According to WaterAid, an Infographic international charity focused on improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation, Nigeria ranks third on the table for highest number of people per country still practicing open defecation.
Open defecation is the practice of people defecating outside and not into a designated toilet. The term is widely used in literature about water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) issues in developing countries.
Mr Kanann Nadar, UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist, at the recently held Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Conference in Abuja, said that open defecation-free Nigeria was possible. He said it could achieve its target of meeting the National Roadmap of Ending Open defecation by 2030 if it put policies in place to encourage behavioural change for sanitation and hygiene.
WaterAid says in this infographic that Nigeria ranks third on the table for highest number of people per country still practicing open defecation.
Science and technology company, Merck, in partnership with the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), African Union, Ethiopia Ministry of Health, University of Cambridge and Institute Pasteur International has announced the 2016 UNESCO-Merck Research Award winners. The nine winners under two categories, ‘Best Young African Researchers Award’ and ‘Best African Women Researchers Award’, were announced during the 2nd UNESCO-MARS Summit 2016 that held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Yifru Berhane, Minister for Health, Ethiopia
“We are very happy to partner with UNESCO, African Union and Ethiopia Ministry of Health to achieve the important goals of improving women health and empowering women in research, as they are still under-represented in Africa,” Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Executive Board and Family Board of E. Merck KG emphasised at the inauguration of the UNESCO-MARS 2016 Summit.
Yifru Berhane, Minister for Health, Ethiopia, said: “We are very happy to partner with Merck, UNESCO and Africa Union to build research capacity in Africa with the focus on young researchers and women researchers and to define policies to enable high quality research in the continent”.
“This is the first time the UNESCO-MARS is launching the ‘Best African Woman Research Awards’ with the aim of promoting women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) that has seen five women researchers from across Africa being recognised for the quality of their research. The awards are in line with this year’s UNESCO-MARS 2016 theme that supports empowering women in research and building research capacity in Francophone and Anglophone Africa to ultimately improve women health in the continent,” emphasised Rasha Kelej, Chief Social Officer, Merck Healthcare.
Beatrice Nyagol from Kenya Medical Research Institute was awarded the 1st Woman Researcher Award while Rogomenoma Ouedraogo from Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Genetics University, Burkina Faso received the 2nd Woman Researcher Award. The 3rd, 4th and 5th Woman Researcher Awards were granted to Sandrine Liabagui ep Assangaboua from Gabon; Maria Nabaggala from Infectious Diseases Institute, Uganda and Martha Zewdie of Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ethiopia respectively.
The three categories of the ‘Best Young Researchers Award’ were given to two female and two male researchers with the 1st Award going to Patricia Rantshabeng from University of Botswana and the 2nd Award to Constantine Asahngwa from Cameroon. The 3rd Award were given to both; Tinashe Nyazika of University of Zimbabwe and Lamin Cham from the National Aids Control Program, Gambia.
“The awardees who are final PhD students and young investigators based at African research institutes and universities were selected based on the abstracts they submitted which were very impressive and related to Infectious Diseases with the aim to improve Women Health, which is the focus of UNESCO-MARS 2016,” emphasised Rasha Kelej.
Summit addressing both Francophone and Anglophone Africa
UNESCO–MARS 2016 has brought together more than 200 researchers from more than 35 African countries to discuss the generation, sharing and dissemination of research data and to prepare for the road ahead in developing Africa as an international hub for research excellence and scientific innovation.
Of the 200 researchers attending the Summit, 60% are women. This is contributing to one of the main objectives of UNESCO-MARS, which is empowering women in research.
The Summit, for the first time, also addressed both Francophone and Anglophone Africa and has attracted researchers from 11 French speaking countries of Senegal, Rwanda, Gabon, Benin, Congo, Cameroon, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Niger, Burundi. Researchers from English speaking countries are drawn from Namibia, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Liberia, Botswana and Ethiopia. In addition, researchers from Arab speaking and Portuguese speaking countries such as Egypt, Angola and Mozambique are in attendance.
Researchers benefit from diverse scientific sessions
The 2nd UNESCO MARS Summit is providing a unique opportunity for Africa’s young and talented scientists to share their research output and findings with the top echelon of scientists from Africa and abroad. It is also an opportunity for networking and career development. The Summit is presenting a platform where young scientists are able to discuss the enabling environment for better research among others.
“The researchers attending the two-day Summit are benefiting from diverse and rich scientific sessions that are focusing on the relation between infectious diseases and cancer in women; untreated infectious diseases and the high prevalence of infertility in Africa; and participating in discussions to identify scientific research priorities for evolving health needs to address infectious diseases such as Malaria, Schistosomiasis and Zika in relation to women health,” Rasha Kelej emphasised.
The Summit theme of “Infectious Diseases and Women Health” was informed by the fact that, for many infectious diseases, women are at higher risk and have a more severe course of illness than men for many reasons including biological differences, social inequities, and restrictive cultural norms. Therefore, efforts to recognize and reduce health disparities among women have particular relevance for global health,” Uganda Minister of State of Health, Sarah Opendi emphasised.
Key African Ministers support building research capacity and policy development in the continent
Up to 15 African ministers of Health; Education; Science and Technology and Gender & Social Development participated in two ministerial high level panels at the UNESCO-MARS 2016. The ministers in discussions committed to support the building of research capacity at country and regional level, and the development and enforcement of policies to guide and promote scientific research for the benefit of Africa. They also pledged to enhance efforts to empower women in research.
The first ministerial high level panel on “Defining interventions to advance research capacity and empower women in research to improve women health in Africa,” involved: Sarah Opendi, Minister of State of Health, Uganda; Idi Illiassou Mainassara, Minister of Public Health, Niger; Julia Cassell, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Development, Liberia; Jesús Engonga Ndong, Minister of Education & Science, Equatorial Guinea and Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Executive Board and Family Board of E.Merck KG.
The second ministerial panel on “Research and policy making gap in Africa – challenges and opportunities – Africa as a new international hub for research excellence and scientific innovation,” included: Prof. Yifru Berhane, Minister of Health, Ethiopia; Prof. Afework Kassu Gizaw, Minister of Science and Technology, Ethiopia; Dr. João Sebastião Teta, Secretary of State, Angola; Zuliatu Cooper, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone and Rashid Aman, Chairman, Kenya National Commission for UNESCO.
Knowledge exchange platform to boost research capacity launched
During the UNESCO-MARS 2016, the Merck on-line research community blog (www.Merck-CAP.com) was launched to enable young researchers to exchange experience and knowledge with their peers and with established researchers in Africa and beyond.
The first UNESCO-Merck Africa Research Summit 2015 was successfully organised and held in Geneva, Switzerland in October 2015 with the focus on Emergent Infectious Diseases such as Ebola. The third UNESCO- MARS is scheduled to be held in 2017 in Africa.
In commemoration of the World AIDS Day on Thursday, December 1, 2016, WaterAid has restated that safe water, improved sanitation and good hygiene (WASH) are essential for ensuring that people living with HIV (PLHIV) live healthy and productive lives.
Dr Michael Ojo, Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria
According to the UK-based international organisation, easy access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation is indispensable for people living with HIV and AIDS and for the provision of home-based care to AIDS patients.
The group adds that safe drinking water is necessary for taking medicines, while nearby latrines make life more tolerable for weak patients. It notes that water is also needed for bathing patients, washing soiled clothing and linen, keeping the house environment and latrine clean in order to reduce the risk of opportunistic infections. Safe and adequate water and sanitation provision increases the dignity of both patients and caregivers, it further stresses.
WaterAid Nigeria, in a statement issued on Wednesday, November 30, submits: “People living with HIV are more susceptible to WASH-related illnesses such as typhoid and skin diseases. People living with HIV are also six times more likely to acquire a diarrhoeal disease with 90% of people living with HIV experiencing diarrhoea at least once. In addition, babies born to mothers living with HIV are three times more likely to have diarrhoea.
“People living with HIV need 2 ½ times the amount of water than someone not living with the virus, and also need improved hygiene and sanitation to help prevent opportunistic infections by keeping the environment of the house and toilet clean. An adequate supply of water is essential for home-based care of PLHIV. Diarrhoea and other opportunistic infections also lead to depleted energy levels, resulting in the need for close and easily accessible toilet facilities and water for handwashing.”
WaterAid Nigeria’s Communication and Campaigns Manager, Oluseyi Abdulmalik, was quoted in the statement as saying: “Without sufficient clean water, sanitation and proper hygiene, people living with HIV will be more ill more often, and less able to live healthy and productive lives. At WaterAid, we advocate for the integration of water, sanitation and hygiene into HIV services and the fight against AIDS. Interventions around universal health coverage must include environmental factors such as water, basic toilets and good hygiene promotion within households. For people living with HIV, this would help to prevent opportunistic infections and enable healthier, more productive lives.”
In the statement, which Abdulmalik endorsed, WaterAid stresses: “Today is World AIDS Day and, at WaterAid, we believe that water, sanitation and hygiene are critical to both disease prevention and care.
“While our focus as on organisation is on Sustainable Development Goal 6 and on everyone everywhere having access to safe water and sanitation, on World AIDS Day we are also reflecting on Goal 3 (health and wellbeing) and in particular on the target of ending the global AIDS epidemic by 2030.
“This means full access to health services for all, delivered with dignity and respect. It also means adolescent girls, women, boys and men having access to appropriate HIV and sexual and reproductive health information and services, and it means every child being born free from HIV by 2030. WaterAid’s global advocacy priority, our Healthy Start campaign also focuses on the good health of babies and of their mothers.
“Today reminds us that the Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected and that the eradication of extreme poverty depends on all 17 global goals. This is why one of our strategic aims focuses on integration – working together across sectors and across goals. Clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene practice are crucial in helping us all to stay healthy, minimising the risk of infection and for the taking of retroviral drugs. Nigeria carries the second heaviest burden of HIV in Africa and the highest in West Africa.”
According to Abdulmalik, WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, adding that the international organisation works in 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific Region to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Chief Tolu Odebiyi, has congratulated Barrister Rotimi Akeredolu on his emergence as the Governor-Elect of Ondo State.
Chief Tolu Odebiyi
In a statement on Monday by his Media Office, Odebiyi said Akeredolu’s emergence is a reflection of the abiding faith of Nigerians in the APC as the party capable of rescuing the country from the rot into which the Peoples Democratic Party has thrown it.
Odebiyi equally said it was also a show of belief in the capacity of Akeredolu to take Ondo State to the Promised Land after several years in the hands of the opposition.
He added: “This is a plus also for the leadership shown by President Muhammadu Buhari in piloting the affairs of the country.
“It indeed is a reflection of the belief of Nigerians in the capacity of the President and the APC to take the country out of the doldrums despite the attempts by the opposition to rubbish the good works being done to redeem the country.”
Odebiyi heaped praises on the leadership of the APC at the national level to sell the programmes of the party to Nigerians, adding: “It is equally pertinent to congratulate the governors elected on the platform of the APC in the South West, especially the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, because their dedication to service and delivery of democratic dividends as seen by the people must have spurred the need for change as demanded for by the people of Ondo State with the election of Chief Akeredolu.”
The Advocacy and Campaigns Coalition (ACC) has frowned at the recent cancellation of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise by the Lagos State Government, calling on the authorities to, as a replacement, urgently adopt the draft state WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Policy and roll out an effective implementation plan.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
The ACC, a platform of Civil Society Networks in Lagos State working with other relevant stakeholders to reduce mortality and morbidity from diarrhea in under-5 children within the framework of the WHO/UNICEF 7-point plan for diarrhea control, expressed dismay over the reason of “present economic realities in the country” given for the cancellation by the Lagos government.
In a statement signed by the ACC coordinator, Ms. Gbemisola Akosa, the group further demands that all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and stakeholders responsible for the review of environmental Laws of Lagos State speed up action on them and ensure the passage of the Laws before the end of the first quarter of 2017.
Additionally, the body demands that regular updates should be given to the general populace with respect to progress on the passage of the harmonised environmental Laws.
The ACC, an initiative of Save the Children, an organisation that promotes the welfare of children, stated: “It is incontestable that improvement in mortality rates from preventable diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, cholera and malaria, etc., was because of improved standard of environmental sanitation. Thus, we believe that a well-planned, coordinated and implemented environmental sanitation policy for disease prevention and control is what Lagos State needs at this time, given the megacity status of the state.”
Frowning at the abolition of the monthly exercise, the body submits: “With due respect, this apparent attempt to promote economic benefits above clean and healthy environment is capable of undermining people centred governance being promoted by the current administration in the state. The reality is that there cannot be economic viability without a clean and healthy environment which impacts on the productivity of the people.
“We are all the more concerned that the exercise was cancelled without any stop-gap measure in place to preserve the gains of sound environmental sanitation, self-discipline and strict adherence to standard hygiene rules and practices promoted in the last 20 years by the rested environmental sanitation exercise.
“Of utmost concern is the inability of the government to muster enough political will in adopting the Lagos State WASH Policy which has been in the pipeline for several years. These portend grave consequences for public health and sustainable sanitation especially in the face of deteriorating state of public water supply and sanitation services in the state.
“It is acknowledged that hygiene practices are generally poor in the state due to inadequate access to portable water (10% or roughly 2.1 million people in Lagos have access to potable water) and sanitation services as well as moral decadence to the environment. This poor state of water and sanitation has contributed significantly to the high prevalence of preventable diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, malaria and typhoid.
“Significantly, Lagos has the second highest prevalence of diarrhea rate in South West Nigeria (7.5%), after Oyo State (9.2%), having an average diarrhea incidence of 13% or 520,000 cases per annum. These diseases also account for the rise in morbidity, mortality and absenteeism in schools and at work.”
The ACC comprises: Lagos State Gender Advocacy Team (LASGAT) / Centre for 21st Century Issues (C21st) (Gbemisola Akosa), Lagos State Civil Society Partnership (LACSOP) (Ayo Adebusoye), Youth WASH (Titilola Kazeem), National Orientation Agency (Aderemi Olaniyan), Partnership for Good Governance (Vivian Emesomwu), Climate Wednesday (Olumide Idowu), Child Protection Network (Ngozi Okoro), Network for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN), WASH Media Network (Michael Simire) and Community Coalition (Francis Ogunbanjo).
The Benue State Environmental Sanitation Agency (BENSESA) has commissioned an Environmental Sanitation Court and waste bins in Makurdi.
Front view of the Environmental Sanitation Court at BENSESA premises in Makurdi, Benue State
Commissioning the court and bins on Tuesday, November 29, 20016, the Benue State Governor, Chief Samuel Ortom, who was represented by his Deputy, Benson Abounu, stated that the idea of building the court was ingenious and innovative by the management of BENSESA.
The governor, who also commended the provision of the waste bins, called on the management of BENSESA in future to use stronger materials especially the undercover to prevent them from eventually falling off.
Stressing further, he said it is observed that the agency has stepped up the duty of cleaning the town but there is still much to do.
“I see refuse here and there because of the activities of people who indiscriminately dump waste even after many efforts have been explored to encourage them to do the right thing, therefore, critically analyse how to address this and ensure the quick disposal of waste as well to conform with best practices,” he added.
In his welcome address, Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Nick Wendeh, noted that the construction and commissioning of the court was geared towards ensuring cleanliness in the state.
He maintained that now that there is a befitting environmental sanitation court in place, the hitherto inconvenience faced by magistrates in discharging their duty in the open at the premises of BENSESA is solved.
In his address, the General Manager of BENSESA, Andrew Chile, who noted that the court would strengthen sanitation enforcement and raise income generation in the state stated that “the environmental sanitation court is first of its kind since the inception of Benue State and I want to assure that with its commissioning and use, it will strengthen sanitation enforcement mechanism and also raise our income level resulting in Benue State featuring as the neatest State in Nigeria, before the end of 2017, as sanitation defaulters will on a daily basis be brought to book.”
Although, he said the Agency under his stewardship has been able to improve on municipal waste service delivery, repair of many broken down refuse vans and involved public private partnership in sanitation affairs, they are still constrained by many factors to reach their potentials.
According to Chile, issues of bulk staff of BENSESA being casual staff, rising cost of diesel, need to repair more broken down vehicles to enable expansion to local government areas and lack of office accommodation are constraints hindering their full performance.
He also promised that the current culture of indiscriminate dumping of waste will be curtailed in view of their efforts at prosecution adding that discussions are on-going to acquire new dump sites along Naka and Aliade road in addition to the one at NASME-North Bank.
“Dumpsites development and conversation processing has been properly outlined as covered in the 2017 budget,” he added.
The commissioned environmental sanitation court is comprised of three offices and a mini court room while the waste bins include three truck bins, 16 roller bins and several waste disposal polythene bags.
The sixth biennial Mayors Summit, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group flagship event, begins on Wednesday, November 30 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. It will hold for four days.
Mexico City, the sprawling, densely populated, high-altitude capital of Mexico, hosts the 2016 Mayors Summit, the C40 Climate Leadership Group’s flagship event
Hosted by Mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Mancera, and led by C40 Chair, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, the event draws mayors and leading thinkers from around the world to advance a shared agenda through collaboration and knowledge sharing, and increase visibility about the global potential of climate actions in cities. Previous C40 Mayors Summits have been held in Johannesburg (2014), Sao Paulo (2012), Seoul (2009), New York (2007) and London (2005).
This year’s Summit features the fourth annual C40 Awards, held in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, and taking place in the evening of Thursday, December 1. The C40 Cities Awards are granted in 10 categories and provide global recognition that are demonstrating climate action leadership.
A statement from Mancera and Paes reads: “We look forward to welcoming C40 and invited guests to the 2016 C40 Mayors Summit, the world’s foremost global gathering of political, business and intellectual leaders focused on forging a low carbon and resilient urban future.
“The Summit takes place one year after the historic COP21 climate negotiations, and provides a global forum to highlight the progress that are continuing to make on climate change through local action and global collaboration. The mayors of the world’s greatest cities will once again demonstrate their leadership in building a broad coalition to act on this most pressing issue of our times. The event will showcase the plans and commitments of C40 mayors and cities ahead of 2020, when global emissions must peak. Indeed, mayors and cities are essential to achieving the ambition of the Paris Agreement, and C40 cities – representing more than 600 million people and 25% of global GDP – have a particularly important role to play.
“The pace and scale of action needs to increase dramatically, particularly in sectors most critical to mitigation and adaptation: buildings, transport, energy, land use and waste. The Summit will serve as an opportunity for cities across the global C40 network to exchange best practices and agree solutions across a range of sectors and thematic areas. We are especially pleased that this year’s Summit will feature the fourth annual C40 Cities Awards, showcasing the world’s most innovative and successful sustainability projects, which will inspire and empower other cities to act.”
U.N. Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change and President of the C40 Board, Michael R. Bloomberg, said: “The C40 Mayors Summit in mexico city will bring together the largest group of local leaders fighting climate change since COP21. C40 cities around the world are leading the way in reducing carbon emission and protecting people from potential risks. Their work is setting a strong example for others – and the Summit is a great chance for cities to share their progress, learn from one another, and help the world reach the goals that were set in Paris.”
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of the world’s megacities taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Current steering committee membersinclude: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Jakarta, London, Seoul, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Milan, Boston, Mexico City, Amman and Rio de Janeiro.
C40 works to empower cities to connect with each other and share technical expertise on best practices. Lagos in Nigeria is a part of the group’s 75-member network.
Winners of this year’s Global Sustainability Film Awards, run by the media charity tve, seem to drive home the message of sustainability. They have been described as creative, deeply moving and inspirational.
Global Sustainability Film Awards trophies
At a black-tie awards ceremony at BAFTA on Monday November 28, 2016, the judges announced the winners in a worldwide competition showcasing the best of corporate sustainability. Winners included: FREITAG lab. Ag, HSBC/WWF-UK, Electrolux, and Essilor International.
“The creativity is more than incredible. It’s inspirational,” said Neil Armstrong, chief executive of Fastflow Group, main sponsor of the Awards.
Keynote speaker, Nick Nuttall, who is director of communications and spokesperson for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that the companies’ achievements in sustainability were especially important because they show the way forward in a world on the environmental brink. “We must move with urgency from promises to practicality,” he added.
In vying for the top prizes, companies from the banking, eyecare, electrical goods, fashion, coffee, jewellery, cosmetics and hotel industries won awards in these categories:
In the Transforming Society category, sponsored by the China International Culture Stock Exchange, the winner was Essilor International for its film “Eye Mitra: Friends of the Eyes.” The Youth Career Initiative for ‘Giving Hope to Survivors of Human Trafficking’ was highly commended.
In the Reshaping the Economy category, FREITAG lab. Ag won top prize for “The Road to F-ABRIC.” Jacobs Douwe Egberts was highly commended for “Kenco’s Coffee vs Gangs.”
Winner of the Protecting the Environment category was the HSBC Water programme/WWF-UK for its film “How Improving Farms Helps Protect the Mara River: Nancy’s Story.” L’Oreal was highly commended for “The L’Oreal Approach to Ensure the Full Traceability of Palm Oil and its Derivatives.”
The Net Positive leadership award in partnership with Eco-Age was presented to Electrolux for its film “For the Better.”
April Doubleday received the Free@Last TV special mention for the film “Fairtrade Gold Mining in Colombia.”
Hosted by broadcasters Jeni Barnett and Nik Wood, the ceremony will reach television audiences throughout 2017, thanks to tve’s media partner, Free@Last TV.
Mei Sim Lai OBE DL, president of the 2016 Awards and tve trustee, told the audience at BAFTA’s Princess Anne Theatre: “The tve awards are now playing a proactive part in encouraging businesses around the world to think about how to best communicate what they are doing to meet their own sustainability targets.”
Armstrong said: “The creativity on show here is more than incredible. It’s inspirational. There were no less than 44 entries this year with an output so varied, so colourful and so deeply moving that we should really be handing out 44 prizes.”
In awarding these films, said Nuttall, it was important to recognise not only the achievements shown in the films, but the companies’ wider ambitious plans for sustainability. “If the world is to seize the opportunities in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, we must move with speed and urgency from promises to practicality and from pledges to implementation,” he said.
Barry Ryan, managing director of Free@Last TV, said: “Free@Last is delighted to partner tve in these amazing awards. We have a passionate belief in the power of visual media to ensure that the vital message of sustainability is brought home around the globe.”
Dr. David Nabarro said at COP22 that it is encouraging and inspiring to see how South-South Cooperation is gaining traction
South-South Cooperation, with its focus on mutual learning, capacity building and technical cooperation, is rapidly becoming an integral component of international cooperation to address climate change and contribute to the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is encouraging that this is likely to expand, which will be hugely helpful in supporting the implementation of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
“It is encouraging and inspiring to see how South-South Cooperation is gaining traction,” said the Special Advisor of the UN Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Dr. David Nabarro, who attended the event. Dr. Nabarro highlighted the Climate Partnerships for the Global South, also known as Southern Climate Partnership Incubator (SCPI), initiated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last April, which he said “is about making connections.”
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, reminded the Forum’s participants, saying: “While it is clear that developed countries need to provide support to developing countries to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, the agreement also encourages complementary support, such as South-South Cooperation.”
The President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar, who is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, told participants that, through South-South cooperation, “we want to assure that countries of the South are taking charge, that they have much to share and much to bring to each other.”
Many developing countries are already taking the lead on South-South climate cooperation, with initiative such as:
Further examples are the agreements that His Majesty King Mohammed VI recently signed with the Government of Rwanda to fast-track sustainable development and green growth.
South-South cooperation also calls for extensive and coordinated multi-stakeholder participation, including actors of the UN, other international organisations, multilateral financial institutions, the private sector, academics and civil society groups.
At the Forum, the Special Representative of China on Climate Change Affairs, Mr. Zhenhua Xie, stressed the need to promote more South-South cooperation, and called on international organisations to act as “bridges.”
Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is not a man given to flatteries. It’s far easier for him to find faults than to give credit. And there are good reasons for that. His pessimism about politicians has a lot to do with his experience about the affairs of this country. He knows what politicians are capable of doing, and what they mean and not mean whenever they speak.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State
But when such a man commends you, then someone had better start watching you because you may be on your way to the sky. That was exactly how it must have felt for the Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu when Obasanjo came to commission some of his road projects recently.
After inspecting some of Ikpeazu’s signature projects, especially the road construction under his urban renewal programme, Obasanjo was lavish in praise. He called Ikpeazu the “visionary performer” and said his people were lucky to have such a committed chief executive.
For those familiar with Abia since Ikpeazu came on board, Obasanjo’s remarks were not flatteries. The man simply spoke the minds of the people. And Obasanjo spoke after seeing and commissioning some of the early projects of the Ikpeazu administration.
Not only was Obasanjo impressed by the service delivery ethos of the governor, but the former president saw quality jobs done at the lowest affordable cost to the state. Within a few months of coming into office, he delivered seven quality metropolitan roads, a feat that has never been recorded in the history of the state. While some governors work very hard in their first year in office and go to sleep for the remainder of their tenure, Governor Ikpeazu’s legs have remained on the pedal since his first day in office.
He has constructed 47 major roads across the state, but with particular emphasis on Aba, the commercial nerve-centre of the state. Ikpeazu’s economic transformation plan for the state is centred on Aba being an industrial and commercial hub of not just the state but the entire region. And for a governor with a deep intellectual bent, this is quite understandable. Ikpeazu has repeatedly said every state should know where it has comparative advantage over others and leverage on that.
For years, Aba town has fed traders from huge commercial centres like Lagos, Onitsha, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna and several others, giving the town and the state a commercial pedigree that is unrivalled in the region. Building on this advantage and supporting the town with incentives such as infrastructure, security and a pool of trained low and middle technical personnel as Ikpeazu is doing is the fastest way of turning around the economy of the state.
The governor introduced a novelty in road construction by insisting on the use of cement technology, otherwise known as rigid pavement technology in road construction. The technology entails casting the road with concrete over a mass of iron before asphalting it. It is an innovative engineering technique aimed at extending the durability of the roads. It is also cost-effective. To fully realise his economic agenda for the state, governor Ikpeazu has also put machinery in motion for the launch of the Abia Industrial Clusters project, which will be kick-started from Aba. Efforts are on to procure the appropriate equipment that can match the standard of technological development needed for the clusters.
The aim, as the governor has stated, is to mechanise and automate the process of leather-making and other artisan works since Abia is a leading state for technological innovation in Nigeria. The Aba Industrial Cluster would involve 40,000 shoemakers, who are capable of producing more than 1,000 shoes daily.
This will be complemented with the establishment of trade centres for the revival of old professions such as craft works, carpentry, masonry and so on. Supervisors for the programmes have been brought in from Mexico and the Philippines. The goal is to teach young Abians the rudiments of the old craft works so that the state can produce its household items, instead of the recourse to importation.
“To teach such handiwork as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, tiling etc is to help the artisans add some professionalism and education to their trade and we expect that the trade centres will create jobs and empower people with skills,” Governor Ikpeazu said at the launch of the scheme.
Unlike most of his colleagues, he believes in the role of the governor as a leader, and not a ruler. His vision for the state is demonstrated through the diverse physical projects of his administration, and more importantly, through the force of personal example-something that cannot be said of many state chief executives. Ikpeazu has been leading the state by showing the way, not by some empty, populist rhetoric. Not only does he patronise Aba-made goods and urges his cabinet to do same.
Ikpeazu’s intervention in the education sector is also novel. He chose the occasion of his 51st birthday to launch a scheme to salvage primary education in the state. He launched “Friends of Abia Schools Adoption Initiative (FASAI)” with a focus on mobilising funds from well-meaning Abians to renovate dilapidated primary schools in the 17 local government areas of the state.
Ikpeazu urged his friends to give a facelift to dilapidated primary schools to turn around their fortunes and give the pupils a conducive learning environment and a sense of belonging. It was a brilliant initiative at a time of national economic recession for one of the poorest states in the country.
When people talk about the Ikpeazu phenomenon, it is this uncommon, patriotic zeal for service delivery and a knack for thinking outside of the box. Any perceptive observer of governance in this country, especially at the state levels, will agree that these are qualities in short supply.
Politicians in the state, used to self-serving criticism of political leaders, have found a way to deny Ikpeazu the credit he truly deserves. They attributed his success to a desire to win the support of the people in view of the challenge to his victory by the opposition All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA. Since the victory of Ikpeazu is still a subject of litigation in the court, professional critics say he is eager to get the people on his side, and that once the case is over and he gets a final victory, he will go to sleep.
These are just speculations, perhaps borne out of experience with previous administrations in the state. But the argument is actually in his favour. No matter how much you ingratiate yourself with the people, they cannot save you if the court overturns your election victory. Secondly, when an election victory is being challenged in court, it is a major distraction whether the person is a governor or legislator of local government chairman.
Thus, for a governor battling such distraction to be so focussed on delivering dividends of good governance is not only an inspiring story of leadership, but a phenomenal asset for his people. Ikpeazu has found a connection with his people through his vision and the people-centred policies and programmes of his administration.
This will explain the outrage felt by people of the state when the Appeal Court overturned his election. His people have keyed in to his vision of growth and their joy will be boundless whenever the Supreme Court affirms him as the duly elected governor of the state. The desperation of the opposition to rubbish his victory and derail the transformation going on in the state is what many hope will fail woefully. If not for anything else, for the sake of the state and its long suffering people.