The military has promised to assist the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to enforce its laws aimed at promoting clean environment in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Commanding Officer, 7 Guard Battalion, Abuja, Lt.-Col. Mukhtar Daroda, said this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, February 13, 2018.

Daroda made the promise in a statement by Muktar Ibrahim, Head, Public Relations and Outreach Unit of AEPB, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

‘‘On the issue of enforcement of its laws and problems being faced by the board in clearing illegal structures and preventing criminal activities, the military is ready to assist the board,’’ Daroda said.

The commanding officer gave assurance that the military was determined to give its support to the board at all times whenever its services were required.

He noted that the board alone would not be able to tackle the environmental challenges in the FCT without the support of the security agencies.

‘‘We will support the board to build on the existing relationship and ensure that waste management problem is tackled effectively in the military barracks and FCT suburbs as well.

‘‘I feel so much concerned over the increasing problem of waste management in the barracks due to increasing population of between 800 and 1,000 households in the area.

‘‘I am calling on AEPB to undertake an assessment of the prevailing situation in the barracks.

‘‘Also, the board should give its advice accordingly on what to do to ensure a clean and safe environment for soldiers and their wards,’’ he said.

Daroda, however, advised the board to notify the military when moving to volatile areas, so as to provide its officials the needed security for their operations.

He said the military escort was important to protect the staff of the board from hooligans who engage themselves in nefarious activities.

By Vivian Emoni

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the African Development Fund (ADF) designed to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan to the tune of  ¥73.601 billion (approx. $700.9 million). The loan is part of Japan’s contribution to the African Development Fund’s Fourteenth Replenishment (ADF-14). This is the first JICA loan provided to the ADF, a part of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.

The loan will provide the ADF with resources to support recipient countries during the ADF-14 period (January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019), and contribute to economic growth as well as poverty alleviation in Africa’s least developed countries.

President of the AfDB Group, Akinwumi Adesina, acknowledged the landmark event and expressed the bank’s gratitude and appreciation to the Government of Japan.

Signing the Notes of Exchange, Adesina said, “Thanks to Japan and its Government for keeping a promise. One often hears about many international pledges of development cooperation remaining unfilled. I would like to commend the full accomplishment of Japan’s commitments to Africa’s development. With its $700-million loan, which came on top of $328 million in the form of a grant, Japan has significantly contributed to the ADF commitment capacity for the period 2017-2019.”

Adesina stated that Japan was a longstanding development partner for Africa, with a significant portion of its aid commitments to the continent channeled through the AfDB. “Japan is the second-largest contributor to the ADF in cumulative terms, and it has increased its contributions significantly over time.”

Also speaking on the occasion, Japan’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Hiroshi Kawamura, said he was glad to sign the accord to bolster Africa’s socio-economic development. “Our contributions to the ADF-14 replenishment will allow the Government of Japan to increase its contributions to 7.3%, against 6.7% for the ADF-13,” he stated.

Kawamura added: “We hope the loans and grants will be used effectively to improve economic and social conditions of less privileged people in Africa. Also, the reason of our meeting today would further contribute to accelerating the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).”

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Tsutomu Iimura, said his institution fully adheres to the AfDB’s High 5s. “There is no limit in the potential collaboration and synergies between the two institutions.” Iimura expressed the hope that JICA’s projects and contributions to ADF-14 would bolster the bank’s capacity to carry out the objectives of the High 5s in countries where support is most needed.

Co-signing the accord for the AfDB, Acting Vice-President for Finance, Hassatou N’Sele, thanked the Japanese Government and its people for “exceptional support” to the ADF-14 replenishment, noting that, “These investments by Japan will make a difference in the lives of many Africans. Japan is one of the African Development Bank’s most privileged partners. Your various financial instruments will help us meet our development goals”.

The African Development Fund is part of the AfDB Group and provides support primarily to least developed and poor countries in the form of very long-term, low-interest financing. In contrast, the AfDB, which is the other arm of the AfDB Group, provides financing to middle-income countries in Africa.

Since its inception in 1972, the ADF has conventionally received subscriptions in the form of grants from donor countries, including Japan, as a source of funding to achieve its development mandate. During the negotiations of its fourteenth replenishment, the ADF offered donor countries the opportunity to include concessional loans within subscriptions to the Fund for the very first time.

JICA also provides private sector development support through projects under Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA), which the Government of Japan and the AfDB launched as a strategy for support in Africa in July 2005. It is JICA’s policy to maintain its relationship with the AfDB Group as an important development partner contributing to economic growth and poverty alleviation in Africa.

Stakeholders at a symposium in Benin City on the way out of the ongoing clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country have  rejected the Federal Government planned cattle colonies in favour of ranches, which is said to be the vogue in most parts of the world.

They said that the recent attacks on farmers by armed herdsmen leading to colossal loss of lives also require urgent solution from the federal and state governments, using all available security apparatus.

The stakeholders’ position is contained in a communiqué issued at the close of the symposium held on Monday, February 12, 2018 courtesy of the Correspondents Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Initially scheduled to be a public lecture with the title “Sustainable Agriculture as panacea to the herdsmen attacks on crop farmers in Nigeria”, threats to the guest lecturer’s life however forced the organisers to change the event to a symposium.

This, the organisers also said, was to allow for wider and robust ventilation of ideas because of the sensitive nature of the current herdsmen/farmers crisis.

In all, speaker after  speaker acknowledged the fact that  there has been a long standing relationship between farmers and Fulani herdsmen until the recent worrisome incidents of unprovoked attacks on farmers.

They agreed that these unwarranted attacks have caused colossal losses to farmers in particular and Nigerians in general.

They said that the topic was apt and timely, adding that Fulani herdsmen migration is attributable to climate change, and thus requires scientific solution.

“Notwithstanding, it is a truism that the basic fundamental of all economies is agriculture, nay sustainable arable cropping nationwide. If there is no urgent solution in sight, the needed growth and development may become a mirage,” said a speaker.

The stakeholders who commended the Edo State Government’s initiative through the ban on night grazing, adding that there should be an improved modern security strategy at mitigating these attacks.

In conclusion, the stakeholders agreed that, rather than having cattle colonies, cattle ranching appears to be the obvious way to go if the present crisis is to be sustainably addressed.

“If this is done with the use of fodder to feed the cows, the need for nomadism will not only be resolved by the additional benefit of creating a crop of farmers for grass production, it will be a win-win solution to all stakeholders,” submitted another speaker.

They called on governments at all levels to provide appropriate infrastructural support to livestock farmers and crop farmers as incentives to practice commercial large scale/sustainable agriculture.

They said that, as a matter of urgency, the Federal Government, through livestock development centres in each of the 36 states and the FCT, should be a model of excellence instead of the cattle colony, grazing reserve or estate currently being proposed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

Earlier, at the symposium, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State admonished farmers and residents not to be deterred by activities of some bad eggs among nomadic herdsmen, declaring that not all herders are killers.

The Edo governor said: “Not all herdsmen are killers. Some of them are doing genuine business. We should not allow the bad herdsmen activities scare us from our farms.

“In every society, you have the good, bad and ugly; and there have always been Fulani herdsmen since we were kids. That is what we are seeing now.”

Obaseki, who said his administration has stepped up plans to address the menace of herdsmen/farmers clash, added that part of the plan is the banning of night crazing and arms carrying herdsmen in the state.

Represented by the Special Adviser on Food Security and Agriculture, Mr. Joe Okoje, Obaseki disclosed that a seven-man committee which includes Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), DSS has been inaugurated across the 18 local government areas of the state to address the menace.

In an address welcoming stakeholders, the Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Mrs. Nefishetu Yakubu, said: “If we must help government of the day to achieve its quest to diversify the economy through agriculture, then we must begin by first proffering solutions to the herdsmen attack on arable crops farmers.”

The State Comptroller, Prisons, Mr. Amadin Osayande, who was present, said: “As custodian offenders, we have no herder as inmate in our custody.”

Osayande, who described himself as a part-time farmer, said his farm was set on fire last year by marauding herdsmen.

He expressed concern over the carrying of arms by herders, adding that “when there’s food insecurity, there will be hunger”.

Also, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture, Ambrose Ali University, Dr. Agharese Osifo, submitted that a word such as “Livestock Development Centre” should be used by the Federal Government instead of “Cattle Colony”.

According to him, colony should not be a sectional thing because Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country.

The event was chaired by a farmer, Owere Dickson Imasogie, while the Edo State Police Commissioner, MF Johnson Kokumo, and Apostle Mrs Deb’rah Osagiede, were prsent as guests. Archbishop Margaret Benson Idahosa, Comrade Peter Esele and Dr Felix Omobude, the National President of the PFN, sent representatives.

They are worlds apart: one in a place famous for its ecological diversity, the other for its watches and chocolate. But, now, Galapagos (Ecuador) and Geneva (Switzerland) airports have something special in common – they both recently became carbon neutral under the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme.

Their achievement brings to 37 the number of airports certified as carbon neutral for emissions under their control. In total, 211 airports are signed up and certified at one of the four levels certified by ACA.

“This really sends a message to the wider world that carbon management is a valid consideration for every business no matter where they are located,” said Angela Gittens, Director General, Airports Council International (ACI World). The ACA programme was launched by ACI Europe in 2009.
In addition to reducing their carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures and use of renewable energy, these airports invested in carbon offsets funding biomass and efficient cook-stove projects, issued under the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism and the Gold Standard.

“An impressive 3.2 billion air passengers now travel through airports certified at one of the four levels of Airport Carbon Accreditation – a testament to how much the programme has helped mobilise airport operators towards addressing their carbon footprints,” said Ms. Gittens in recognising the achievements of the two newest carbon-neutral airports.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that aviation accounts for two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Of that, airport operations account for up to five percent.

“It is a great honour for us to receive this certification at Level 3+ Neutrality as the first airport in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Jorge Rosillo, General Manager, Galápagos Ecological Airport, Ecuador.

The ACA programme has four levels of accreditation covering all stages of airport emissions management: mapping, reduction, optimisation and neutrality (called the 3+ Level under the programme).

“We take pride in being able to say that we have delivered on the commitment we made last year, to reduce the net emissions under our control to zero,” said André Schneider, General Manager, Geneva Airport. “Now that we have reached to Level 3+ of Airport Carbon Accreditation, we intend to continue our work on the various environmental aspects of our operations with the same zeal.”

Airports can address their CO2 emissions in a variety of ways, such as by adopting energy efficiency measures, switching to green energy sources, investing in hybrid, electric or gas-powered service vehicles, encouraging employees, passengers and visitors to use public transport, working with airlines and air traffic management to reduce runway taxiing times and implement green landing processes.

“The work airports are doing should inspire others to measure their emissions, reduce what they can and offset the rest,” said Niclas Svenningsen, who oversees the UN Climate Change’s Climate Neutral Now initiative, of which ACI is a partner.

Airport Carbon Accreditation is an independent, voluntary programme administered by consultancy WSP and overseen by an advisory board including representatives from UN Climate Change, International Civil Aviation Organization, UN Environment, European Commission, European Civil Aviation Conference, EUROCONTROL and Manchester Metropolitan University.

There are now 10 airports in Africa certified at one of the four levels of Airport Carbon Accreditation, 41 in Asia-Pacific, 118 in Europe, eight in Latin-America and the Caribbean and 34 in North America.