Bread of Life Development Foundation (BLF), a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on national, state, and local governments to work towards increasing access to safe drinking water, and promotion of safe sanitation and hygiene practices in order to reduce high child mortality in Nigeria.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria losses over 150,000 children annually from Diarrhea deaths
The call comes as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day, which was observed on Friday, May 27.
Quoting UNICEF figures that says Nigeria losses over 150,000 children annually from Diarrhea deaths, and Federal Ministry of Health estimates that indicates another 177,000 children die annually from pneumonia, the BLF in a statement endorsed by its Executive Director, Babatope Babalobi, said these deaths are preventable because they are largely caused by access to poor water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services.
“As we celebrate Children’s Day, we must remember that the nation has failed its children as we are pushing thousands of them to an early grave through bad WASH governance. One out of every 11 Nigeria child that is celebrating Children’s Day today may die in the next five years, unless we accelerate efforts to provide them with essential water supply and sanitation services,” Babalobi was quoted as saying in the statement.
For those that are alive to celebrate Children’s Day, duty bearers should provide critical water supply and sanitation services to ensure they are alive to celebrate next children’s day in May 2017, he stated, adding:
“We must act now to break to the chain of needless deaths from water-related diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, pneumonia, Arsenicosis, Cholera, Guinea worm diseases, Intestinal worm, and Malaria.
The group also called on State Ministries of Education and Education Boards to support the provision of safe water supply and sanitation facilities in schools, both public and private; and urges parents to adopt Household Water Treatment mechanism to break the cycle of water related sicknesses at family levels
Girls’ needs around menstruation have been neglected by health and education systems around the world, leading to inequity in education and missed opportunities for girls, says WaterAid Nigeria on the world’s third commemoration of Menstrual Hygiene Day.
Dr. Michael Ojo, WaterAid Nigeria’s Country Representative
Menstruation is an important issue yet it is shrouded in silence because of deeply rooted taboos and negative social norms. On any given day, some 800 million women and girls are on their periods across the world, and hundreds of millions of them are subject to ostracisation, shame and risk of infection because of the stigma that still surrounds menstruation.
Menstruation is a woman’s monthly bleeding. During menstruation, the body sheds the lining of the uterus (womb). Menstrual blood flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix and passes out of the body through the vagina.
On Saturday, 28 May, the world observed the 2016 Menstrual Hygiene Day – a day that affirms the urgent need to talk about periods and break the silence, taboos and negative social perceptions around menstruation. According to the organisation, it is a day to remember and commit to doing something about the women and girls in the world without access to safe water and a safe toilet to manage their menstrual cycle.
More than a billion women and girls around the world must manage their periods without a safe, private place to go to the toilet. And nearly half of schools in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria do not have basic toilets – meaning girls who are menstruating risk embarrassment and shame during this time, and may decide not to attend school.
Cultural beliefs and myths about menstruation are perpetuated by society and often portray women and girls as inferior to men and boys. This reinforces gender inequalities, often constitutes discrimination and has a negative impact on the fulfilment of the universal human rights to dignity, health and education of women and girls.
In many countries, women and girls are not allowed to cook, go to the farm or are even banished from the family home to an outdoor shed during each menstrual cycle. WaterAid Nigeria recently carried out a study on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in Benue, Bauchi, and Plateau States in Nigeria to explore and understand existing MHM practices and the context that might impact positively or negatively on the implementation of a MHM programme in Nigeria.
The study revealed deeply rooted attitudes and myths surrounding menstruation including the belief that a menstruating woman or girl is cursed and possessed by evil spirits and brings bad luck. Such beliefs result in restrictions being placed on girls and women during their menstruation – including exclusion from attending religious services and even holding their infants in some of the communities. To make matters works, these women and girls lack access to safe water or private toilets at home, in schools and in public places. The effects are devastating.
On the Menstrual Hygiene Day, WaterAid sought to contribute to breaking the silence and building awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential. The group calls for cooperation with the education and health sectors as well as those working in reproductive and sexual health to ensure girls are prepared for the onset of menstruation, to ensure they can care for themselves in a dignified and hygienic way, and to dispel the myths and taboos that often accompany menstruation.
Dr. Michael Ojo, WaterAid Nigeria’s Country Representative, said: “In some communities in West Africa, women and girls are not allowed to use water sources and latrines during menstruation – the very facilities they need the most during this time! We must move away from the dichotomy of placing value on menstruation as a sign of fertility, celebrating the birth of new life and at the same time excluding women and girls and making them social pariahs during their time of menstruation. There is simply no logic to it whatsoever.
“Over half of the girls interviewed in our study said that they only learned about menstruation after their first experience so when we talk about menstrual hygiene management, it’s not about providing sanitary pads. It’s more than that. It’s really about helping young girls and the people around them, the men in their lives – fathers, brothers, husbands etc., to have the information awareness and the knowledge around this issue. It’s about helping girls to have the confidence to manage their hygiene safely and with dignity and also to ensure that wherever they are- whether it’s at home, school or even in other public places; that provision is made for them to be able to manage their menstrual periods safely and hygienically and for the products to be collected and disposed effectively. So it’s really making sure we have services that respond to the needs of our young girls and women.
“Proper menstrual hygiene management for women and girls requires inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools and public places; provision of protection materials at affordable rates; behavioural change and communication and a review of existing policies to address this important issue. Everyone has a role to play. At WaterAid Nigeria the integration of menstrual hygiene management in all of our sanitation and hygiene interventions – with a focus on Equity and Inclusion, WASH in Schools and WASH & Health is critical.”
UNESCO estimates that one in 10 adolescent girls in Africa miss school during their menstruation and eventually drop out. A new article in the medical journal PLOS Medicine, co-authored by WaterAid, has highlighted a lack of guidance, facilities and materials for girls to manage their periods at school, affecting their health, their education and their self-esteem. Girls facing shame, fear and confusion around periods have this exacerbated when there is no clean source of water, soap, or safe, private girls’ toilet with space to wash in.
A study by USAID has shown that safe, private toilets for girls in schools, combined with private places to wash, can boost their enrolment by 11%. There is no denying the critical role access to water and sanitation plays in helping women and girls, manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity as well as realise their full potentials.
Every year and for three years now, the world has marked Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28. WaterAid says it’s a part of the global network of partners that thinks it’s important to break the silence and taboos around menstruation; raise awareness of the challenges women and girls worldwide face due to their menstruation and promote the importance of menstrual hygiene management.
“Menstruation can no longer remain a taboo subject. By giving this issue the attention it deserves, we will help ensure every women and girl has access to water, safe toilets and somewhere to wash by 2030. By talking about periods, we can help normalise this natural process and help girls and women live healthier and more dignified lives,” added WaterAid.
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Secretary General, Convention on Biological Diversity
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, the Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity, has welcomed a new UNEP report on environment and health which links a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems as the basis for the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
On 23 May, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a new report entitled Healthy Environment, Healthy People, prepared in collaboration with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Montreal Protocol and the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions. The launch of the new report marked the start of the second United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA-2).
Drawing on 2012 estimates from the WHO, the report indicates that almost one quarter of the global burden of mortality – or 12.6 million deaths – is attributable to modifiable environmental factors. This builds on other leading reports of global significance that seek to relay the importance of socio-ecological resilience to human health outcomes. These efforts include the State of Knowledge Review, Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human health jointly led by the WHO and the CBD Secretariat in collaboration with over one hundred interdisciplinary experts, and The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission Report on Planetary Health.
Together with Healthy Environment, Healthy People, these reports form a common voice calling urgently for concerted, coherent, collaborative action to conserve or increase the resilience of ecosystems and human communities worldwide.
Dias noted: “In 2015, we witnessed the release of several landmark agreements for sustainable development including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. These are ambitious objectives, but there has never been greater urgency and opportunity to meet these commitments.”
He added that if the international community is to meet these ambitious commitments we cannot turn a blind eye to the common drivers of biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and ill health, the limitations of predominant economic models of consumption and production, or compounding pressures – such as land use change, climate change and pollution on ecosystems nearing environmental thresholds.
The Executive Secretary also noted that many of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted by over 190 countries in 2010 directly or indirectly influence human health outcomes. Parties will have the opportunity to consider these linkages, and the implications of the findings of these reports, at the upcoming 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the CBD, in Cancun, Mexico from 4 to 17 December 2016.
The world’s environment ministers, gathered at the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday, passed far reaching decisions on issues such as marine litter, the illegal trade in wildlife, air pollution, chemicals and waste, and sustainable consumption and production – which are an integral part of the global action needed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The UN Environment Assembly convening in Nairobi, Kenya
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “The environment has always been, and will always be, at the heart of humanity’s prosperity. World nations recognised this in 2015 with global accords, such as the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
“What we have seen in the last five days is the same political will and passion for change that brought about the groundbreaking international agreements of 2015. With global consensus affirmed, we are taking steps to bring about a real transformation of our development models. The United Nations Environment Assembly is providing leadership and guidance the world needs to take these unprecedented steps.
“In the decisions made here at this assembly for the environment, we see a significant directional shift that will inform Ministers’ decisions in their home countries. We will now need to see the bold and decisive commitment observed at UNEA transmitted at the national level to drive forward the 2030 Agenda and ensure a brighter future for people and planet.”
Thousands of delegates from 174 countries, 120 at the ministerial level, took part in UNEA-2 and associated side events on issues of global importance, including the Sustainable Innovation Expo and the Science-Policy Forum.
UNEA-2 sessions were attended by UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson; the President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta; UN Habitat Executive Director Joan Clos; and Vice-President of Iran and Minister of Environment Masoumeh Ebtekar. The sessions were presided over by Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment Edgar Gutiérrez, who took over from Oyun Sanjaasuren, former Minister of Environment and Green Development for Mongolia.
Among the 25 resolutions and actions decided at UNEA-2, the theme of which was “Delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, the following themes dominated:
2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement Implementation
The main theme of UNEA-2, Delivering on the 2030 Agenda, was a particular focus. The implementation of the work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be a primary undertaking of the UN system, and the Assembly showed their full understanding of this.
UNEA asked UNEP to initiate new partnerships and strengthen existing ones, including with the private sector and civil society.
Building on its work in sustainable finance with the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System and the UNEP Finance Initiative, member states also asked UNEP to continue to build on its work at the intersection of finance and the environment.
With the Paris Agreement one the most significant environmental agreements in recent decades, UNEA also agreed that UNEP should accelerate support to countries, especially developing countries, to build national readiness capacity to implement the Agreement, build implementation capacity and capacity to access finance and technology.
Illegal Trade in Wildlife
A key issue at UNEA-2 was the illegal trade in wildlife, which is pushing species to the brink of extinction, robbing countries of their natural heritage and profiting international criminal networks.
UNEA-2 passed a resolution building upon previous commitments made at the first UNEA and General Assembly resolution 69/134, urging Member States to take further steps at the national level and through regional and international cooperation to prevent, combat and eradicate the supply, transit and demand related to the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.
This includes implementing strategies and action plans, strengthening governance systems on issues such as anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering, supporting the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime and the African Elephant Fund, and developing sustainable and alternative livelihoods for communities affected by the illegal trade in wildlife and its adverse impacts.
UNEP and partners – with the backing of celebrities such as Gisele Bündchen, Neymar Jr. and many others – also launched a new campaign, Wild For Life, to engage millions of members of the public to end the illegal trade in wildlife. Angola, which is hosting World Environment Day on 5 June, will make new commitments to combat the trade, particularly in ivory.
Marine Litter and Debris
It is estimated that there are 5.2 trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans, harming both the marine environment and biodiversity. To address this problem, member states resolved to encourage product manufacturers and others to consider the lifecycle environmental impacts of products containing microbeads and compostable polymers, including possible downstream impacts.
Delegates also sought the assistance of UNEP to assess the effectiveness of governance strategies and approaches to combat marine plastic litter and microplastics, and identify how to address gaps. They asked UNEP to help develop and implement national and regional action plans to target marine litter, with emphasis on those regions that are the largest sources.
Healthy Environment, Healthy People
World Health Organisation estimates show that an estimated 12.6 million deaths are attributable to environmental factors each year, highlighting the importance of a healthy environment to healthy people. Several resolutions related to human health and the environment were passed. The resolution on sound management of chemicals and waste targeted actions on chemicals such as lead – exposure to which claimed an estimated 654,000 lives in 2010 and causes developmental damage to young children.
Delegates called on UNEP to develop research on actions that could be adopted to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relevant to the issue; asked the private sector to play a bigger role in an integrated approach to the sound management of chemicals and waste; and requested nations to ensure better recycling of lead-acid batteries at national or regional facilities.
Another resolution called on UNEP to establish a global research network on the threat posed by sand and dust storms and integrate the issue into its work. Sand and dust storms contribute to lowered air quality – a worldwide problem that claims seven million lives each year.
Other resolutions
Armed conflict and its relation to the environment was also a significant source of discussion at UNEA-2. A symposium focused on environment and displacement: root causes and implications.
One decision called on Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with international obligations under international humanitarian law in relation to the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict.
Resolutions on food waste and sustainable consumption and production, which both impacts on the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement in terms of increasing emissions and resource use and holding back efforts to reduce hunger, were passed. The resolution called for increased efforts and cooperation to decrease the one third of all food produced each year that is lost or wasted and committed Member States to achieving SDG 12, which focuses on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
UNEA is the world’s most authoritative decision-making body on the environment, tasked with tackling some of the most critical issues of our time. The Assembly means that the environment is now considered amongst the world’s key concerns alongside other major global issues such as peace, security, finance and health.
Peru’s government has declared a two-month state of emergency across 11 Amazon jungle districts due to mercury contamination caused by widespread illegal gold mining activities.
Tambopata National Reserve, an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon in Madre de Dios. “One can clearly see the beginning of the illegal gold mining activity and deforestation within the reserve between September (left panel) and November (right panel) 2015,” MAAP says. Photo credit: Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP)
The South American country, home to 13 percent of the iconic Amazon rainforest, is the sixth largest gold producer in the world. Covert mining for the luxury metal, however, has been a major cost to the environment and human health.
“Gold has a dirty underbelly, whether the horrific mercury poisoning in the Peruvian Amazon from small-scale mining, or the human rights abuses in northern Peru perpetuated by multinational mining companies,” Earthworks mining programme director Payal Sampat told EcoWatch.
According to Mining.com, illicit gold production in Peru increased fivefold since 2012, and it is estimated to provide 100,000 direct jobs in the country, 40 percent of which are in the Madre de Dios region in southern Peru.
Studies from Stanford University and other institutions have detected high levels of mercury in Peru’s citizens, fish and waterways.
The International Business Times noted that thousands of miners, who are working illegally in the region, use mercury to extract gold from the rivers.
“Some 15 percent of the production is believed to be extracted illegally with little to no measures taken to protect the environment,” the publication writes.
According to Reuters, miners dump 40 tonnes of mercury into Amazonian rivers annually, destroying more than 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of rainforest in the Madre de Dios region, the environment ministry said.
As for human health, the toxic chemical can affect vital functions of the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
Environment minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said during a news conference that 41 percent of the population – about 50,000 people – in Madre de Dios are exposed to mercury pollution.
“The consequences of mining activity in Madre de Dios will be with us for the next 80 years, and that must be fought at its roots,” he said. “Declaring the emergency brings action, hospitals, food such as uncontaminated fish, among other things.”
Indigenous and rural communities are particularly vulnerable since they consume the fish they catch from the river. Survival International writes that “up to 80 percent of the recently contacted Nahua tribe have been poisoned with mercury” and have been suffering from acute respiratory infections and other health problems since they were contacted.
Despite Peruvian President Ollanta Humala calling a state of emergency on Monday, Survival International says that the government has known about the contamination since 2014 and has done little to address the problem.
According to the Associated Press, the government is sending hospital boats to help treat people living in the affected area. Authorities are also trying to crack down on illegal mining.
“Consumers need to be aware of the human and environmental costs of the gold in their jewelry boxes and smart phones, and demand accountability from mining companies and retailers,” Sampat said.
Ten Nigerians are participating in the 2016 Sustainaware, a regional partnership conference taking place between 30th and 31st May, 2016 in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of CODE and head of the Nigerian delegation (middle, in white), with members of the entourage
The participants, constituting journalists, environmental rights campaigners as well as sustainable development advocates, are expected to join other partners to share knowledge, solve complex challenges bedevilling environmental safeguards and proffer possible solutions on how to accelerate sustainable growth in Africa.
Initiated by Connected Development (CODE) in 2014 in collaboration with the European Union (EU), the key objective of the project is to improve knowledge and inspire young people to take leadership roles in environmental health, green economy and social-entrepreneurship.
It has since inception been implemented in eight countries namely – Nigeria, USA, Argentina, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Liechtenstein and India. Somalia and Zambia have been included as participating countries in the 2016 edition to signify progress and success in execution of work plan, according to Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of CODE and head of the Nigerian delegation.
He added that the scope of work in 2016 is targeted at mobilising more spirited volunteers to join the network and champion its gospel across the continent.
His words: “Access to food, medicine, portable water, education and effects of climate change on environmental conservation as well as livelihood sources are some of the priority advocacy issues in our pursuit for transparency and accountability in public service.
“We are committed to our promise and mission – improving of access to information and empowering local communities in Africa.
“Our enthusiasm in ensuring that Nigeria is part of this epic event reveal our internal strategy towards strengthening and building a network of advocates to help mobilise the required grassroots support to achieve our mandate.”
Parkview Estate, Ikoyi-based urban planner and planning advocate, Yacoob Abiodun, writes an open letter to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, urging him to uphold his decision on the relocation of the Mile 12 Market to a new site
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
Your Excellency,
I indulge in writing this unsolicited letter to your Excellency for various reasons and perspectives, in respect of the planned relocation of the Mile 12 market at Ketu to a new location at Imota on the outskirts of Lagos. The first reason is that I am an age-long resident of Lagos and a qualified stakeholder in the affairs of the mega city by virtue of my residency. The second reason is that under your able leadership, you took the bold step to establish the Office of Civic Engagement, in the political history of Lagos State, for the purpose of promoting inclusive/participatory government, whereby the residents are encouraged to speak out their minds about matters of public interest, which is an embodiment of democratic tenets. It is a guarantee for effective public participation in governance. It is that sole assurance that spurs me to write this open letter, to your Excellency, sir on the Mile 12 market saga, which has recently dominated the centre stage in public discourse, trending in social media and daily newspaper commentaries.
Sir, the third most compelling reason for this writer is my professional background as a trained urban planner, who has tried valiantly in the past and now to contribute his humble/modest suggestions on how to improve physical planning practice and urban development in Lagos State in all ramifications. The most pivotal solution to the Mile 12 market problems from my personal perspective has to do first and foremost, with issues of urban planning, regardless of other perceived remedies either on the basis of social or ethnic considerations.
Your Excellency, you would recall the ugly and bloody public affray that took place at the Mile 12 market on March 3, 2016 as a result of a minor dispute traced to one Hausa commercial motorcyclist who allegedly drove against traffic and knocked down a pregnant woman. That unfortunate incident snowballed into an apex ethnic clash between the motley community of Hausas in Mile 12 market and their Yoruba host communities. Before the fracas was finally put under control, over five innocent lives were lost, 40 houses razed by arsonists and unquantifiable number of personal property worth millions of naira were destroyed. The rest, as they say is history.
As the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State, you quickly intervened and ensured that peace returned to the troubled area immediately, to the admiration of Lagos residents. You were able to bring the two warring ethnic groups to the negotiation table to jaw, jaw their differences, instead of war, war- in your firm belief of the aphorism that “two wrongs can never make a right.” At that well-publicised parley, it was reported that the Executive of Mile 12 Market Traders Association cum other stakeholders voluntarily/unanimously agreed to the decisions taken with high ranking Lagos State Government officials who took part in the peace meeting. The communiqué of the meeting was put in the public domain. I quote what Mr. Femi Odusanya, the Secretary of the traders association said verbatim as reported in one of the several daily newspapers which covered the event: “We have agreed with the government on the relocation of the market from its present location to Imota. We were told that a 30-acre of land between Ikorodu and Imota has been set aside for the market. We promised to co-operate on security, ensure peace, free-flow of traffic and hygiene in and around the market.” (Punch, March 18, 2016).
Having extracted these promises voluntarily from the traders’ association devoid any duress, your Excellency with the relevant Lagos State Ministries immediately went to work in order to prepare grounds for the relocation of the market to its new location at the shortest timeframe. This Day newspaper edition of April 13, 2016 reported that, to show the state government is committed to the peace agreement, you made the following inspiring and promissory comments among others when you went to inspect the new site at Imota on April 12, 2016: “….the new market will be ready in six months. Government is committed to developing the new market. We know it is in the interest of Lagos residents that we relocate Mile 12 market to Imota. The traders have agreed to the relocation plan. The onus is now on the state government to ensure that we deliver this new market within the next six months. If we start within the next seven days, and within the next six months, Mile 12 Market Ketu will be a thing of the past. New commodities market will take off from here, Imota new site.” (THIS DAY, April 13, 2016.)
However, the “spirit-lifting statement” credited to your Excellency was short-lived, based on a newspaper report in the Nigerian Tribune edition of May 22, 2016 titled “Don’t relocate the Mile 12 Market, Kaduna gov (sic) appeals to Lagos gov.” The said newspaper report seems to have contradicted your comments and good intentions. It has also taken many Lagos residents aback and dampens their spirit, including this writer. The paper reported that “Governor Abdullahi Urmar Ganduje of Kano State has appealed to the Lagos State government to reconsider its decision to relocate the Mile 12 market because of the economic and social repercussions of such action on the Hausa community traders in the market. This is just as he said that if the market is relocated; the entire people of Lagos State will be negatively affected, thereby harming the overall economy of the state.” (Nigerian Tribune, May 22, 2016).
The report went further to confirm that Governor Ganduje had met with your Excellency over the matter and that “Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode “appears positive” after considering the implication of relocating the popular Mile 12 Market according to a statement signed by one Alhaji Halilu Baba Dantiye, who is Governor Ganduje’s director-general, media and communication” in Kano State. Governor Ganduje was equally quoted by the same paper that: “I discussed with my colleagues, the Northern governors, and I initiated a letter to the governor of Lagos State to reconsider the proposed relocation of the market. The letter was copied to all the Northern governors and the Lagos State governor appeared positive after seeing the implication of relocating the market,” Governor Ganduje stated (Nigerian Tribune, May, 22, 2016).
The above preface leads me to why this open letter is being written as earlier stated in the introductory part. Let us ask the following probing, but honest questions begging for answers from the Governor of Kano State, to wit: what is the interest of Governor Ganduje in a matter that is purely an internal affair of Lagos State? Was his advice solicited by his Lagos State counterpart? Was the advice made in good faith? What is the reason for sending a copy of the he wrote to Governor Ambode, to all Northern governors? Was it to exert more pressure from the Northern governors on your Excellency? What empirical studies does he have in his possession on the economic implications of relocating the Mile 12 market to Imota? Does he know where the shoe pinches regarding the litany of problems being caused by the market at its present location such as security breach, traffic logjam, incessant ethnic clashes and unwholesome environmental crisis plaguing the entire Mile 12 market environs? When last did Governor Ganduje pay a visit to the market to have a feel of the magnitude of the problems Lagos residents have gone through and are still baffling with on a daily basis, most especially the traffic gridlock and the menace of street urchins? Is he aware that plan is already afoot to relocate the market as part of the general plan to renew Lagos Mega city ever before the tragic ethnic clash of March 3, 2016? Or, does he have any knowledge about the traders at Oshodi Market who have been relocated to a new site preparatory to the redevelopment of Oshodi area to a transport hub of international standard to befit the status of Lagos as a mega city? Would he have heeded your own intervention if you advise him against the removal of almajiris (street beggars) by the Kano State government from the streets of Kano? I can go on and on. The list of these questions is exhaustive and based on superior argument/professional judgment, primary concern for good urban governance (your hallmark) and your allegiance to the people of Lagos State by virtue of the oath of office you swore to during your inauguration on May 29, 2015 as the newly- elected Governor of Lagos State, that you would “protect the lives and property of Lagos residents.”
With due respect sir, Governor Ganduje’s advice can be overlooked as an unconscious meddlesomeness in the domestic affairs of Lagos State. It is rather coming too late in the day, after every arrangement to relocate the market has been put on fast track and state resources in both human and financial outlay have been irretrievably committed! Methinks, it is an advice with ethnic colouration, doubtful of any good intention. It is has an “ego-driven” motive to let the Hausa communities in Ketu area think they have one “baba ngbejo” (a godfather) who could talk to your Excellency on their behalf. Let Governor Danbuje be reminded that the essence of governance is not about the protection of the commercial interest of a privileged group of people at the detriment of the majority of Lagos State residents. While I am not acting as your Excellency’s man Friday or Special Adviser on Urban Affairs, sir, be rest assured that you have taken the right decision to relocate the market to a new location for public good, which you will be vindicated in the long run and posterity will judge you positively.
It is public knowledge that the market has outgrown its usefulness at its present location, space wise and that the reality on ground does not support the kind of advice being offered by Governor Danbuje. The market has become what in planning parlance is called an “urban nuisance,” an irritant settlement, a liability and not an asset. And as presently constituted, it is an incompatible land use, a flash point for public disorder, a breeding ground for petty thieves and a den of hardened criminals who daily terrorize the local residents.
If your Excellency succumbs to external pressure that you should rescind the relocation, it would be an unpopular decision and a contradiction of your earlier public statement referenced in this piece. Sir, I earnestly plead with you to avoid a decision that would set you in direct confrontation with Lagos residents, who hitherto have applauded your courageous decision to relocate the market to a new site vis-à-vis your modus operandi of how excellently you have governed the State of Excellent since your assumption of office in May 2015. Kindly stick to the popular slogan – Eko o ni baje under your watch, nay other future governors. Let logic, not sentiment, remains your lodestar.
The general plan to renew Lagos to a world class mega city-state cannot be faulted. The road to achieving the goal may be rough. It would warrant some tough decisions and the citizenry’s sacrifice, but in the end, the overall gain will be more than the pain. Lagos city proper has been extremely overbuilt and there is hardly any space for future physical expansion. By deliberate planning action, government must disperse the population to the hinterlands where the spillover of population can still be accommodated; and where employment opportunities can be induced and basic amenities provided there, in order to drastically reduce the steep direction of rural-urban migration to a mega city already bursting at the seams with its numerous problems of over-stretch infrastructure, housing shortage, inadequate health facilities and excruciating traffic gridlock.
The relocation of Mile 12 market to Imota vicinity would bring rapid development to the sleepy town in terms of population influx and corresponding demand for basic urban services and other human needs. Top on the list is demand for housing, employment for construction workers and local artisans, windfall income for prospective landlords and sundry multiplier effects on the local micro economy. If Lagos is not to be atrophied, its decongestion does not require rocket science rationalisation, but a committed government which is ready to listen to its technocrats’ advice. Such honest advice cannot come from an interloper-politician with a selfish provocative ethnic agenda who lives in a far-flung city from Lagos; and who fails to recognize the sovereignty of Lagos State.
Your Excellency, I thank you in advance sir, for reading this letter despite the exigency of other state matters you must attend to on a daily basis. Eko o ni baje, sir.
United Nations climate change negotiations on Thursday in Bonn, Germany concluded their first session since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December last year, including the first session of a new body called the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) tasked with carrying out activities related to the implementation of the Agreement. What was touted as a “housekeeping meeting” following the high-drama of COP21 turned out in fact to be more eventful than expected.
Some members of the Nigerian delegation to the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, led by Dr. Peter Tarfa (sitting, middle)
On the closing day, controversy flared around proposed techno-fixes involving bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) with several dozen African social organisations and networks issuing a joint statement entitled: “Sacrificing the global South in the name of the global South: Why the 1.5°C goal must not be met with land grabs.”
This was followed by an announcement of plans to launch a new renewable energy initiative for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) following on from last year’s breakthrough African Renewable Energy Initiative which has attracted $10 billion in pledges. The announcement was made during a press conference with Ambassadors from Sweden and Mali on behalf of the African Group, alongside the chief negotiator of the Alliance of Small Island States and the Chair of the LDCs.
Tense exchanges also took place throughout the week and boiled over in the closing plenary of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation around the issue of “conflicts of interest” with over 75 developing countries and many NGOs calling for climate talks to adopt measures which would limit the ability of fossil fuel corporations to advance their agenda, which runs contrary to the objectives of the negotiations.
As the negotiations wrapped up ahead of the next Conference in Marrakech, November 7-18, representatives from a diverse range of civil society groups expressed their views.
Harjeet Singh of Action Aid: “We spent another precious week engaged in very procedural discussions, but the hard work had to be done. As Gandhi said, ‘speed is irrelevant if you are going in the wrong direction’. Even as negotiations took place this week, the world has been dealing with record-breaking temperatures, and climate impacts. It’s clear that vulnerable communities around the world urgently need support. They need help when they are displaced, and they need strategies to cope with extreme weather events and slow onset impacts. The climate change agenda going forward must reflect these realities.”
Meena Raman of Third World Network: “As we move forward to Marrakech, we hope that developed countries will not re-negotiate what they have agreed in Paris for the Agreement to be implemented in a balanced manner, on all the elements, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and means of implementation for developing countries. They should not resort to tactics in the process which lead to mitigation centric outcomes which that will not be just and equitable. We hope that now the process can carry on in an open and transparent way to ensure that a balanced outcome results in Morocco without a re-negotiation of the Paris Agreement and in implementing pre-2020 commitments with urgency.
“Asad Rehman, Friends of the Earth England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: “If Paris is to be more than just a diplomatic success, catalysing the urgent transformation of our global energy systems must be the cornerstone to meeting the planetary goal of 1.5°C. An important first step was the successful launch in Paris of the African Renewable Energy Initiative – now Marrakesh must build on that by broadening this initiative to other vulnerable countries. By becoming the COP for Renewable Energy, it would be genuinely deserving of global applause, for concretely tackling climate pollution as well as delivering energy to the millions of people who have none.”
Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development: “If Marrakech is to live up to its billing as an implementation COP, developed countries must come to the ministerial dialogue on climate finance with clear commitments – with amounts and timeframe – to meeting the $100 billion promised in 2010 and reaffirmed in Paris. This $100 billion is a floor – the real needs of tackling climate change and addressing the impacts are much greater.”
Augustine Njamnshi of Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance: “For many years we demanded a 1.5°C goal, which for Africa means significantly more warming and severe impacts on food security. For many years we were told it was not politically possible. Now that we have a 1.5°C in the Paris Agreement, we are being told that the measures to achieve it are not politically possible.
“Instead of changing the mode of production and consumption in the global North, we in the South are being asked to sacrifice our land and food security on the assumption that technologies such as BECCS will work. Let me be clear: they will not work for us. We cannot sacrifice our food security and land. Instead we need urgent and serious mitigation to keep to 1.5°C. The next 5 years are critical – we hope countries come to Marrakech ready to increase their pre-2020 ambition in line with their fair shares.”
Tamar Lawrence-Samuel of Corporate Accountability International: “The Paris Agreement swings the door wide open to non-state actors, including to the private sector, not only to enhance climate action but also to engage in the policymaking process. But no process currently exists to address the perceived, potential, or actual conflicts of interests that could result from that engagement. If we are serious about keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, Parties must overcome opposition from the US and others and ensure this process has safeguards in place to maintain the integrity of the UNFCCC, it’s Parties and its outcomes.”
Expert observers from the Climate Action Network (CAN) have responded to two weeks of UN climate negotiations as they draw to a close on Thursday in the German city of Bonn. Civil society reflected on progress during the session and also on what needs to happen over the coming months, ahead of COP 22 in Marrakesh this November, to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement and boost short-term climate action.
Vositha Wijenayake, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for Climate Action Network South Asia
“As Donald Trump takes evasive action to insure his golf course against climate impacts, governments and businesses, with far more at stake than the 18th green, are putting in the hard yards to accelerate the drive for 100% renewable energy, to build prosperous economies for the future,” said Wael Hmaidan, Director at Climate Action Network International.
Vositha Wijenayake, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for Climate Action Network South Asia: “In Bonn, the countries have discussed the need for entry into force in a rapid manner. It is necessary that Parties take action back home to ensure that ratification happens swiftly, and in a manner that facilitates increase of ambition and with rules developed to ensure transparency and accountability of climate actions.”
Tina Johnson, Policy Director at US Climate Action Network: “The first week of negotiations post-Paris began with fits and starts. However, Parties managed to agree on an APA agenda and the hope leaving Bonn remains that COP 22 will be the Action COP. However, because of the inadequacy of ambition in current INDCs, Marrakesh needs to make sure that the path is set for the facilitative dialogue in 2018 in order to ramp up ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C.”
Sanjay Vashist, Director Climate Action Network South Asia: “There has been painfully slow progress on key issues at the SB44 session in Bonn making it necessary to hold more meetings before the next Conference of Parties in Morocco. Raising adequate climate finance and carving out necessary rules and modalities to bring the Paris agreement into force must be the highest priority for all negotiators from now to November.”
Kimiko Hirata, International Director at Kiko Network: “The G7 Ise-Shima summit held in Japan is a great opportunity to maintain political momentum and accelerate negotiation on the Paris Agreement. However, as the only G7 country to promote coal at home and the biggest coal financier internationally, Japan nearly fails to deliver strong message on climate. This looks likely to be remembered as the summit at which Japan missed the chance to capitalise on momentum for change and left it to China to lead the world on renewable energy.”
Sven Harmeling, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator, CARE International: “During the past two weeks in Bonn, we saw that the Paris spirit is still alive, but the implementation of the new climate deal remains a huge challenge. There has been some progress in helping vulnerable countries and people adapt to the dangerous impacts of climate change, but more focus must be given to local gender-equitable adaptation plans and programmes. When countries meet at COP22 in Marrakesh, we expect to see a clearer roadmap for scaling up financial support for adaptation, and for addressing unavoidable loss and damage.”
Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor at Christian Aid: “Marrakesh needs to be seen as the Renewables COP. It offers an enormous opportunity to shift the conversation from grand political rhetoric to the implementation of short-term concrete actions which will keep the agreed temperature goals of 1.5°C and 2°C within reach. In Marrakesh countries must support the urgent need for more renewable energy in developing countries. There are exciting enterprises like the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative and the Solar Alliance which were launched in Paris and are building on the global need for renewable energy.”
Jens Mattias Clausen, Senior Climate Change Adviser at Greenpeace Nordic: “When countries next meet at COP22 in Marrakech, they need to make serious headway on the rules of the new climate regime and give the necessary teeth to the Paris Agreement. But above all, Marrakech needs to be all about action. Last year’s summit in Paris saw several promising renewable energy initiatives launched and today leaders from three developing country groups, representing over 90 countries, made a strong call for global action on renewable energy in Marrakesh.”
Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Global Adaptation Expert for WWF International: “This year average global temperatures were more than 1°C higher than before the industrial era – and we have had 7 straight months of record breaking global heat with widespread climate change impacts. As temperatures soar, vulnerable people and ecosystems will have to adapt more drastically and rapidly, but they will also face impacts that go beyond the potential for adaptation. That’s why negotiators need to urgently resolve the issue of adaptation and loss and damage to ensure that the necessary support will be delivered to help those that are least responsible but facing the worst consequences.”
Armelle Le Comte, Advocacy Officer for Climate and Fossil Fuels at Oxfam France: “Millions of the world’s most vulnerable people are already facing the disastrous impacts of climate change. Yet, adaptation has been short-changed. COP 22 needs to pick up the unfinished business from Paris. At COP 22, developed countries must present a roadmap to show how they will deliver their $100bn a year promise, and adaptation finance must me a core component of this roadmap.”
We are at crossroads in the struggle for sustainable agriculture, safe foods, biosafety and biosecurity. Navigating this intersection and assuring Nigerians that their concerns are not pushed out of view by profit-driven biotech transnational corporations and their agents can only be achieved through a broad movement of vigilant Nigerians, and Africans at large.
Nnimmo Bassey
The coming together of faith based organisations, farmers, consumers, academics, youths and non-governmental organisations to examine the critical issues under the co-coordination of the Africa Faith & Justice Network (AFJN), Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Africa Europe Faith & Justice Network (AEFJN) and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) indicates that the movement to pursue the best interest of Nigerians and Africans is on track.
The saying goes that a people united can never be defeated. Today, we affirm that our unity is built on sound knowledge and on a commitment to ensure that our agricultural and food systems are not by any means compromised or corrupted.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), with its Precautionary Principle, sets the minimum international biosafety standards for the trans-boundary movement of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and requires that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, the lack of full scientific knowledge shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective means to prevent environmental degradation. This key principle is lacking in Nigeria’s Biosafety law. With such a lacuna and many others – including lack of provisions for strict liability, labelling of GMO products, open and full public consultations – there is no guarantee for our biosafety and ultimately biosecurity.
The desperate push by the biotech industry to invade our agriculture and foods has come on the heels of coming into effect of the severely defective National Biosafety Management Act. That law was one of the last actions of the immediate past presidency. It is an act that threatens to enthrone a biosafety regime that caters for the interest of biotech industries seeking markets for their genetically modified crops and related chemicals.
We demand that current applications by Monsanto to bring in genetically modified varieties of maize and cotton into Nigeria should be set aside until we have a system that can protect the interest of Nigerians and is in line with the African Model Law on biosafety as well as the requirements of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Although the law is recently enacted, we cannot avoid quickly repealing it or, at a minimum, drastically revising it to ensure that risky or harmful substances do not have a free reign in our land.
Our agricultural systems, including that of saving and sharing seeds, should never be tampered with. Our biodiversity is our strength and this critical inbuilt resilience will be lost if we allow GMOs to erode or erase our heritage and destroy our soils and water with harmful chemicals.
We call on relevant government ministries to jealously guard our crop and animal varieties, provide rural infrastructure, support agro-allied industries for food processing and preservation and expand extension services that were severely constricted by the requirements of the infamous structural adjustment programmes.
Nigeria is not a dumping ground for risky technologies and we are not about to yield to be used as guinea pigs for experimentation by profit driven entities and their local agents. We stand for support of small holder farmers, food sovereignty encompassing our right to safe and culturally appropriate food. We stand for agricultural systems that do not harm the climate.
By Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation – HOMEF)
