'41I I did • ~ (WI e-W1I5Ie It Idumota. I tokt Ute people burning the e -was te dcmenls Ulat many of them -.ould not ItYC long. tJn:I,uec e-WMtc from .y mobile pI::ulea. t- IM:I" I lhou5and c:.hcmk:ah. ". harTnIe:. _ It Ioob, oooe '1 CIUlnlC be ~ and they stan burning It Ind all the 10.ll:IC c:hemlc.'. c:ome out Into the ~ the !'Mr. sol and what .. the rault? c.r.:crall ~ thc plM:e. So. When • told them 10 "continue 10 bum. then yt;oo wru bYe long I~ your rather," they now
thtnk d •.,. mbring k t.dL That's wby _ need 10 IpPy
_,
because of pollution in wt.n c:.cnua.. We need 10 look .t the tmpac:.hI 01 our envtronment acucnt and InIctior& For ~ td\.c .. I tna.Jor aoun:e of W--health ~ our peopic. J..cU.a.ges from rer~ ID toto the rtvera. the n:fu8e bIoeka ~ What kind of cnvtronment are we 9*Jg to \el1Ie bchmd ... OUT ~
....
an. 11.- &goun ~(a.n, Direc:tor qf I"rojec:t ru NJgeria In ~ Mid acrqKJarjIsw.and, ~ odMr . - t e '- req,dabI.r. & k lhaI: D d _ lib .,.,. or. not ~ IqftM us-. to ~t CIt .nou. lftIreU on hou:I thetI ean ~e --uthftom -'-"1 The prnbIem lhey have .. what I caU '1adt 01 poIluc:a.J
asked. "'what do we
do," I asked them 10 ted; i:Jr ra:ydeB. So. once. )'OU ahow peopAc the ~ In what UJq' do, they WUI dlS.nge.. 1l~ National Assembly needa 10 be educated ao that the poUUul will wtll be Ulere, The emYOn'OC:nl Is not weI·funded bl NIga"IL I...oc* at the hlger Ddta . It .111 take billion!! of natra to restON: the envtroomau.. It'll better not to degrade tt than to begin to
wttl: AU the5c thtup Irc there:. but how to Implemcnt them. tJleprOOkm. ~IIIWIUnI ...thour~ Nigeria does not fund rcseardl. We ~ a col'lsumpUoo ec:onomy We want to buy the laleSt mobdc phone. I-lave we ever tJ1ed to destgn one? We want to ode the latest Il ummer jeep So. ~ ... m1cDl. rmeardI ..t ~ 1llCn: ~ rn.:JY 11*9 we can r!lt)de. AI. BMd Convenuon ~ c:mtn: b 1ndtq and ~ 1hn!i:Ir b Ai1ca1 ~ _lWM: ~ CflIII1e CII,. batlerb. ,, ~
Who II: In do'pII qf u.. CIIfIoCn! c..cI UINra II: It? It.. a IJnIIed NiItDII IUNI c:.cntn: ... ~ aJntrOl. how m
P81IIff: ~ wIhwl caMhI ~ n Nlgma. .. we do" ~and ~
caMl aD ~. 1haI." n:t.....-1ilble. n ... ~ but IIUk 10 ..,. b" .. so. we
....hy we t - ao mur::h
*~~~w~~~~~~~~~~O~n~brigation,Othe~ ===~ ma n lgement I o n our part.. The ~ la. th at we
~t. ~
were
B60gu can be made from
foaXIrtIrV m l"*n. lIle WMO
a.tk~ mu!Il be ~
h uman
hun.-.kas.The~
""\'!...,..
1lU-tJ.me pnortUca must be
a.m:rog our pcope.
~
Ix:autre ~ IItIUDd Ihe ft:bc ~~ Rn:98e dw
AlIrrood. ... notice lhaI: lhenr are dUrenent bin.a.for different LtlCdts. It
c&rcttvcneM m
so
m
mmgaung
W 0 rid Meteorological OrganlSlluon
11
t. tntdttJonaUy March 23 of
mWIl took at the tn1plion a)'Btcm. We need to provIdrr:
""' ......
.. _ 1 0 bc:nc:Ola
byEE-'-
water ~l
the
fonnallou to · ccooomk
~welllt.orrD."
--. ~_ICI'"i:Jraw c~
.....;,;" by,;,,;;"""';C:=
In niI:IIiII
E.nvtronmcnt.
1'1
Ie
~
cI8trI:Judcn. 0uaIt Spcaka" d die cw:nt. Or KoIIIpO ~ Oluwu.cmiJ"e. noted that
to
develop
U:telr
racily ill' b:d prcdJcUrn_
berDamc a ~ bec:auK oflhe ~ bald. ~ d~ III here and _ have mbe~aottw.we'"
"""""-
Manager. NMA. SouUt WUll
that IOffmmenta. IIhouid odw:~k~ ... VI8ler b" ~ fBm*W m - * I bxilQrdly. '"We t..e to manage. the . . ter that ~ &-om. ralnI. Wlter III moat aD:aI In our IM:Ihxd. Waltr III ak!Jo tlmlled.. 50. we have to manage the one
Zone. Mr Adcbeyo Man:us
ava1lablc.. Rainfall
~ Ike M1d. .,..,. and ~ m nnt a.n:M when:: b;:aI energy reIJCIUI"CtS a re often kldiapenelbae for
" Uft"II
.....c:t.p Ute aaxJUI1l " chIrW:d.
the dIItJtJutIon _
dJIr9d. So.. a6 tratDil
~Ibe~d
~tUnI
~
crdInary man on UlC stJttt.. ~. !he ~
~
"grec.o"
IvatIab'e to the
chIw1ikm l E DXtk-m.. ~ cnvwnmmt. and mctreokJgy. IlD10flt otherw. ~ en h: need 10 bq <bel" 10 the ~ ~ IInnr:IlI. tDnHbl coDnq dImaU: c:bangie and how to llW.Wf: b: IftD:1
.,ltat·a
our
We are practJatng waste dlspoNI Ind not waste ~ What )'OU are tllklng about Is wlate mana8(.D1ent In whleh .... te IJI collec:.ted and 5(lrted OUL Metal, gla... plaaUcs. etc: III hue a market value Sea.~ngera j that IOU see Ilround dunghills are maki n g . btune: &tan thdr trade... ~ t.s to rmIy look tnwa.nb We cannot
IIfPq"slD*ltmb:bll:npMS. relt by making Ihi weather
b' Oimate ScrvIC'es IGFCS) wttil n:Iudc.. mD"W cdICn. ~ I1IIr. reduc:tlm. -zr. hI:aIth 8I"d bod !UU"Iy Ih:a.*I be exIl:Ddr:rllO btncIIIIlhIl ....
It.re.
~?
dIsesttta. dale ID 90 p:r cent d whIc:h ~ the last 50 yetIlS have bcaI klkIcd mwadller". dtmatre aD water t-d5." ChIlnnan at th e event. ChIef FoIu.aayo 0Iadare. a rdnd ....dthe9EY... wida ..., . . " the ~ of water. opined that the
prt:dIcs d Gt:bII ~
bring
u no.
~ 01""
keepon~~
We can generate dec:tl1dty from --.. The . . . . Slate
IfJ"CIT1I11CDl •
t
a!ft:MIy
dc*C
that to Ikorodu. Our la.rge popuJa.Oon III an advantage whk.h amounlS to plenty d _tICS.
aenc:rauon