A coalition of civil society operatives has frowned at reasons given by the Lagos State Government for demolishing Otodo Gbame, an ancestral fishing settlement in Lekki, on Friday, March 17, 2017 despite a subsisting order of court prohibiting the eviction of Otodo Gbame and other Lagos waterfronts.
A bulldozer in action during the demolition of Otodo Gbame
The groups said in a joint statement made available to EnviroNews on Thursday, March 23 2017: “We condemn such impunity and brazen disregard for the rule of law, which is incongruous with a democratic society and Lagos’s aspiration to be a center of excellence and a world-class megacity. Lagos is a megacity by virtue of its population and it will only be a world-class megacity if it refocuses its energies on serving the needs of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable.”
Describing the Otodo Gbame community as “illegal shanties and unwholesome habitation”, the government in a statement said its action was carried out in order to forestall an environmental disaster and another round of deadly skirmishes that led to the razing of the Otodo Gbame community in November 2016.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, the government said the action was informed by the overriding public interest to ensure that the waterfront area is free from environmentally injurious and unsanitary habitation few months after it was consumed by fire and rendered uninhabitable.
The government denied flouting any court judgment as alleged, insisting that it owes a duty to the larger population of the state to ensure that public health and safety is maintained.
But, the coalition, comprising the Justice & Empowerment Initiatives; Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation; Network on Police Reform in Nigeria; Enough Is Enough; Centre for Children’s Health, Education, and Orientation and Protection; Centre for Defense of Human Rights Democracy in Africa; Community Life Project; and Legal Defense and Assistance Project, declared: “We are shocked by the state government’s attempts to justify the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people based on protection of the environment and to deny that it was violating a court order. The purpose of preserving the environment is for the wellbeing of mankind and, therefore, environmental protection measures must also respect and protect fundamental human rights.
“An order that parties should maintain the status quo, indeed, refers to the status quo ante bellum. Under the circumstances, the status quo ante bellum refers to the situation before the conflict began, i.e. when all the communities that fell under the Governor’s 9 October 2016 attack were still intact since this is the situation the communities sought to preserve by approaching the court.
“Further, there can be no question but that the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people from their homes without any notice and without any alternative shelter constitutes yet another unconstitutional violation of the right to dignity, among others, already condemned by the court.”
The day that President Trump’s climate science-slashing budget landed last week, his government held a public meeting to prepare the nation’s Southeast region for rising seas, wildfires, extreme downpours and other impacts of climate change.
Floodwaters surround several houses in Rocky Mount, N.C., near the Tar River in October 2016. Photo credit:Thomas Babb/News & Observer via AP
Despite White House budget director Mick Mulvaney’s assertion on Friday that studying climate change is a “waste of your money,” federal scientists are required, by a 1990 law, to do just that – and are carrying on for now, even under the cloud of budgetary uncertainty created by the Trump administration.
It’s no easy task. Trump’s “skinny” budget proposes to slash many climate-related programmes at agencies like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration but often doesn’t go into specifics – raising doubts about the implications for climate science programmes across 13 government agencies and the production of an exhaustive report about the impact of climate change in the U.S. that is required by law.
“For each of these programmes, real people live on the other side of the budget line item,” said Ali Zaidi, a Stanford energy researcher who previously served in a key role in Obama’s Office of Management and Budget overseeing funding for climate and environmental programmes. “Students, small business, and sources of economic growth for communities count on this data. Now you’ve got folks waiting by the phone to learn whether they’ll be going to work tomorrow or whether the data that informs their livelihoods will still be available.”
“For agencies, this means they will be less creative and more conservative,” Zaidi continued. “They will plan to the lowest possible funding level. And that will hurt both the programs and the supply chains.”
Regarding the future of the $ 2.6 billion U.S. Global Change Research Programme, a White House Office of Management and Budget official said it would be “premature to speak to final funding levels prior to the full budget in mid-May.” Requests for comment to the federal climate programme were not returned.
The programme produces a sweeping report on how climate change is wracking different regions of the U.S. that is mandated every four years under the Global Change Research Act, signed into existence in 1990 by Republican president George H.W. Bush. The last installment of the report, released in 2014, ran over 800 pages. The next is due in 2018.
Last week’s event at North Carolina State University, aimed at drafting just one of the document’s many chapters, brought together around 50 federal researchers, university scientists, local activists, and students, among others – all working on different pieces of the climate problem in the U.S. Southeast.
U.S. regions are already preparing for climate change. The Southeast in particular faces severe threats from rising seas.
The town of Nags Head, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, has had to grapple with the question of how and whether to close a beachside road, Seagull Drive, that has been damaged by several coastal storms.
Some residents still want to use the road and are looking at ways to protect the community from future sea level rise, said Jessica Whitehead, a geographer who works for the North Carolina Sea Grant programme at North Carolina State University and is working with Nags Head on adaptation.
But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant programme would lose its funding under the proposed Trump budget. “From my point of view, we keep going until we’re told to stop,” Whitehead said.
Another threat to the U.S. Southeast was underscored in tragic fashion last fall in Gatlinburg, Tenn., when the resort town was engulfed by a deadly wildfire driven by a combination of strong winds and drought conditions.
“Without a doubt, the managers I talk to, say more and more, they’re seeing fire behavior that they’ve never seen before in their careers,” Kevin Hiers, a former Air Force wildfire manager turned fire researcher with the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, said. “And that change in fire behavior definitely corresponds with weather parameters that we have not typically had on average here in the Southeast.”
Hiers, who is drafting the climate assessment’s section on Southeastern fires, acknowledged concern about climate policy and budget cuts among federal scientists.
“I think that there is a general unease in government about the future of global change research,” Hiers said. But communities in the Southeast are going to have to prepare themselves for change. “There’s such a commitment across such a broad range of public and private entities to simply prepare for contingencies. That’s all just part of strategic planning.”
The scientists at the Raleigh meeting don’t just write their reports behind closed doors. They hold public meetings around the country, bare the guts of their drafting process, hear feedback about what’s happening in communities and go back to the drawing board to make it better.
They ask communities to provide them with particular case studies of places that are being harmed by climate change or places that are innovating in their way of adapting to it.
“They’re trying to be really constructive at a time when you’ve got the administration saying it’s a waste of money, literally,” says Anthony Janetos, a climate scientist at Boston University who served on advisory committees for the last three national assessments.
There’s a protracted process for releasing such a massive and influential document – raising fears that, if it so desires, a hostile Trump administration could derail or slow things down at many steps along the way.
First, there’s a review process in which scientists must answer not only critiques from the National Academy of Sciences, which vets the document, but also comments submitted by the public. “We are required to respond to every single comment,” explained Lynn Carter, a researcher at Louisiana State University who co-chaired the event in Raleigh and will be one of the chapter’s lead authors.
To be formally adopted as a government report, the 2014 version of the document also had to go through a review process at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget – currently leading the blueprint for slashing the federal government – which sent it out to all 13 federal agencies in the Global Change Research Program for critical review and further changes.
Any of those agencies or the White House could, presumably, balk at the report’s content and delay its formal release to Congress.
“Does that clearance process become one more fact check, or does that become a process that is more problematic?” Janetos asked. “And I just think we don’t know.”
The first test of how the thinly staffed Trump administration will handle the ongoing national assessment process could come later this year – when it will have to make decisions about the publication of a separate, more than 500 page report designed to serve as the National Climate Assessment’s scientific foundation. That fundamental climate science document recently received a largely positive peer review from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences and, if it stays on schedule, would come out in the fall of 2017, with the broader regionally focused report to follow a year later.
National Assessments have been delayed extensively in the past. After the Clinton administration produced the first one in 2000, it took until 2009 to publish the second – the very early Obama years.
So as the process continues, university scientists and communities and activists around the country will be watching closely – just as they were at the meeting in Raleigh.
“With the current administration, is [the report] really going to be reviewed and are they going to have the staff to review it?” asked Karen Bearden, a volunteer with the Research Triangle branch of the climate advocacy group 350.org, during a question-and-answer session at the meeting.
“What I can tell you, this report, and the actions that are being taken to write it are being required by law,” answered Chris Avery, a contractor with the Global Change Research Programme. “This is an obligatory thing.”
“Understanding Clouds” is the theme of World Meteorological Day 2017 to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), clouds are central to weather observations and forecasts, adding that clouds are one of the key uncertainties in the study of climate change.
Clouds. Understanding clouds could mean understanding climate
“We need to better understand how clouds affect the climate and how a changing climate will affect clouds,” the UN body adds, pointing out that clouds play a critical role in the water cycle and shaping the global distribution of water resources.
On the lighter side, the World Meteorological Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the inherent beauty and aesthetic appeal of clouds, which has inspired artists, poets, musicians, photographers and countless other enthusiasts throughout history.
Also, the World Meteorological Day marked the launch of a new edition of the International Cloud Atlas after what is considered the most thorough and far-reaching revision in its long and distinguished history. The new WMO Atlas is regarded as a treasure trove of hundreds of images of clouds, including a few newly classified cloud types. It also features other meteorological phenomena such as rainbows, halos, snow devils and hailstones. For the first time ever, the Atlas has been produced in a digital format and is accessible via both computers and mobile devices.
The International Cloud Atlas is said to be the single authoritative and most comprehensive reference for identifying clouds. It is considered to be an essential training tool for professionals in the meteorological community and those working in aviation and shipping. Its reputation is legendary among cloud enthusiasts.
The WMO says: “The International Cloud Atlas has its roots in the late 19th century. It was revised on several occasions in the 20th century, most recently in 1987, as a hard copy book, before the advent of the Internet.
“Advances in science, technology and photography prompted WMO to undertake the ambitious and exhaustive task of revising and updating the Atlas with images contributed by meteorologists, cloud watchers and photographers from around the world.”
Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Patteri Taalas, in a message to observe the World Meteorological Day on Thursday, March 23 2017, lists the roles clouds play in regulating the Earth’s energy balance
Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Patteri Taalas, says clouds help to drive the water cycle and the entire climate system
Throughout the centuries, few natural phenomena have inspired as much scientific thought and artistic reflection as clouds.
More than two millennia ago, Aristotle studied clouds and wrote a treatise addressing their role in the hydrological cycle. But it was Luke Howard, an amateur meteorologist living in England in the early 19th century, who produced the first classification of clouds.
Drawing on his comprehensive records of weather in the London area from 1801 to 1841, Howard identified three main genera, or categories, of cloud: cumulus, stratus and cirrus. Identifying, describing and naming clouds remains critical to the study of weather and climate.
Today scientists understand that clouds play a vital role in regulating the Earth’s energy balance, climate and weather. They help to drive the water cycle and the entire climate system. Understanding clouds is essential for forecasting weather conditions, modelling the impacts of future climate change and predicting the availability of water resources.
Music, art and poetry
The evocative symbolism of clouds has inspired many artists around the world, including poets, musicians, photographers and other enthusiasts. To take just one example, the first orchestral Nocturne by Debussy, entitled Nuages (clouds), is one of the masterpieces of musical impressionism. Photographers are particularly fascinated by clouds, including those who enthusiastically contributed to the WMO 2017 calendar illustrating this year’s World Meteorological Day Theme of “Understanding clouds.”
Clouds are also embedded in cultural symbols and habits of thought. In China, “auspicious clouds” represent the heavens and good luck. In some languages people say “she has her head in the clouds” to indicate somebody who is immersed in fantastic dreams or ideas. In the modern world, “the cloud” now refers to that amorphous space that holds, not rain, but Internet resources and digitised data.
Going digital: an Atlas for the Internet Age
The International Cloud Atlas is the single most authoritative and comprehensive reference for identifying clouds. Its reputation is legendary among cloud enthusiasts. The existing Atlas was first published in the late 19th century. It contains a detailed manual of standards and numerous plates of photographs of clouds and certain other weather phenomena.
After the last revision 30 years ago, a fully updated and revised edition will now be launched for World Meteorological Day on 23 March 2017.
For the first time, the 2017 edition will primarily be an on-line digital product. It offers a treasure trove of hundreds of images of clouds, including a few cloud classifications, such as the volutus, a roll cloud, the contrail, a vapor trail sometimes produced by airplanes, and the asperitas, an undulated cloud. In addition, the Atlas contains important information on other meteorological phenomena such as rainbows, halos, snow devils and hailstones.
Advances in science, technology and photography prompted WMO to undertake the ambitious and exhaustive task of revising and updating the Atlas with images contributed by meteorologists, cloud watchers and photographers.
The Atlas also serves as an essential training tool for professionals working in meteorological services and companies and in sectors such as aviation and shipping.
Understanding weather and climate phenomena to protect life and property and assist communities to become more resilient is the core mission of WMO. We will continue to assist governments to provide the best possible weather, climate, hydrology, marine and environmental services to protect life and property and to support decision-making.
The arrival of two Super Eagles goalkeepers appeared to remove a huge burden from Coach Gernot Rohr and other players in time for the Thursday, March 23, 2017 friendly against Senegal.
Super Eagles goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi
Goalkeepers Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi finally joined the rest of the Eagles squad on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning respectively.
Both goalkeepers had been delayed by visa hiccups in Nigeria and South Africa respectively, and with first choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme doubtful.
This led Rohr to call up the unknown Tope Okeowo from Peckham All Stars as insurance.
Team doctor Ibrahim Gyaran revealed that Ikeme has been having hamstring and Achilles tendon issues.
“We are still awaiting the result of a scan we did on him Wednesday.
“We are glad that the other goalkeepers have arrived. Their delay had put toll on Rohr,” he explained.
Ezenwa eventually got his visa on Tuesday evening and flew out of Lagos to London on Wednesday along side Coach Salisu Yusuf, while South Africa-based Akpeyi’s visa was delayed by a public holiday in South Africa.
He did the 11-hour haul from Johannesburg to London overnight and arrived at Crowne Plaza London Ealing, after breakfast on Thursday.
Shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc on Wednesday approved final dividend of N55.573 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016, bringing the total payout to N63.422 billion.
The dividend, which translates to N1.77 per share, was paid out of N129.65 billion recorded for the year.
Peter Amangbo, Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc
The shareholders gave the approval at the Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.
In all, the bank paid a total dividend of N63.422 billion, having paid an interim dividend of N7.849 billion before now.
In approving the dividend, the shareholders commended the board, management and staff for growing its profit after tax by 23 per cent from N105.531 billion in 2015 to N129.65 billion in 2016.
The bank ended the year with gross total assets N4.739 trillion, up from N4 trillion in 2015.
Addressing the shareholders, the Chairman of the Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, said despite the challenging operating environment, the bank was able to fully exploit the available opportunities to post the impressive results.
According to Ovia, in line with its commitment to delivering superior returns to its much-valued shareholders, the bank ensured that a good chunk of the profit is set aside for them.
He said: “In this regard, we have declared and paid you an interim dividend of 25 kobo per share in the course of 2016 financial year.
“We hereby propose a final dividend of 177 kobo per share.
“This brings the total dividend for the year ended December 31, 2016 to 202 kobo per share as against 180 kobo per share paid he previous year.”
Ovia stated that even in the face of a very challenging operating environment, Zenith Bank has maintained its culture of outstanding performance and industry leadership.
He said: “As a bank, we are monitoring developments both in the local and global economy and applying pragmatism and dynamism as appropriate.
“Our strategy and approach to the pursuit of financial inclusion and sustainability gives us a lot of competitive advantage to explore even new frontiers in the market.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo, said as an institution of well-primed people, the bank relied on a its pool of exceptional staff to make sound and timely decision and addressed issues in a manner that anticipated developments and demonstrated excellent understanding of the dynamics of the market and economy in 2016.
Amangbo said: “We shall continue to demonstrate extraordinary commitment to our customer s while maintaining focus on all the areas fundamental to adding value to our partnership.”
Looking ahead, Amangbo said although 2017 will come with its challenges and opportunities, “but I am confident that our determination, resolve and rare commitment to customer as well as our adaptive ability will ensure resounding results”.
If the Rainforest Resource and Development Centre (RRDC) were to have its way, Dansa Foods, a subsidiary of the Dangote Group, would cough up a whopping N100 billion as aggravated ecological damage to the Cross River National Park.
Agbokim Fall in the Cross River National Park
In a pre-action notice by Messrs Kanu G. Agabi & Associates, solicitors to RRDC (a non-governmental organisation), the Calabar-based Dansa Agro Allied Plantation Limited that is said to operate the Dansa Factory has been accused of trespassing as well as carrying out unlawful and adverse activities within the confines of the Cross River National Park, Oban Division and its buffer zones, “thereby degrading the conservation value of the Park, along with its flora and fauna”.
The notice reads: “The position of our clients is that your activities within this conserved area have adverse effects on the fauna and flora and the general configuration and character of the Park. Amongst others, these include extensive logging, excavation, clearing, grading and related destructive activities resulting in permanently obliterating the rich rainforest heritage of these places. Our clients are also certain that all these activities amount to illegalities that contravene the National Park Service Act, Cap. N65, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (LFRN).”
Stressing that the Cross River State National Park which is allegedly being encroached upon is a gazette territory, the notice adds that “our clients are certain that your operations within the legally defined boundaries of the Park and its environs are threatening the survival of the Park and its wildlife, as well as its buffer zones and ecosystems as the capacity to sustain the natural process have been seriously undermined.”
The RRDC is thus seeking to take action in the High Court of Cross River State against the Dangote Group because, among other issues raised, the only authorised person vested with statutory power to alter the boundaries of an existing National Park in the country is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The notice then sought five reliefs, among which is aggravated damages of N100 billion to restore the vegetation to its natural state, and made payable to the Cross River National Park for ecological damages allegedly incurred.
It is likewise seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Dansa companies (Dangote Group) “either by yourself, your servants, privies, assigns, contractor or any other person however designated or addressed, acting under your company’s power or authorisation from entering into the gazzatted portions and buffer zone of the Oban Hill Division of the Cross River National Park and do anything which involves performing acts of excavation, grading, leveling of ground, clearing, deforestation and or in any way howsoever altering the configuration of the soil or the character of the park.”
On Friday, March 17 2017, the Lagos State Government demolished and forcefully evicted the Otodo Gbame community, an act that has been greeted by widespread condemnation.
The exercise was said to have been carried out in disregard for a subsisting order of court prohibiting the eviction of Otodo Gbame and other Lagos waterfronts communities.
But government said the action was carried out in order to forestall an environmental disaster and another round of deadly skirmishes that led to the razing of the Otodo Gbame community in November 2016.
It adds that the action was informed by the overriding public interest to ensure that the waterfront area is free from environmentally injurious and unsanitary habitation.
The kids appear to care less about the happenings around themA bulldozer in actionHomeless…What next?View of a disappearing communityHeading to where?
From Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, near Computer Village, to Alausa, the seat of power, thousands of protesters marched peacefully, in an apparent defiance to the some provisions of the new Environment Law, which seemed to favour water privatisation.
The street protest held on Wednesday, March 22 2017 to mark the World Water Day, a day set aside to take action to tackle the water crisis all over the world.
The protest held at the instance of civil society groups like the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Joint Action Front (JAF), Africa Women Water Sanitation and Hygiene Network, and Child Health Organisation.
Others are Climate Aid, Centre for Dignity, and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
The protestersAchike Chude of the Joint Action Front (JAF) addressing the protestersGovernment officials addressing the protestersArmed police officers form a barricade
Though the new Lagos Environment Law was signed into law by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode some three weeks ago, Lagosians only decided to challenge it through a street protest on Wednesday, March 22 2017, to mark the World Water Day (WWD).
The anti-water privatisation street protest
World Water Day, observed on March 22 every year, is about taking action to tackle the water crisis all over the world.
From Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, near Computer Village, to Alausa, the seat of power, thousands of protesters marched peacefully accompanied by four vans laden with police personnel.
In their sky blue customised T-shirts, the protesters wielded different placards condemning the privatisation of water in Lagos.
The event was made possible by coalition of civil society groups, including Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Joint Action Front (JAF), Africa Women Water Sanitation and Hygiene Network, and Child Health Organisation.
Others are Climate Aid, Centre for Dignity, and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE).
In a statement presented to Governor Ambode at Alausa, the organisers acknowledged the administration’s “giant strides in the delivery of democracy dividends to the citizens of Lagos State in various sectors”. Hence they declared their readiness to support the administration in achieving its set goals, “which will in the long run make life meaningful for all the citizens of the state”.
However, they reiterated their concern on the government’s plan to secure universal access to water through privatisation of Lagos water infrastructure.
“As we have mentioned in our earlier communication on this same issue, evidence abounds showing that countries that have experimented the public private partnership (PPP) model of water privatisation burnt their fingers,” they stated.
But the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, argued that every developed country in the world is operating on the PPP model in water distribution.
While addressing the supporters at the House of Assembly gate where armed police erected a barricade to ward off the protesters, the commissioner said government’s intention is for the good of Lagosians.
On a sarcastic note, leaders of the protest said PPP means “Public money in Private Pockets”.
The statement, signed by Akinbode Oluwafemi of ERA/FoEN, Achike Chude of JAF, Oluwatosin Kolawole of Climate Aid, Alex Omotehinse of CDHR, Veronica Nwanya, Vicky Urenma among others, reads in part: “The models upon which the PPP is based has failed to uphold the human right to water and has locked governments into long term contracts. Such deals have proven exceedingly difficult for cities to exit, despite rate hikes, service cut-offs and unfulfilled infrastructure promises, and they prevent cities from making crucial progress towards real solutions to water access challenges.
“Your Excellency, Lagos does not need to experience social conflicts or drown in debt to steer clear of this slippery road fraught with booby traps.”
An attempt to open the doors wide for privatisation through legislation, according to them, was the injection of anti-people sections in the initial draft of the newly signed “Laws relating to the Environment for the Management, Protection and Sustainable Development of the Environment in Lagos State and for Connected Purposes”.
“Criminalising the drilling of boreholes and setting fines and prison terms for people who go out of their way to obtain a free gift of nature are practices that only remind us of the long-gone military era. It is on this premise that we are, again using this medium, asking you to reject water PPP projects in the management of Lagos water infrastructure,” they added.
They asked the governor, among other things, to:
remove all the remaining provisions in the new Lagos Environmental Law that opens the doors for privatisation in the form of PPP or any other
institute Water Trust Fund that will expand public financing of the water sector
reject contracts designed by or involving the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which operates to maximise private profit, and
build the political will to prioritise water for the people by investing in the water infrastructure necessary to provide universal water access.
When the government officials, accompanied by men of the SSS, approached the protesters, there were shouts of “We want to see our governor”, “When Ambode wanted our votes, he came to us, we want to see him now”, “This is the way they had been treating us everytime we come here”. But all these fell on deaf ears, as the commissioner eventually addressed the crowd
