As the country joins the global community to mark this year’s World Environment Day, Nigerians have been urged to have attitudinal change towards caring for nature, to reduce impact of climate change.
General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Dr Babatunde Ajayi, made the plea at an event to mark the Day organized by an NGO, Jawura Environmental Services held at Ikeja.
The GM LASEPA who was represented by an Environmentalist, Mrs Monsurat Abdulwarris, harped on the need for recycling waste to make wealth, with a call on youths to be the change agent noting that Lagos government have put in place over two hundred Air Quality Monitors/Sensors across the state to prevent pollution.
“Government alone cannot solve the environmental challenges facing Lagos, facing Nigeria, facing the world, because they are not abstract problems for future generations to solve, they are our reality, our flood issues, our water quality, our air quality, then we need collaborative effort to combat these challenges, I appeal to the youths to be the ambassadors of the environment and educate their parents and neighbors on how to care for the environment to enable it care for them back”
On her part, representative of the Sponsor, Olufunmilola Aluko, who is the Chief Brand & Marketing Officer of an Old Generation Bank, maintained that Nature itself wastes nothing, saying that the fallen leaf feeds the soil, that feeds the tree, that feeds the air we breathe.
“The flood that swallowed a community last season, the drought that failed a farmer’s harvest, the plastic that blocked a child’s clean water, these are not distant news stories, they are the consequences of choices made, and the preview of choices still ahead of us”.
“To the young entrepreneurs and students here today keep building.
What you are holding inyour hands may look small right now.
But the idea behind it, that we can live well without consuming the world, is one of the most important ideas your generation will ever carry.
The world needs it. Nigeria needs it by we see
To Jawura, to our regulators, and to our fellow businesses: let us keep turning blueprints into action. Green Print into green practice”
The Convener, Mr Tosin Rowland-Osibanjo, said the Green print 2.0 campaign for this year’s World Environment Day was to sustain advocacy, awareness through education for amplified permanent actions to combat environmental challenges.
“Yesterday, we commissioned the Eco-Campus at our partner school.
We unveiled three structures built from over 3,000 recycled plastic bottles.
We planted 30 trees that will absorb 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next decade.
We created a permanent, educational space where 500+ students will learn, year after year, that waste can be transformed and the environment can be healed.
That eco-campus is not just a structure. It is a message. It says: “Look, this is possible.
Your waste matters. Your actions count. And when we come together, we can build something beautiful from the discarded.”
“We stand today at the intersection of urgency and opportunity.
The urgency is clear. Our environment is under threat. Our cities are stressed. Our climate is changing.
The challenges are real and they are now.
But the opportunity is equally clear.
We have the knowledge, the technology, the resources, the skills, and increasingly, we have the corporate partnership and political will to address these challenges. “We believe in Nigeria’s environmental future. We are willing to invest in it.
We are willing to be visible in our commitment.
And we are willing to partner with experts, regulators, artisans, and communities to create lasting change.”
The Guest Speaker, Professor David Esezobor, who noted that eight million plastics enter the waterways on a daily basis, urged the youths to be committed to environmental transformation by being creative in turning waste to wealth for a more resilient, sustainable and hopeful Nigeria.
The event themed Inspire Nature today for Climate friendly tomorrow featured exhibition fair with students from University of Lagos, Baptist High School, Corp members, government officials and private sector representatives in attendance.
Written by Yemisi Dada