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Monsanto Tribunal: Judges, prosecutors, ambassadors unveiled

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Monsanto Tribunal: Judges, prosecutors, ambassadors unveiled

The Monsanto Tribunal, an international civil society initiative to hold Monsanto accountable for human rights violations, crimes against humanity and ecocide, has unveiled a team of legal practitioners that will handle courts sessions at the Tribunal, scheduled to hold between 14 and 16 October 2016 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Ms. Francoise Tulkens, one of the judges
Ms. Francoise Tulkens, one of the judges

The People’s Assembly, which provides the opportunity for social movements to rally and plan for the future, will take place parallel to the Tribunal.

A group of diplomats, who will promote the campaign in their communications, were likewise named.

Eminent judges will hear testimonies from victims, and deliver an advisory opinion following procedures of the International Court of Justice.

According to Monsanto Tribunal, the Judges who will preside the court in The Hague in October are:

  • Ms. Dior Fall Sow, Senegal, a former advocate general at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda;
  • Ms. Francoise Tulkens, Belgium, a former vice-president at the European Court of Human Rights;
  • Mr. Upendra Baxi, India, former president of the Indian Society of International Law.

“We are pleased that these distinguished international judges have agreed to co-chair the International Monsanto Tribunal. Their collective and exceptional experience will ensure that the tribunal process is held to the highest standards, thus lending validity and credibility to their final advisory opinions,” the group disclosed in a recent statement.

Additionally, Dr. Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto will be dealing with the question of whether Monsanto is complicit in war crimes as defined in Article 8(2) of the International Criminal Court. He is a senior lecturer in international Law at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

“The potential for businesses to be perpetrators of international crimes was legally recognised by the Nuremberg Tribunal which held private German industrialists criminally liable for their support of the German war effort. This important Nuremberg legacy has quietly been subsumed over decades by the military-industry complex. It is time that the complicity and liability of corporations is reactivated The International Monsanto Tribunal will serve to resurrect the Nuremberg legacy, ‘remind’ and re-energise the international law framework – business actors can be involved in international crimes,” stated the Monsanto Tribunal.

Furthermore, Australian Dr. Gwynn MacCarrick is also a part of the legal team. She was former legal officer at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and former defense Counsel for a Militia Commander charged with 23 counts of Crimes Against Humanity before the United Nations Special Panel for Serious Crimes in Dili, East Timor. She will compose the plea on Ecocide.

“The work of the Monsanto Tribunal will undoubtedly contribute to the progressive development of international law, by clarifying the content of the human rights responsibilities of companies and by informing the international debate as to whether international criminal law should evolve, to include the crime of Ecocide.”

Regarded as the symbol of industrial agriculture, Monsanto, a publicly-traded American multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation headquartered in Creve Coeur, Greater St. Louis, Missouri in the US, has however of recent come under intense global criticism. Observers say its chemical-intensive form of production pollutes the environment, accelerates biodiversity loss and contributes to global warming.

“Monsanto promotes an agroindustrial model that contributes at least one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions; it is also largely responsible for the depletion of soil and water resources, species extinction and declining biodiversity, and the displacement of millions of small farmers worldwide. This is a model that threatens peoples’ food sovereignty by patenting seeds and privatising life,” says a source close to the Monsanto Tribunal.

But Monsanto insists it is “a sustainable agriculture company”.

“We deliver agricultural products that support farmers all around the world,” said the company that was founded 1901.

It is believed however that the Leverkusen, Germany-based multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company, Bayer AG, wants to acquire Monsanto after recently tabling a 62 billion Euro offer, which was reportedly rejected. However, negotiations are said to be ongoing.

In a related development, Nigerian architect and activist, Nnimmo Bassey, has been named among ambassadors to the Monsanto Tribunal campaign.

Others include:

  • Renate Künast: former German Minister of Agriculture, the Green Party.
  • Vivienne Westwood: famous UK fashion designer.
  • Boaventura de Sousa Santos: Professor of Sociology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal; and author.
  • Richard A. Falk: US professor emeritus of International Law and former UN Rapporteur on Palestine; and author.

Five-year agriculture roadmap emerges

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Five-year agriculture roadmap emerges

The Federal Government of Nigeria has inaugurated a roadmap for the agriculture sector, tagged: “The Green Alternative: Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016-2020.” Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the occasion, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, said the vision was to revive the agric sector to boost food production in the country.

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh
Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh

According to Ogbeh, the policy would serve as the new fulcrum for economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development in agric sector.

He said: “The launch of the ‘Green Alternative’ is an attestation that the change that the overwhelming majority of Nigerians canvassed for and openly welcomed by giving Muhammadu Buhari a resounding victory in the last presidential election is here.

“In this policy, you will see us navigating through the agricultural terrain, trucking on virtually every aspect, we launched on the human element. We will reflect on years of neglect where agriculture was seen as a refuge for the wretched and unsophisticated.”

The minister explained further that the emphasis on “Green” would capture the essence, spirit and orientation of the new policy/strategy document.

“The emphasis on green is deliberate; it is to underscore, not only the imperative of building a strong, vibrant and resilient economy, but also a green refreshing, generating, transformative-agriculture-led economy.

“It is to ensure mutual complementary between efficient, effective and productive agricultural production, system and processes on one hand and environmental sustainability, Ogbeh said.

He noted that the policy had five major strategic driving forces, namely: achievement of self-sufficiency and sustainable food security, reduction in import dependence and economic losses, particularly through value addition.

Others, he added, were stimulation of agro-exports for enhanced foreign exchange earnings, enhancement of wealth and job creation, especially provision of employment opportunities for the teeming youths. The minister also said achievement of economic diversification to make the economy less oil-dependent was among the driving forces of the green policy. Ogbeh stressed that, through the policy, farmers would have access to land, soil fertility, information and knowledge, inputs, production management, storage, processing, marketing and trade, including access to finance.

Others are promoting agribusiness and ensuring investment development, institutional setting and roles, youth and women, infrastructure, research and innovation and nutrition security.

Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, explained that agricultural policy over the years had focused on conventional paradigm of harnessing the sector’s potential to provide sufficient food for the growing population.

Lokpobiri, who was represented by Shehu Ahmed, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said effective implementation of the policy required a systematic collaboration among the stakeholders.

“One significant element of this desire is the relevance and suitability of support institutions as an integral process of facilitating the consultative, entrepreneurial, coordinating and regulatory roles in the nation’s development process.

“In this regard, government’s responsibility is to continuously put in place measures that will restructure, re-orientate and strengthen the relevant national institutions as well as utilise the opportunities offered by international cooperate bodies,” he said.

According to him, this is to embrace the challenges of intensifying the integration of the country’s development goals into the liberalisation principle of the world economy.

Kabir Ibrahim, President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), commended the ministry for the policy, saying it would go a long way in assisting farmers to boost productivity.

“The Nigerian farmers are seeking more availability of fertiliser, timely application of the research finding, adoption of good science and technology, provision of good seeds and small irrigation facility for all-year-round farming,” he said.

Ibrahim urged both states and local governments to key into the policy to enable the nation achieve self-reliance in food production.

Nigeria’s climate agenda to adopt gender-sensitive approach

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Nigeria’s climate agenda to adopt gender-sensitive approach

Nigeria has been asked to take urgent steps to incorporate gender sensitive approach in its implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change with full participation of all stakeholders, especially women.

A woman farmer: Women are said to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they are more than proportionally dependent on natural resources that are threatened. Photo credit: ng.boell.org
A woman farmer: Women are said to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they are more than proportionally dependent on natural resources that are threatened. Photo credit: ng.boell.org

Participants at the National Consultative Workshop on Gender and Climate Change that held last month in Abuja, who made the submission, called on stakeholders to work towards ensuring equal access to available climate information that reflect a gender perspective in all its components.

Stakeholders were likewise urged to take action towards integration, capacity building and financing of women and youth participation in climate change negotiation processes at the national, regional and international levels.

Participants at the workshop, themed: “Taking the Paris Agreement and Nigeria’s INDC, commended government for its commitment to adopt a National Plan of Action on Gender and Climate Change that would, according to them, provide a clear road map for innovative gender oriented solutions in order to build resilient and more sustainable societies.

While insisting on adequate and quality representation and influence of Nigerian women and youth in negotiations, government/CSOs delegation and pre-Cop22 planning meetings and beyond, the gathering asked the authorities to involve the media and adopt communication strategies to promote public awareness and education on gender-responsive and climate-compatible development.

The meeting, organised in preparation for the entry into force of the Paris Agreement and implementation of Nigeria’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), held against the backdrop of promoting greater understanding of stakeholders’ expected roles and responsibilities for an effective gendered implementation of the Paris Agreement given the unique vulnerabilities of women and children to the impact of climate change.

In 2001 at the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Parties agreed on Decision 36/CP.7, which focused solely on increasing the participation of women in delegations and bodies constituted under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol. However, at COP 18, Gender and Climate Change became a permanent agenda and Parties were mandated to do more to achieve gender balance and ensure women’s participation for more effective climate policy (Decision 23/CP.18).

Moving the gender and climate change agenda forward, Parties at COP 20 under Decision 18/CP.20 established the two-year Lima Work Programme on Gender requiring a shift in the focus of the agenda item from concepts to implementation in recognition of a gap in information and understanding among Parties about gender-responsive climate policy. Parties thus recognised the fact that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of direct and indirect implications for the effective integration of gender and that the effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by those segments of the population that are already vulnerable owing to geography, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and disability.

Furthermore, COP 21, in setting an agenda for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, required Parties to develop National Work Programme on Gender and Climate Change (contained in decision 1/CP.21).

Preparation for COP22 to be held November in Marrakesh in Morocco and in recognition of the need to carry all stakeholders along in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and Nigeria’s INDC, and specifically mainstreaming gender concerns into national policies and action plans, including the development of a Gender National Roadmap on climate change, gave an impetus to the organisation of the two-day forum.

Participants observed that women commonly face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change in situations of poverty, and that the majority of the world’s poor are women.

According to them, women’s unequal participation in decision-making processes and labour markets compound inequalities and often prevent women from fully contributing to climate-related planning, policy-making and implementation.

Some other observations were listed to include:

  • The drivers and consequences of climate change are not gender neutral; and that women are in general more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, not only because they represent the majority of the world’s poor but because they are more than proportionally dependent on natural resources that are threatened.
  • Women play a pivotal role in natural resources management and should not be seen just as victims of climate change but leaders and planners in climate change action.
  • Women and youths face peculiar challenges, including poor access to information, non-participation at decision making level on issues pertaining to climate change, adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology and capacity building.
  • Low awareness on climate change matters and inadequate knowledge and capacity to address the gender dimensions of climate change.

The forum was jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment, Women Environment Programme (WEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

 

Why BoI is championing solar power, by Olagunju

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Why BoI is championing solar power, by Olagunju

Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Waheed Olagunju, has said that the persistent problem of electricity supply from the national grid in the country made it imperative to explore alternative power supply options to lift the nation – and its rural communities in particular – out of darkness and provide them a new lease of life afforded by the presence of a reliable, clean and sustainable energy.

Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Waheed Olagunju. Photo credit: allcitynews.com.ng
Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Waheed Olagunju. Photo credit: allcitynews.com.ng

Olagunju disclosed at the weekend in Abuja that it was in a bid to address the power supply deficit that the BoI, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), embarked on the implementation of solar electrification projects in the nation’s rural communities who, according to him, are the most vulnerable segments of the society. He said the deployment of the solar solutions had boosted business activities in the communities in the affected rural communities.

On the significance to the project, Olagunju said, “What we have implemented is a tested and commercially sound model for delivering power to the Nigerian rural homes at affordable rate. We want all our rural communities to take control of their energy needs by paying for only energy used. We have achieved our objective of ensuring that we sensitise Nigerians to alternative renewable energy sources that are more efficient, cleaner and sustainable.

“Testimonies from the six communities where we have successfully commissioned off-grid solar solution are quite positive. Living standard has improved, quality of lives has been enhanced and commercial activities have equally picked up, especially micro, small and medium enterprises.”

While calling on other stakeholders to leverage on the success stories of the solar solutions, the BoI boss noted that the bank’s medium term target is to have 100,000 homes installed with solar systems in the next five years through a combination of micro-grid and stand-alone solar home systems.

He called on other state governors to emulate the gesture of the Gombe State governor, Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo, whom he said signed a N360 million deal with the bank for the replication of the project in each of the nine local government areas of the state.

“Nigeria cannot achieve inclusive and sustainable growth and development without taking proactive steps towards addressing the myriad of challenges that have stalled the progress and prosperity of its citizenry at the bottom of the pyramid, significant, of which is access to clean and sustainable modern energy services,” he stated.

A renewable energy expert and Chief Executive Officer GVE Projects Limited, Infeanyi Orajaka, also noted that solar solutions offered a viable option to Nigeria in its bid to address its energy crisis. He said the success stories that had attained some of the projects his company had handled across the country made eloquent testimonies to the potency of solar power as a veritable source of power generation.

He said, “Our company, GVE Projects Limited has gone beyond the provision of concept stage. At the moment, we have about 10 sites purely running on solar currently, providing positive impacts on the lives of several people across the six geopolitical zones of the country. What we are working on now is how to make this solution available to a lot more people in various communities.

“Yes, we have done several pilot projects to get prove of concept, to get Nigerian people to actually understand that the technology is working, that it is reliable and affordable. And that it is already working in Nigeria.”

On why the the cost of solar installation is still prohibitive, Orajaka stated that it was because most of the components for the installation were being imported.

He added,”The cost of installation is still very high, admittedly. That is because the technology is still at the nascent stage in the country. But we have been having discussions with some of the equipment manufacturers. Realistically, the European market is saturated, the American market is saturated, the next frontal is Africa.

“We have used that as leverage to negotiate with them to come to Africa, particularly to Nigeria. If the equipment is locally manufactured in Nigeria, it will, to a great extent, minimise the impact of the forex related risk in deploying the solar in our communities as well as urban centers.

“We have relationship with Yingli, one of the leading solar manufacturers in the world. In terms of batteries, we are also having discussions with Trojan and in Inverter, we have a good relationship with Schneider Electric. They have all expressed readiness to tap into the emerging green market in Nigeria.”

Also speaking on the prospects of the solar energy, the Acting Managing Director of NASENI Solar Energy Limited, Dr. Jafaru Oshiobugie Mahmud, noted that, apart from helping to shed the load on the national grid, its deployment in the rural communities would help in extending business hours and fast-stall idleness induced insecurity.

He said, “Some businesses in our rural communities close early, especially when there is no moonlight. If you give these people light they can extend business hours. With light, social interaction will improve. Security will be improved.”

Chief Executive Officer, Arnergy Solar Limited, Femi Adeyemo, regretted that although Nigeria was facing a lot of challenges arising from the shortage in electricity supply, it had failed leverage on its abundance renewable energy sources, particularly solar. He said while the country was grappling with low energy supply, other nations of the world were switching to solar form of energy which they deemed more reliable, cost effevtive and environmentally friendly.

“It is very clear that solar, I mean distributed solar, is the only way out of of our present power crisis. In a space of 6months in 2016, China has rolled out 20,000 MW of solar and here we are still battling with 4,000 MW, from combine sources, including hydro, coal and gas fired generation stations. The penetration of solar in Nigeria, as at today, is less than 0.1 per cent.

“Most advanced countries of the world are perfecting strategies and setting targets for a complete switch to solar as an alternative because it is cheaper and sustainable. In Nigeria now, individuals, companies, businesses and even government need to look at solar.

“I am not talking about integrated centralised solar; I am talking about distributed roof-top solar. You generate and distribute; you don’t need to put it on the national grid because we still have bottleneck on our transmission grid. If you generate 100,000 megawatts of solar today, you can’t put it on transmission grid,” he said.

On the low level of awareness on solar as a veritable source of power generation, Adeyemo added that the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria had perfected awareness creation strategies targeted at Nigerian consumers, especially those living in the rural areas. Apart from that, he explained that the association was also looking at bringing together professionals and solar experts that have the know how of the business with a view to fight quackery in the renewable energy sub-sector.

He said, “Our intention is to make every of our member accountable. For instance, apart from being able to separate the wheat from the chaff, we will be able to sanction any of our member or company that we l receive any complaint of business misconduct against.”

Shell saves cost as Nigerian engineers refurbish underwater equipment

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Shell saves cost as Nigerian engineers refurbish underwater equipment

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) has said it achieved significant savings in the cost of subsea equipment through an initiative which has seen the refurbishment of five Subsea Trees in-country led by Nigerian engineers.

Schematic of the subsea tree. The three subsea trees provide the interface between the wellheads and the infield flowlines. Photo credit: offshore-technology.com
Schematic of the subsea tree. The three subsea trees provide the interface between the wellheads and the infield flowlines. Photo credit: offshore-technology.com

A Subsea Tree is an arrangement of valves and other components installed at the wellhead to control and monitor production/injection flow. SNEPCo embarked on a Tree Refurbishment initiative in 2013 to ensure timely delivery of the equipment at lower cost for the Bonga Phase 2 project, which comprises drilling and hook-up of in-field wells within Bonga.

“Beyond cost consideration, we were also looking to indigenise the know-how so that Nigerian engineers can acquire the necessary skills,” said Mr. Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director of SNEPCo. “We are pleased with this success story. The first Subsea Tree under the programme was installed on schedule in May 2015. This was the first of its kind re-using a Subsea Tree fully stripped down and refurbished locally in Nigeria, with all of its original functionality restored.”

According to the organisation, it saves about $6 million for every refurbished Subsea Tree, which is delivered within 15 months as against 36 months for newly manufactured ones.

SNEPCo’s Engineering Manager, Subsea and Pipelines, Mr. ‘Debo Oladunjoye, who leads the refurbishment team, said: “The scope of work entails the retrieval of Subsea Trees for disassembly, repair and rebuild following procedures developed by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to international standards and codes. The work is done at the OEM/SNEPCo logistics base at Onne in Rivers State with Nigerian engineers and technicians playing key roles. The expenditure on this work in Nigeria aligns with the cost of similar Subsea Tree refurbishment in Europe. We are currently refurbishing three Subsea Trees.”

SNEPCo disclosed that it helped to create the first generation of Nigerian deep water professionals through the Bonga project which started production in 2005, as Nigeria’s first deep water oil and gas production project in more than 1,000 metres of water. To sustain production and keep the Bonga Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel full, additional in-field wells have been delivered as part of the Bonga Phases 2, 3 and Bonga North West projects, all producing through the Bonga FPSO.

SNEPCo operates Bonga field on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production (Deepwater Ltd) (Exxon), Total E&P Nigeria Ltd (Total) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd (ENI).

Abuja-Kaduna train service rakes in N5m in two weeks

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Abuja-Kaduna train service rakes in N5m in two weeks

The Abuja-Kaduna train service recorded N5 million income within the first two weeks of operation.

The Abuja-Kaduna train service
The Abuja-Kaduna train service

This was disclosed by Fidet Ikhiria, the Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

Ikhiria made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while travelling on the train from Abuja to Kaduna on Saturday.

The Managing Director of NAN, Bayo Onanuga, and the Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Ado Lawal, were also on board.

NAN recalls that the $1.46 billion Abuja-Kaduna train service was inaugurated on July 26 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ikhiria said he did not have record of the daily income of the service.

He said: “In the first week of operation, we made N2.2 million; in the second week, we made N2.9 million.

“This is the third week of operation. The last week report showed that we had almost 5,000 passengers in six days. We have capacity for 320 passengers per trip.

“For now, the maximum we can carry per trip is 320. So, for a day, the maximum number of passengers we can have is 1000.”

Ikhiria said fencing of the tracks would commence before the end of August.

He acknowledged that there were some operational lapses on the route, adding that the management was working toward addressing them.

He said some of the staff had yet to get used to the seat numbering as it was different from what was obtainable in the previous trains.

According to the managing director, the coaches are overwhelmed by the number of people coming on board.

Okhiria said: “Some passengers with economy class tickets are coming to sit on the first class coach because the economy class is filled up.

“We are going to do more enlightenment on this at the station and communities levels.”

On the speed of the train, Okhiria said the parameter for speed was not the coach but track, which, according to him, was designed according to specification.

He said the train moved at 90 kilometres per hour from the initial 70 kilometres per hour but would get to 150 kilometres per hour in due course.

“The slow speed of the train is to avoid accidents as people living close to the tracks have yet to get used to the movement of train,” he explained.

Okhiria said efforts were being made to beef up security at the stations and on board the train.

He said: “By next week, our scanners will be in place. I am also discussing with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to deploy more men.

“We have armed policemen on board and some security personnel without uniform.”

Okhiria added that efforts were also being made to install internet facilities in the train.

In an interview, Onanuga lauded the service and said Nigerians were beginning to enjoy train services the way they did in the 60s and the 70s.

Onanuga, who was in company with Ado, however, said NRC needed to do more work to improve on the train services.

He said: “Apparently, NRC underestimated the interest of our people in boarding train.

“They need to acquire more trains; they need to increase the capacity and increase the frequency of movement.

“They need to provide food and other services such as internet.

“It is a good one; we made it to Kaduna in two and half hours.”

Another passenger, Kayode Emmanuel, told NAN that the system of boarding the train was chaotic and disorganised.

Emmanuel said the management should know the number of passengers each coach contained and sell tickets accordingly to avoid crowded coaches.

On his part, Isa Yusuf, who was also on board, said he expected that passengers on the first-class coach would be given light refreshment.

18 dead, N700m property destroyed in Kano flooding

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18 dead, N700m property destroyed in Kano flooding

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said no fewer than 18 persons lost their lives and property worth over N700 million to flood in Kano State in the past two weeks.

Flooded parts of northern Nigeria
Flooded parts of northern Nigeria

This was contained in a statement by the North West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Alhaji Musa Ilallah, in Kano on Saturday.

According to the statement, the massive flood ravaged 22 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.

It said properties, including houses and farmlands, were lost to the floods by no fewer than 1,000 persons.

It said: “The worst affected LGAs are Shanono, Bagwai, Kiru with 749 victims and N347 million worth of properties were damaged.

“The other areas affected are Rano, Kibiya, Bunkure, Gabasawa, Dawakin Tofa, Kano Municipal, Danbatta and Takai.

“Others are Dawakin Kudu, Karaye, Rogo, Kura, Wudil, Bichi, Sumaila, Garun Mallam, Ungoggo, Bebeji and Warawa.”

The agency said it collaborated with the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (Kano SEMA) in the assessment of damages in the areas.

It said: “NEMA commiserates with the government and people of Kano State over the loss of lives and also sympathises with victims who lost their properties in the flood.

“NEMA assures that it will continue to partner the Kano State Government to alleviate the sufferings of victims of all disasters in the state.”

Another world is indeed possible, says PACJA

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Another world is indeed possible, says PACJA

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has again brought the world’s attention to Africa as thousands of movements from across the globe gathered in Montreal, Canada in the ongoing World Social Forum (Fórum Social Mundial in Portugese) (FSM2016) holding from August 9-14, 2016. The 2016 Forum is themed: “Another World Is Possible”

Participants at a World Social Forum
Participants at a World Social Forum

The goal of the WSF 2016 is to gather tens of thousands of people from groups in civil society, organisations and social movements who want to build a sustainable and inclusive world, where every person and every people has its place and can make its voice heard.

The Alliance, besides joining the global march organised by the Forum, made a case for Africa on several burning issues at various global organised events at the Forum. Some of the issues the Alliance took to the global scene at this event include Climate Justice and the Fight for Peoples’ Right to Food, Water and Land; Transforming the Energy Systems for People and Communities; Climate Justice, Land Rights and Food Security in Africa in the context of Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals; Implementation of SDGs, Accountability and the Role of Civil Society Organisations.

The Alliance called on world leaders to listen to the voices of the people and act now in the interest of the planet and save the world from further humanitarian and environmental crisis.

“To achieve the goal of keeping the global temperature rise to well below 20C and pursuing efforts to keeping it below 1.50C as enshrined in the Paris Agreement and to further achieve the objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it will require a lot of sacrifices in the way we live,” says Samson Samuel Ogallah of PACJA.

“The sacrifice will require switching from the current unsustainable production and consumption lifestyle especially by the industrialised countries as the business as usual scenario will lead the world to a 30C and above scenario by 2030 thereby eroding any gain that may have been made from the implementation of SDGs by 2030,” Ogallah adds.

“Civil society fought hard to get the human rights language into the SDGs, they must now work even harder to ensure its operationalisation beyond the adoption of the SDGs by governments across the world,” says Mr. Savio Carvalho of the Amnesty International at the Forum.

In his submission during the Forum, Mithika Mwenda, the Secretary General of PACJA, called for global solidarity among civil society organisations to ensure that they hold governments accountable to their commitments in the SDGs and Paris Agreement. They era of paying lip service to commitment governments signed up to is over especially in the light of Paris Agreement that have spelt out clear role for all Parties in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), everyone and all Parties now have a role to play, Mithika added.

The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of CSOs. First held in Brazil, it offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalisation. Some consider the World Social Forum to be a physical manifestation of global civil society, as it brings together non-governmental organisations, advocacy campaigns as well as formal and informal social movements seeking international solidarity.

Campaigners, labour to collaborate on climate change

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Campaigners, labour to collaborate on climate change

Civil society organisations (CSOs) in the country have agreed to work with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on issues related to global warming, thereby opening a fresh vista in the nation’s climate change policy dynamics and diplomacy.

L-R: Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation), Michael Roll (Resident Representative, FES Nigeria) and Henry Okotie (Project Manager, FES Nigeria)
L-R: Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation), Michael Roll (Resident Representative, FES Nigeria) and Henry Okotie (Project Manager, FES Nigeria)

The CSOs, who also resolved to offer their expertise when needed, likewise appreciated the fact that labour unions used to be the political voice of the society and are therefore willing to help in reviving that process.

These resolutions were the outcome of a recent engagement session in Abuja involving CSO and NLC representatives, courtesy of a continental initiative being promoted by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in about three sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria.

Henry Okotie, the FES Nigeria project manager, assured the activists that his organisation would communicate the opportunities being offered by the CSOs to the labour unions, especially the NLC, and will encourage them to make use of them. The NLC representative had left midway into the daylong forum, which also featured representatives from the academia.

Panelists: L-R: Prof. Olukayode Oladipo of the University of Lagos, Dr Jennifer Spiff of the Women Initiative for Transparency, Prince Chima Williams of ERA/FoEN and Priscilla Achakpa of the Women Environment Programme
Panelists: L-R: Prof. Olukayode Oladipo of the University of Lagos, Dr Jennifer Spiff of the Women Initiative for Transparency, Prince Chima Williams of ERA/FoEN and Priscilla Achakpa of the Women Environment Programme

His words: “The date for the publication and launch of NLC’s Climate Change Policy hasn’t been set yet. We will inform you as soon as we know about it and send the soft copy.

“We will communicate the outcome of the workshop to the NLC and I will then let you know what the plans for future activities in this field are.”

At the opening of the session, Michael Roll, the FES resident representative, expressed the hope that a workable partnership between labour and CSOs would be forged in the bid to address numerous labour/workplace and climate related challenges.

Thereafter, a panel discussion session featuring Prof. Olukayode Oladipo of the University of Lagos, Priscilla Achakpa of the Women Environment Programme (WEP), Dr Jennifer Spiff of the Women Initiative for Transparency (WIT), Nnimmo Bassey of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Prince Chima Williams of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) explored a number of issues bordering gender and climate change as well as the legal focus.

For instance, Dr Spiff noted that women and children/girls are the most vulnerable in cases of climate change impact in the areas of reproductive health rights, epidemic and conflicts. She also shed some light on the role of women in climate change.

Prince Williams emphasised that no law has in fact criminalised the negative impacts of climate change on human life pattern (such as loss of farmland), adding that impact can be linked with constitutional right to life.

He said: “We can bring an enforcement of legal action against climate impacts on us, and those to enforce such rights against are GHG emmiters such as operators in the extractive sectors involved in gas flaring, oil spillage and deforestation.”

Achakpa said: “We need more women organisations in the gender constituency. There is also the need to be involved in data generation. We need to generate our data ourselves.”

According to observers, areas to be addressed in future when the CSO-labour collaboration becomes operational entail how climate change contributes to substantial labour productivity loss, labour’s involvement in the transition to a green economy, and challenging conditions in the workplace due to climate change, among others.

Concern as wild polio virus resurfaces

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Concern as wild polio virus resurfaces

On the brink of eradicating wild polio, Nigeria suffers a major setback as an outbreak of the virus is confirmed

Victims of polio
Victims of polio

Minister of Health, Prof.Isaac Adewole, has confirmed an outbreak of wild polio virus in Borno State.
The outbreak has reportedly affected two children from Gwoza and Jere Local Government Areas of the state.

The discovery and confirmation of the outbreak was as a result of strengthened surveillance due to improved accessibility, which has been made possible by the recent military action in liberating more communities in the North Eastern part of the country.

Adewole said the detection of children paralysed by polio shows that surveillance has increased with more access.
He equally said it is a reminder that the country needs to remain vigilant and immunise all eligible children with oral polio vaccine until polio is completely eradicated worldwide.

He said: “Our overriding priority right now is to rapidly boost immunity in the affected areas to ensure that no more children are affected by this terrible disease.”

To this end, the minister has directed the deployment of an national emergency response team comprising government and partners to Borno State for immediate and robust polio vaccination campaign, targeting eligible children to prevent the spread of the virus locally and internationally.

The Federal Ministry of Health through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency with the support of partners, including the World health Organisation (WHO) and the United nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), are conducting detailed risk analysis to clearly ascertain the extent of circulation of the virus and to assess overall levels of population immunity in order to guide the response.

As an immediate response, about one million children are to be immunised in four local government areas in Borno State.

Children in adjoining states of Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe will also be immunised, bringing the number to about five million in the four states.

Prof. Adewole reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to achieving a polio-free Nigeria and assuresd the general public that this outbreak would be controlled as soon as possible, adding that government will provide the needed resources to contain it.

He therefore called on other states and local governments to redouble their efforts by safeguarding their territories from importation of the virus by providing the required leadership and ensuring accountability among healthcare workers and other stakeholders.

It will be recalled that, in 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide, but the country has made significant strides in recent years, going two years without a single case.
This progress has been as a result of concerted efforts by all level of government, civil society, traditional and religious leaders as well as dedicated health workers.

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