Nigeria’s health minister, Dr. Isaac Adewole, has said that the government is taking adequate measures to contain the outbreak of Lassa fever that has killed 35 people in seven states since November.
Dr. Isaac Adewole
The minister urged Nigerians not to panic over the outbreak, with 14 lab-confirmed cases among 76 suspected ones.
Lassa, named after a Nigerian town where the acute viral hemorrhagic fever first was identified in 1969, has the same symptoms as Ebola and also requires that health workers wear protective gear and patients be isolated. Only about 1 percent of patients die. The disease is carried by rats and mostly affects rural communities with poor sanitation or crowded living conditions. It is only found in West Africa.
In a statement at the weekend, Adewole appealed to members of the public to be calm.
Lassa fever or Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF) is an acute viralhemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria. Lassa fever is a member of the Arenaviridaevirus family. Similar to ebola, clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade, but had not been connected with a viral pathogen.
Lassa frequently infects people in West Africa. It results in 300,000 to 500,000 cases annually and causes about 5,000 deaths each year. Outbreaks of the disease have been observed in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Central African Republic. The primary animal host of the Lassa virus is the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), an animal found in most of sub-Saharan Africa. The virus is probably transmitted by contact with the feces or urine of animals accessing grain stores in residences. Given its high rate of incidence, Lassa fever is a major problem in affected countries.
The President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Malachy Agbo, has been appointed the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Malachy Agbo. Photo credit: theeagleonline.com.ng
Agbo, alongside 16 others were appointed by the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on Thursday.
Ugwuanyi immediately inaugurated the chairmen and their deputies on Thursday.
Others appointed alongside Agbo as chairmen of the state’s 17 local government councils include Prof. Rose Onah, Nsukka; Ekwe Chidi, Aninri; Igwe Isaac Chukwudi, Enugu North; Sunday Ugwu, Enugu South; and Fred Ezenwa, Ezeagu.
Others are Uwake Ezeja, Igboeze North; Fidelis Odoh, Igboeze South; and Benjamin Edeoga, Isiuzo.
Speaking at their inauguration on Thursday, Ugwuanyi charged the chairmen to live within their respective council areas.
He said they should brace themselves for a governance style embedded in strict fiscal discipline in view of the peculiar situations confronting each of their council areas.
Emphasising the imperative of the new helmsmen domiciling in their local government council areas, the governor told them that the era of running the local government system from hotels was over in the state.
He reminded them that government and the people of Enugu State expected good results from them.
He thanked the outgone chairmen and the councillors for the service they rendered in their respective capacities, wishing them well in their future endeavours.
Governor Ugwuanyi also thanked the heads of personnel management of local governments in the state and treasurers in the council areas for their services during the period under review.
He disclosed that the swearing-in of caretaker councilors would take place on January 11, 2016 at the various local government council areas by the local government council caretaker chairmen.
Governor Ugwuanyi retained three of the local government council chairmen.
They are Prince Cornelius Nnaji of Enugu East Local Government Area, Afam Okereke of Nkanu West Local Government Area and Cornnel Onwubuya of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area.
Earlier in a speech, the state Commissioner for Local Government, Chief Chijioke Edeoga, thanked Governor Ugwuanyi for constituting an amiable team made up of people with pedigree and integrity.
Edeoga said: “When you look at the team that assembled here, dear governor, the outcome validates your sleepless night before their selection.”
The commissioner called on the appointees to be mindful of their obligations in their various council areas.
He gave them insights of what they are expected to meet in their various council areas in respect of duties, responsibilities and financial debts.
Speaking on behalf of the sworn-in caretaker council chairmen and their deputies, Onah thanked the governor for finding them worthy to serve the state.
She said: “The chairmen and the deputies are very grateful to you for finding us worthy to occupy this seat of responsibilities and to contribute our own quota to your administration towards the growth and development of Enugu State.”
Onah promised that they would not betray Ugwuanyi but will strive to promote the good and aspirations of the state.
She added that in spite of the current enormous financial challenges in the country, their selection was something to thank God for as they were chosen among many contenders.
She observed that the challenges of local government councils in respect of financing in the state is enormous, adding that she had also heard about bailout, reminding the governor of the need to bail them out.
She promised the readiness of the team to strive towards pulling the local government system up and out of problems and odds.
World Vision’s investment is transforming Malawian lives and giving a fresh hope to thousands of impoverished people
Eighteen-year-old Daniel Mwanza and his two sisters recall having no kind words towards their parents due to poverty levels they were subjected to.
The three children from the family of Francis Mwanza from the area of Group Village Headman (GVH) Funachina in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nthondo, Ntchisi in Malawi struggled to have good food, water, sanitation and hygiene and decent shelter for years.
“My sisters were once deprived of better education because fees to go to private secondary schools after they had missed out on the list of those selected to pursue education in public secondary schools,” he says.
Daniel and her sisters further admit facing nutritional challenges, which World Vision wants dealt with by championing food security programmes in the current financial year using 20 percent of Malawi’s fresh water through irrigation.
Daniel (left) and mother
How Life Changed
In a dramatic turn of events, problems the Mwanza family faced are history such that they have become role models due to various achievements – thanks to the dairy farming and seed multiplication projects.
This follows a decision by Mwanza and his wife to join Cheka Cooperatives in 2009 after undergoing a World Vision-funded training in dairy farming and seed multiplication as part of modern methods of agricultural production.
After the training, World Vision provided cooling equipment and a generator, so that milk is not spoiled once farmers supply the product to the cooperative for market links.
The cooperative – which was registered in 2009 – has about 1,113 members and others are on course to joining it due to its benefits. Initially, the number of dairy cows has increased from 30 to 215 under Cheka Cooperatives.
A warehouse was also constructed in Nthondo Area Programme (AP) with funding from the United States support office. Farmers keep their seeds and other crops in the warehouse pending market identification during each harvesting season.
“After the training in 2009, I was given one dairy cow, which has given birth to seven more – meaning that I have eight dairy cows now. I am able to supply milk to the cooperative for business and earn more money than before,” says Mwanza, adding that without a certificate one cannot do dairy farming.
His joining and engagements in dairy farming enables him to procure more bags of fertiliser any growing season, which he could not before due to poverty levels.
“I was a regular victim of food handouts, but this kind of farming has put my family on another positive scale,” says Mwanza.
During a tour of Nthondo AP, which included visitors from World Vision Malawi’s support teams such as South Korea, Taiwan, US, Germany, New Zealand and Canada, it was learnt that Mwanza remains one of the outstanding members of the cooperative in terms of human development.
This is because Mwanza is now a hero. He has improved lives of not only his children and family, but community at large through dairy and seed multiplication.
The family of Mwanza has since 2009 bought a one-tone-car, a maize mill, a motorbike. He has created job opportunities by employing five people who work on dairy cows, maize mill and his car.
Knowing that selection to public secondary schools is not easy; Mwanza and his wife Emelda, decided to send their two daughters to a private secondary school using proceeds from dairy and seed multiplication ventures.
“I am now a financially blessed person. I don’t complain much about how and what to feed my family, even school fees and water access. I have what a family needs.
“Above all, I aim higher so my children do not suffer, but rather have the much needed attention for them to be educated and live a healthier life,” says Mwanza.
Profitability of Farming
Just this year, Mwanza has earned close to K1.5 million from maize sales. “I practice modern farming that is why I make such money,” he says.
His wife Emelda alluded that they also get K94 000 per month from the sales of milk, a development which portrays that the family is indeed doing well in as far as village life is concerned. She adds that they used to sleep on empty stomachs.
“As a mother, I am now happy because we have anything that we desire to service our family. Money is no longer a problem because some money is gained through matola (local paying transport), so too the maize mill,” states Emelda, a mother of seven.
“We eat a balanced meal and drink a lot of milk daily that is why I look healthier. Previously, I was not like this since food was a problem. Sometimes, we used to fight over food,” echoes Daniel, who is now in Standard Eight.
He says they do work hand in hand with their parents in managing dairy and seed multiplication projects once they are back from school to have the spirit of self-dependence when they grow up.
Emelda (right) with Kathyanga (middle) and another official
Views of Communities and Support Offices
Cheka Cooperatives marketing secretary Jonathan Chisinga in an interview said the area lagged behind in water and sanitation, health, education, business, farming among others.
He says such programmes have helped in uplifting the well-being of children, who used to drop out of school due to lack of fees and malnutrition challenges.
“Farmers bring their products to Cheka. In turn, we as executive members source markets for them. Once their products are sold, they get their money based on volumes they brought to the association,” he says.
In his own words, T/A Nthondo admitted that daily livelihoods of Mwanza, other members of Cheka Cooperatives too have improved.
“We want more people to join the cooperative to deal with poverty levels in this area. We also thank World Vision because since the introduction of these programmes, communities can afford an improved life and send children to better schools,” said Nthondo.
World Vision Central Zone operations manager Rachel Kathyanga wants more markets explored besides the fact that communities should grow more crops or engage in dairy farming.
“Imagine! The Mwanza family was given one cow, but today they have eight and make money through milk sales, this is great. Furthermore, it is pleasing to note that they have bought a vehicle, maize mill and motorbike.
“As World Vision and support offices, we are amused with this positive change and that is what we want to see in our operations,” said Kathyanga.
A delegation of various support officials, who recently visited Nthondo, also underscored the need for good transition ahead of local ownership from 2019.
John Michael, the leader of delegation said: “Our visit is meant to see how locals would work after 2018, when we close shop. We also want to find out what we can do now so that the projects are sustained after 2018.”
While the programmes in Nthondo are phasing off in 2018, the likes of Mwanza and Chisinga, think there should be more trainings in how to manage projects.
How do we know our climate is changing permanently, rather than just going through a normal period of flux? Let’s look at 10 major changes scientists have seen in our climate system to help set the record straight
The disappearance of glaciers is considered by scientists as one of the clearest signs of climate change. Photo credit: beforeitsnews.com
Few global trends have been as controversial as climate change and the Earth’s warming. The Earth has gone through many shifts in cooling and warming driven by natural factors like the sun’s energy or variations in its orbit, but the trend scientists have seen over the past 50 years is unmistakable.
Let’s take a closer look: globally, average surface temperatures increased 1.1—1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6—0.9 degrees Celsius) between 1906 and 2005. However, it’s the rate of temperature change that’s especially troubling to scientists; temperatures have risen nearly twice as fast in the last 50 years alone.
What other ways has our climate system changed in the last century? How do we really know our climate is changing permanently, rather than just going through a normal period of flux? Between opinions from climate deniers and misinformation campaigns from the fossil fuel industry, it can be a challenge to get the unobstructed facts.
To help set the record straight, The Climate Realty Project highlights 10 major changes scientists have seen in our climate system. Each indicator described below has been extensively studied over the past several decades, and was captured from many different data sets and technologies.
Air temperatures over land are increasing
It’s clear that weather stations on land show average air temperatures are rising, and as a result, the frequency and severity of droughts and heat waves are increasing. Intense droughts can lead to destructive wildfires, failed crops, and low water supplies, many of which are deeply affecting southern areas of the United States and other parts of the world.
Air temperatures over oceans are increasing
Roughly 70 percent of the world is covered by oceans, so you can understand how hotter air over them could make a vast difference in the climate system.
Oceans evaporate more water as the air right near the surface gets warmer. The result? More floods, more hurricanes, and more extreme precipitation events.
Arctic sea ice is decreasing.
Satellite images from space show that the area covered by sea ice in the Arctic is shrinking, and it’s continued a downward trend for the past 30 years. The Arctic ice cap grows each winter when there’s less sunlight, and shrinks each summer when days are longer, reaching its lowest point of the year in September.
Some research suggests that the Arctic could lose almost all of its summer ice cover by 2100, but others believe that it could melt completely much sooner than that – in just a few decades.
Glaciers are melting
The disappearance of glaciers is one of the clearest signs of climate change. People who rely on melting glacier water are facing shortages, and in many regions, the situation is only getting worse.
In a world unaffected by climate change, glacier mass stays balanced, meaning the ice that evaporates in the summer is fully replaced by snowfall in the winter. However, when more ice melts than is replaced, the glacier loses mass. And the people who depend on melting ice for water to support their farming and living needs are deeply affected.
Sea levels are rising
Sea levels have been rising for the past century. And the pace is only increasing in recent years as glaciers melt faster and water temperatures increase, causing oceans to expand. You can imagine how this would affect the almost 40 percent of the US population that lives in a highly populated coastal area. Let’s not forget that eight of the 10 largest cities in the world are near a coast.
Consider how many millions of people are at risk as sea levels rise, storms intensify, and more extreme flooding occurs. Additionally, marine life is threatened as salt water intrudes into fresh water aquifers, many of which support human communities and natural ecosystems.
Humidity is increasing
More humidity means more water vapour is in the air, making it feel stickier in hot weather. Water vapour itself is an important part of the water cycle, and it contributes to the earth’s natural greenhouse effect. Air conditioners have to work much harder to make us feel cool as the amount of water vapour in the air increases. Which means more energy use, which can in turn contribute to more climate change. Lose-lose.
Ocean heat content is increasing
The ocean stores and releases heat over long periods of time. This is a natural and important part of stabilising the climate system. Natural climate patterns (think, El Niño) occur regularly because of warmer ocean waters and influence areas like regional climates and marine life.
But it’s when short-term, natural climate patterns like El Niño occur at the same time as oceans are becoming warmer and warmer that we know that larger changes are happening. The increased heat content leads to higher sea levels, melting glaciers, and stress to marine ecosystems.
Sea surface temperature is increasing
Measuring instruments show that water temperatures at the ocean’s surface are going up. To some extent, this is a normal pattern: the ocean surface warms as it absorbs sunlight. The ocean then releases some of its heat into the atmosphere, creating wind and rain clouds.
However, as the ocean’s surface temperature continues to increase over time, more and more heat is released into the atmosphere. This additional heat can lead to stronger and more frequent storms like tropical cyclones and hurricanes.
However, as the snow and ice melts, it’s replaced by dark land and ocean, both of which absorb energy. The amount of snow and ice loss in the last 30 years is higher than many scientists predicted, which means the Earth is absorbing more solar energy than had been projected.
Earth’s lower atmosphere temperature is increasing
The lowest layer of the atmosphere, called the troposphere, is the layer we’re most familiar with – it’s where we live and where our weather occurs. Satellite measurements show that this lowest layer of the atmosphere is warming as greenhouse gases build up and trap heat that radiates from the Earth’s surface.
Scientists tell us that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, caused this increase in atmospheric temperatures. In fact, carbon dioxide levels have increased about 40 percent since the Industrial Revolution began in 1750. And unless we put a stop to this trend as soon as possible, these levels – and temperatures – likely will increase even more.
The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has hailed the choice of Professor Lanre Fagbohun as the new Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), describing his nomination by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as a step in the right direction in positioning the institution for academic excellence.
Professor Lanre Fagbohun
The post of the Vice-Chancellor of LASU became vacant on October 31, 2015 following the expiration of the tenure of the former V-C, Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa.
Fourteen professors applied from different institutions applied for the vacant slot last December, out of which nine were shortlisted after a thorough screening of their credentials and other pre-requisites for slot. The nine were screened by the LASU Joint Committee of the Senate and Governing Council with Fagbohun coming first, followed by Prof. Hamidu Sanni of the Department of Islamic Studies, LASU, and Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji Bello of the Lagos State University’s College of Medicine (LASUCOM).
Fagbohun had, at different times been a member of Senate of LASU, Head of Department of Business Law and later Department of Private and Property law, co-ordinator, Law Centre, and co-ordinator of the Department of Environmental Law and Allied Disciplines of the Centre for Environment and Science Education of the institution. In 2010, he joined the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) where he taught Advanced Environmental Law and Policy, and Advanced Legal Methods and Research to post graduates students.
ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Godwin Uyi Ojo, said: “This is good news not only to environmental justice advocates, but also to the larger Nigerian society that will benefit from the wealth of knowledge that is the embodiment that Fagbohun personifies. Governor Ambode has made a good choice.
“ERA/FoEN management is particularly elated at Fagbohun’s nomination when viewed in the light of his innumerable contributions to environmental justice struggles and the quest for a better society in his public discourses on environmental governance and the rule of law.”
He added that Fagbohun, as chairman of ERA/FoEN National Environmental Consultation in 2011, made timeless recommendations on mitigating the impact of climate change in Nigeria, as well as the need for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels – suggestion that is now the plank of the current administration following the global plunge in oil prices and its impact on oil-dependent nations.
According to Ojo, Fagbohun’s immense contributions to the improvement of society has earned him such honours as the distinguished personality awards; distinguished speaker awards; distinguished achievements and excellence in the field of environmental law awards; distinguished teacher and mentor awards; and dedicated service to humanity awards, among others.
He noted that the new VC had at various times been resource person to the British Council, Committee on Ecology and Environment of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, United Nations Development Programme, the National Judicial Council, and ERA/FoEN.
He has publications in local and international journals in the area of environmental law, and co-edited several books among which is a 25-chapter book on “Environmental Law Policy”. His latest work is titled: “The Law of Oil Pollution and Environmental Restoration: A Comparative Review.”
A new charity has been founded to work with faith groups on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the world’s poorest countries. “Faith in Water,” as it is christened, is said to be the first charity to focus specifically on working with faith-managed schools on WASH issues to improve children’s lives and create lasting community impact.
Helping people access clean water and safe sanitation is one of the ways the new organisation intends to improve lives
Based in Bristol, UK, the group works globally with all major faiths, says its promoters in a statement. They listed its key aims to include: helping faiths to focus on WASH in their schools and communities, and helping secular NGOs to build effective partnerships with faith groups.
Founder and director, Mary Bellekom, says: “Clean water and good sanitation are essential for health, education and livelihoods. Yet 750 million people – one in nine worldwide – don’t have clean drinking water and more than a third of people – around 2.5 billion – lack safe sanitation facilities.
“Diseases caused by dirty water and inadequate sanitation not only trap people in a cycle of illness, poverty and poor quality of life, they are the second biggest killer of children aged under five worldwide and are responsible for more child deaths than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
“Helping people access clean water and safe sanitation is one of the most important ways we can improve people’s lives – and working with faith groups is one of the most effective ways of reaching the world’s poorest people. Faith groups are involved in at least 50% of schools worldwide so they have a significant role to play in promoting WASH, not just for children but for their families too.”
According to her, Faith in Water grew out of the UK-based Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) which has spent 20 years working with faith groups on environmental issues. It was founded after it became clear that there was both a gap and an opportunity when it came to working on WASH issues.
Ms Bellekom adds: “Around 84% of the world’s population say they belong to a faith, and water and cleanliness have spiritual significance in many of the world’s key religions. Yet faith groups are rarely seen as potential development partners, and faiths themselves do not always make the link between their spiritual teachings and practical action to improve WASH.
“At ARC we constantly heard from our faith partners, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, that water and sanitation were their biggest problems in their schools.
“We realised that no one was focusing on working with faith schools as a gateway into the wider community. Because of ARC’s 20-year experience of working with faith groups, we know the impact that they can have. That’s why Faith in Water was set up as an independent charity dedicated to working on WASH.”
Faith in Water is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (No 1164290). One of its first projects is a 32-page publication sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on how faiths and secular groups can work better together.
Putting Clean Hands Together, as the publication is called, makes the case for why faith schools should give high priority to WASH issues, and why secular groups should partner with faith schools for increased impact. It also looks at the spiritual significance of water and cleanliness in five major faiths: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism, and gives examples of case studies. It can be downloaded from Faith in Water’s website: http://www.faithinwater.org/putting-clean-hands-together.html.
Approved by over 190 countries, the Paris Agreement is a universal, legal agreement that will be opened for signatures in April 2016 and come into force in January 2020
Roger-Mark De Souza. Photo credit: newsecuritybeat.org
The groundbreaking agreement reached at the 2015 Paris climate change conference is a diplomatic triumph. Laurent Fabius, foreign minister of France and president of the meeting formally known as the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), called the final text “differentiated, fair, dynamic, durable, balanced, and legally binding.”
The Paris Agreement is a universal, legal agreement under the UNFCCC, the international convention on climate change which came into force in 1994. More than 190 countries approved the Paris climate Agreement, which will be opened for signatures in April 2016 and come into force in January 2020.
The Paris Agreement represents a new era for climate diplomacy because it represents significant progress on the three main pillars of climate change policy (mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage), and significantly welcomed to the negotiation table key players who had been missing in action, such as China and Canada.
There are two main policy responses to climate change: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation addresses the root causes of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation seeks to lower the risks posed by the consequences of climate changes. A third policy response addresses the residual impacts of climate change on vulnerable countries that mitigation and adaptation efforts do not address. This third area is usually referred to as “loss and damage,” which is either what could be repaired, such as critical infrastructure, or what is lost forever due to climate change, such as ancestral lands submerged under rising seas.
For the first time, all developed and developing nations are required to take action to tackle global warming by limiting their greenhouse gas emissions. Governments are to hold the rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius compared to preindustrial levels and subsequently work on limiting the increase to 1.5 degrees. The Agreement requires action for the first time from developing nations, including large emitters such as China and India, to find ways to lower the trajectory of their emissions growth. Under the terms of the deal, every five years each country will submit a new national climate action plan, which cannot be less ambitious than the previous plan. The five-year review will be accompanied by a reporting and transparency system. The 1.5-degree target is a win for small islands and other low-lying countries, which argue that their lands and livelihoods are at risk if the world warms by more.
On the adaptation front, the Paris Agreement establishes a goal to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability. Beyond adaptation, the Agreement specifically makes reference to “loss and damage” due to climate-related disasters, but a footnote clearly states that this reference does not involve liability or compensation. The Paris Agreement makes permanent, however, the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage, established two years ago to find ways to address these issues. The outcome also establishes a task force on climate change-related displacement within the Warsaw International Mechanism. Wealthier nations also agreed to provide $100 billion a year toward climate adaptation in support of poorer nations. But it is not yet certain how firm this commitment is, and, indeed, how quickly the money will flow.
By Roger-Mark De Souza (Director of Population, Environmental Security, and Resilience at the Wilson Centre, where he leads programmes on climate change resilience, reproductive and maternal health, environmental security, and livelihoods, including the Global Sustainability and Resilience Programme, Environmental Change and Security Programme, and Maternal Health Initiative)
The 30-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) over the delayed clean-up of the devastated Ogoni environment did not come as a surprise to observers. The President was widely acclaimed when he declared that the implementation of the UNEP report, released on 4 August 2011, would be fast-tracked. That was five months ago. The initial things that were expected to be done include populating and inauguration of the structures that would over see the implementation exercise. These have not been done. Without these basic structures nothing else can happen.
A banner by the Ogoni Cleanup Campaign. Photo credit: saction.org
In the words of MOSOP president, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, “We are seizing this opportunity to remind the government that the unusual delay for the take-off of the project is becoming unbearable and indeed taxing our patience.” He went on to urge the Federal Government to announce the structures and the roadmap for the implementation of the report in a manner that respects the sensibilities of the communities.
He further stated, “The ongoing delay on the part of the government will continue to be seen as an act of genocide being committed against the Ogoni people. We are giving the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum to commence the implementation of the report or we will take up a series of non-violent measures to press for our demand.”
The struggle by the Ogoni people took on special impetus in 1993 at the maiden Ogoni Day celebration at which event Shell, the oil company most implicated in the decimation of the Ogoni environment, was declared persona non grata in Ogoniland. The present ultimatum was issued at a rally held to mark the 23rd anniversary of the epochal Ogoni Day on 4 January 2016.
Characterising the slow track on which the implementation process appears to be stuck as perpetuating genocide against the Ogoni people may appear to be rather strong language, but what are the true implications of continued inaction? Disease, poverty and very high mortality rates.
The level of pollution in Ogoni is absolutely astonishing. One can easily become dizzy, just stepping into some of the communities due to the heavy cloak of hydrocarbons fumes hanging in the air. Oil spills clog the streams, creeks and swamps and in some places dribbles of the noxious substance are found along community footpaths. Making matters worse is the fact that some of the spills that occurred years and decades ago have been either ignored or have been shoddily handled. Feeble attempts have been made at K-Dere to cover up decades old soil spill with soil.
Examples of crude covered environment dot the K-Dere, Bodo, Goi and other communities. What we see in Ogoni is sheer ecocide.
UNEP specifically called for emergency actions with regard to some of the heavily polluted areas such as Nisisioken Ogale. Here is what UNEP said in a press release issued on the occasion of the release of their report about five years ago:
“In at least 10 Ogoni communities where drinking water is contaminated with high levels of hydrocarbons, public health is seriously threatened, according to the assessment that was released today.
“In one community, at Nisisioken Ogale, in western Ogoniland, families are drinking water from wells that is contaminated with benzene– a known carcinogen–at levels over 900 times above World Health Organization guidelines. The site is close to a Nigerian National Petroleum Company pipeline.
“UNEP scientists found an 8 cm layer of refined oil floating on the groundwater which serves the wells. This was reportedly linked to an oil spill which occurred more than six years ago.
“While the report provides clear operational recommendations for addressing the widespread oil pollution across Ogoniland, UNEP recommends that the contamination in Nisisioken Ogale warrants emergency action ahead of all other remediation efforts.”
The clean up of Ogoni environment will not be a 100m sprint, but a marathon requiring 25-30 years of dedicated work to accomplish. We are inching towards the five years mark since the alarm bells sounded at the release of the UNEP report. It is five months since President Buhari announced he would fast-track the implementation of the report. We cannot see anything happening on the ground, as attested to by MOSOP.
Dwindling oil revenue should not be an excuse for not cleaning up the environment of Ogoniland, the Niger Delta and other polluted places in Nigeria. It should rather be an impetus for taking the clean up challenge and punishing polluters who are hooked on habitually corrupting our environment. Ecological corruption is more deadly than financial corruption as it sentences whole communities of humans and other species to ill health and death.
Let the clean up shift form the slow track to the announced fast track. And let the 30-day ultimatum be an encouragement to do so. The Ogoni people have been supremely patient and further testing of their patience would not be the best way to go.
By Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation – HOMEF)
The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has urged the Federal Government to immediately commence the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the clean-up of Ogoniland.
MOSOP President, Legborsi Pyagbara
MOSOP President, Legborsi Pyagbara, who made the submission on Monday (January 4, 2016) at the 23rd anniversary of Ogoni Day in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, issued a 30-day ultimatum to government to implement the report.
Pyagbara declared that the Ogoni people would not relent in embarking on protests if government failed to meet their demand, even as he lamented that the people of the area were tired over the continued delay in implementing the UNEP recommendations.
The MOSOP boss warned that Ogoni people would take to the streets in peaceful protests after the expiration of the 30-day ultimatum until the UNEP report was implemented. He described as pathetic a situation where the FG had refused to carry out the instructions of UNEP on the clean-up of Ogoniland more than four years after the recommendation was made.
His words: “As part of Ogoni Project 2015, we began a multifaceted campaign involving protest, letter writing campaigns, media advocacy and international advocacy for the implementation of the UNEP report.
“We commend the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government for the renewed interest in the UNEP report and his approval of the fast-track actions for the implementation of the report.
“However, we are seizing this opportunity to remind the government that the unusual delay for the take-off of the project is becoming unbearable and indeed taxing our patience.
“We urge the Federal Government to, without further delay, bring into being the announced structures and the roadmap for the implementation of the report that respect the sensibilities of the communities.
“The ongoing delay on the part of the government will continue to be seen as an act of genocide being committed against the Ogoni people. We are giving the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum to commence the implementation of the report or we will take up a series of non-violent measures to press for our demand.”
Chairman on the occasion, Prof. Ben Naanen, called on the people of the area to form a united front in order to achieve the struggle of the implementation of the UNEP report.
Naanen vowed that the struggle for the actualisation of the freedom of the Ogoni would not stop until their demands were met.
Additionally, Pyagbara called on the Rivers State Government to commence the dualisation of Saakpenwa Road as it promised during a campaign in the area. According to him, the road would boost the economic well-being of the people of the area if it was dualised.
He urged the youths to desist from behaviour that could sabotage the struggle of the ancestors of the land.
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, promised that the government would soon commence the construction of Saakpenwa Road.
Wike, who was represented at the event by his Commissioner for Housing, Emma Okah, disclosed that the dualisation project would start before the end of January.
Many may be wondering what informed the title of this piece particularly the term “genetic modification” or more appropriately “genetic engineering”. The choice is simple: to join the discussion and highlight what an earlier article captioned: “What they do not tell you about genetic modification (II)”, published by Dr. Kabril az-Zubair on page 33 of the Sunday Trust newspaper on 20th December, 2015.
From his credentials, Dr. az-Zubair is a molecular biologists and teaches Microbiology at the Cambridge University, United Kingdom. His profile also revealed that, before proceeding to the UK, he served as director under the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and later lectured at the University of Abuja.
In the aforementioned publication, he gave many reasons why genetic modification is bad and should not be adopted. First, his grievance is that the biggest promoter of genetic modified organisms (GMOs) globally is the US-based Corporation known as Monsanto, and the US government. He described their interest as intertwined, and regretted that many governments including Nigeria actually enacted laws allowing Monsanto to perpetrate a market strategy that threaten both conventional farming methods and food security generally.
His other quarrel raised against GM is that most of its protagonists are those who either have direct or indirect link with Monsanto. He concluded by challenging the claim by protagonists that GM foods truly are safe for human consumption and referred to such claim as “utter nonsense”.
Like earlier stated, my involvement in this discourse is simply to bridge the knowledge divide created by this publication and many others maybe out of omission or for self-serving reasons. Experiences from various countries where GMOs have successfully been deployed especially in agriculture, reveal that people resist modern biotechnology primarily either because they lack understanding on the science of genetic engineering or others like social cum religious and political reason, which truly have nothing to do with security and safety of the technology. But, if I am correct, it is only fair to assume based on his background that the author should better be informed on this science, as well as its application.
However, I beg to disagree that GMOs are “utter nonsense” as argued by Dr. az-Zubair. Pharmaceutical “GMO” precedes agricultural “GMO” by several decades. We rely on biotechnology for many lifesaving medicines, the first of which was human insulin. Since 1978, human insulin has been produced using bacteria engineered with the human insulin gene. It is a much better product because bovine and porcine insulin vary slightly in their composition as compared to human insulin. It is a lifesaver for Type I and insulin dependent diabetics. Because these products are highly regulated, implications of referring to them as utter nonsense contradict reason.
Let’s be clear – “GMO” or “crop biotechnology” isn’t a food, it is a plant breeding process. It is the process of introducing a new traitto a specific plant or seed. It is similar to traditional breeding, hybridisation, radiation or chemical mutagenesis. It is the same method by which conventional and organic seeds are improved. The difference between crop biotechnology and traditional farming is that, GM is a more specific, less random method of bringing out a trait such as drought tolerance or virus resistance in a specific crop.
One of the challenges preventing the easy adoption and use of modern biotechnology mostly in agriculture cardinally revolves around the availability and dissemination of adequate science based information, as against the argument and fears usually raised by anti-GM campaigners concerning the environmental and health safety of products. What those who are not in support of genetic modification are not telling the public is that “since farmers planted the first set of GM crops in 1996, there have been no documented safety issues” till the time of this write up. They always fail or perhaps to beef-up their point intentionally refuse to tell the public that GM crops undergo more testing and oversight than any other agricultural products, and, that their safety is well-established by several studies and years of real world experience.
Many anti-GM advocates always focus their attention on and build their arguments around the business dynamics of agro Corporations, government regulations and loss sight of the potential benefits associated with the technology. Yes, Monsanto and US government maybe the highest promoter of modern biotechnology practices but, in reality, the concept of this technology surpasses all business strategies that could ever be introduced by any business Corporation, or national government.
In Nigeria, well over 70 million farmers are estimated to benefit and experience economic transformation similar to Brazil, India, Burkina Faso, Egypt, South Africa and Sudan if GMOs and safe modern biotechnology practices are effectively deployed. Additionally, 25, 000 jobs are also projected to be created annually, and considerably help reduce Nigeria’s environmental footprint to achieve global target.
All over the world, we have seen significant savings in pesticides, improvement in inputs and soils management, and ultimately, how GM products have enabled farms to become sustainable especially in mitigating impacts of climate change on food production. So, GM certainly hasn’t proven to be utter non-sense for countries that have adopted the technology as many are forced to believe.
Truth be told, the perception that GM foods are not safe for consumption just because Monsanto and the US government are at the forefront of championing the technology is too simplistic to influence any constructive mind. At this time in our nation building, when informed people are required to help enhance capacity and disseminate accurate science based information to enable the public understand, adopt and benefit from the huge potentials of GMOs, it is highly pathetic that someone like Dr. az-Zubair, who expectedly should better be informed about modern biotechnology having occupied very high ranking position at NABDA and contributed to the enactment of several legislations is now the one raising the anti-GM flag.
To have limited the safety of GMOs to Monsanto and the US government evidently violate the principle of balancing, a fundamental element in writing. Psychologically, such error normally occurs when the writer is dominated by one side, as against the facts of the story.
In conclusion, we as individuals have a range of tolerance for change and for innovation. Some are early adopters, out there trying the newest and the latest technology. Others are more skeptical, a sort of “wait and see” approach for innovation and technology. Therefore, let this serve as wake-up call to all institutions mostly government involved in GM businesses to rise to the occasion and engage the public with adequate and accurate science based information, this is so because, such information may become the only tool available at their disposal to defend themselves when those who are not in support of GM tries to force their message on them.
By Etta Michael Bisong (Coordinator, Journalists for Social Development Initiative – JSDI)
