Director-General of the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, has warned that ‘frontline’ states in the North should expect more flooding before the end of the year.
A flooded neighbourhood in Kaduna. Photo credit: saharareporters.com
The frontline states, according to the NEMA boss, include Kaduna, Kebbi, Adamawa, Niger, Kogi and Jigawa states as well as other states mentioned in the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s prediction.
The NEMA boss said so far 63 Local Government Areas in the North had been ravaged by flood.
“NIMET seasonal prediction indicated that about 10 local government areas were affected by this flood in Kaduna State, about 16 local governments in Jigawa, about 17 local governments in Kebbi, almost 20 local governments in Adamawa State and other states that were mentioned in NIMET prediction.”
He said that with the release of water from the Lagdo dam in Cameroon, flooding was imminent in the northern parts of the country.
He noted that the only solution to avert future occurrence was for Nigerians to avoid building houses in flood-prone areas.
“You recall in 2012, we had a similar incident, even more devastating than what we are witnessing now, that was when Cameroon released water from Lagdo Dam.
“It is a routine maintenance that they carry out when their dams are about to over flow, so they release water annually.
Just days ago, a massive flood reportedly displaced no fewer than 30,000 people, submerged about 2,000 house and killed one person in Kaduna State.
Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Ezekiel Baba-Karik, described the disaster as the worst in the history of the state.
About 10 local government areas of the state were said to have been affected by the heavy down pour which started on Sunday and spread to the early hours of Monday.
Areas affected by the flood within Kaduna metropolis include Barnawa, Tudun-wada, Kigo Road, Karatudu, Kabala Constain, Anguwan Rimi, Kudendan, Rafin Guza, Badiko, Hayin Mallam Mani and Gonin Gora, among several others. Most of places affected are settlements around the river bank.
Several roads were also submerged by the flood, making it difficult for emergency workers to access the affected areas. A part of the road connecting to the residence of former Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo at Ungwan-Rimi GRA was submerged.
Although the residence of the former vice president was not affected, his neighbours whose houses are close to the Kaduna river bank were not spared as their homes were submerged.
A light bridge along Aliyu Makama road, Barnawa which links the area to the city centre was completely submerged by the flood, forcing motorists and tricycle riders to search for alternative route.
Spokesman of SEMA, Mallam Abubakar Zakari Adamu, said the disaster was monumental, saying however that he was not in a position to give a detailed assessment of the destruction.
He said that rescue agencies, including the Red Cross, and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were working round the clock to come to the victims.
He, however, confirmed the death of one person.
“You know so many settlements, mostly around the river bank were affected and we have to share ourselves into groups in order to assist those affected.
“At the moment, I am not in a position to tell you all the details concerning the destructions until we compare notes with the various rescue groups,” Adamu said.
He lamented that despite repeated public enlightenment campaign urging people to avoid building houses by river banks, such warnings were ignored.
The state Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, had already visited some of the affected areas.
“We keep saying that early warning must be matched with early actions, but that has never been done. So, we should expect more flood. More states, especially the frontline states, will be flooded. The lasting solution is that people must desist from building their houses in flood-prone areas.
“They should not build near natural waterways and green zones.”
The Nigerian government will on Friday, 25th September unveil the country’s final status report on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Participants at the multi-stakeholder forum on MDGs …in Abuja
A statement issued by the Media Consultant to the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Desmond Utomwen, stated that the Nigeria MDGs end-point report would be unveiled at the side-event hosted by Nigeria on Health, HIV/AIDS and Strengthening the Implementation of the SDGs during the General Assembly.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who will also be addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time since he was sworn in May; the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon; Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma; Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nigeria Prof. Joy Ogwu; Assistant Secretary General and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Post-2015 Planning, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed; Global Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign, Mitchell Toomey; and other world leaders are expected to be special guests at the event.
The MDGs end-point report chronicled the gains recorded in the implementation of the 15-year development framework as well as challenges and gaps requiring attentions in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be adopted by world leaders at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly as the replacement for the MDGs.
According to the statement, the Director/Acting Secretary of Programme, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr Ogenyi Ochapa, while speaking at the multi-stakeholders’ forum on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Abuja last Friday, revealed: “OSSAP-MDGs with the support of our development partners has produced the Nigeria 2015 MDGs End-point Report to document the various MDGs key milestones and achievements, notable policy drivers of successes, main challenges and key lessons learnt at both the National and Sub-National levels. This report is one of the documents that we will be circulating at the UN General Assembly.”
Ogenyi, who noted that Nigeria recorded appreciable progress in the implementation of the MDGs, added that the 17 goals and 169 targets of the SDGs are designed to complete the unfinished business of the MDGs.
“It is indeed gratifying to note that Nigeria has recorded significant progress in the achievement of the MDGs particularly in the area of universal primary enrolment, gender parity in education, reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDs, maternal and child mortality as well as prevalence of hunger.”
The successor framework, SDGs are intended to end extreme poverty, transform lives, improve the planet and promote socio-economic development and prosperity. The Goals are designed to complete the unfinished business of the MDGs and address the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development.
Permit me to react to a news item published in the recent edition of EnviroNews under its Human Settlement section. The news item was titled: “Tough Hurdles on the Way for Aspiring NITP Fellows.”
Dr Femi Olomola, President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP)
First, this writer wants to commend the initiative being currently taken by the present leadership of NITP and the elders in the profession to embark on a sweeping reform within the Institute, in order to polish its public image, improve efficiency of its members and to up job creation/marketability for the practitioners in the profession. Nothing could be more gratifying that some thinkers in the profession are beginning to realise that, in NITP, all is not well. A typical example is the issue of conferment of FELLOW on its members which, in the main, has cheapened the exalted position. Therefore, the earlier the requirement is made more stringent to ensure the quality of membership, the better.
However, the present move is good and bad news. Good news in the sense that to become a Fellow of the Institute henceforth is no more an all comers’ affairs or business as usual. It is bad news because the revelation is a self-indictment that past administrations of the Institute were weak with the compliance of the established rules in determining who is qualified to be a Fellow. If one may ask, were these criteria not in existence before? If not all of them, the key ones are similar to the ones just released. And if we juxtapose these criteria to some of the conferment made on some members not in the distant past, one begins to question the rationale behind such conferment knowing the background of the recipients and what level of contribution or value such individuals have added to the profession. With due respect, and not being judgmental, some of the so-called “Fellows” had it TOO EASY to qualify! Therefore, in essence, the Committee of College of Fellows who screened the applicants cannot be exonerated from blame for not being diligent enough in the performance their duties. The committee fell short of being stickler to the rules.
Be that as it may, methinks that the NITP is plagued with so many fundamental and lingering problems deserving urgent attention. And until we find solutions to them, our visibility and acceptance by the general public and governments at all levels in Nigeria as a desirable/ important profession, would not move beyond the status quo. Here are the home truths:
NITP publication released in 2014 titled “THE STATE OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING IN NIGERIA”, put together by a few egg-heads in the profession, aptly and brilliantly captured/catalogued many of the problems both in their lingering and emerging format. These problems range from weak legal foundation, constitutional crisis, near-absence of institutional machinery, non-compliance with rules and regulations of the profession, professional indiscipline, ineffective regulatory body, poor public perception to contemporary issues in planning.
Here are snippets from the publication excerpted verbatim for readers’ attention:
On Constitutional status of Urban and Regional Planning in Nigeria
“Under the 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Town Planning or Urban and Regional Planning is a residual matter, in which the Federal Government has no legislative powers except in respect of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)……Just because URP is not on the concurrent legislative list…the Supreme Court, in 2013, had to rule….that the Federal Government could not make national URP law for Nigeria and that it should restrict its legislative powers to the FCT.”(page 44).
Albeit there is a consensus of opinion on the need to put planning in the concurrent legislative list of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so that the Federal Government could be involved in planning and provide the leadership role that would boost the “national priority rating of URP” in the scheme of national development, the NITP has not put up a strong lobbying at the National Assembly to seek for the proposed constitutional amendment, over two decades after the landmark judgment by the Supreme Court. This on the part of the Institute is a major set-back.
There is unassailable reason for planning to be tripartite governmental functions if feelers from other climes with similar federal structure are considered. In the United States of America, Canada, Sweden and Malaysia where federal system of government is being practiced, there are assigned roles to the Central (Federal) Government thereby widening the horizon and making the planning process mutually and beneficially participatory, not localised. Therefore, it is incumbent on the NITP to make its presence known in the circle of lobbyists at the National Assembly in order to precipitate the much- desired constitutional amendment. The apolitical stance of the NITP over the years is counterproductive because politics and planning are like Siamese twins. If we fail to woo the support of our legislators, the amendment being sought to make planning a concurrent legislative function by all levels of government in Nigeria would remain a pipe dream.
On the necessity for the adoption of State URP Laws Nationwide
“The situation on ground today is that some 50% of Nigerian states do not have current state URP laws. Many are operating with obsolete first-generation laws, while others have no basic URP laws at all.” (page 51).
If the NITP has the knowledge of this fact from its own record, the Institute would need to roll up its sleeves and embark on a national tour to appeal to those non-compliant states to enact their laws. This should be both the concern of the State Chapters and the National body of the Institute if truly; the two entities are the mouthpieces of the profession. Without such planning law in the states to guide physical development of towns and cities, conducive environment for living, working and recreation would continue to elude the citizenry much as it is evident in our present state of urbanism, where amorphous developments have become the norm in our towns and cities.
As an umbrella association with a regulatory body, the Institute has all it takes to exert compliance even if it is by legal means as a last resort, where persuasion fails. Again, a lot of politicking has to be done to curry the support of the state legislators to jump-start the process of enacting the law that would regulate urban and regional planning.
On the implementation of the provisions of URP Laws
Given the fact that some states have subsisting URP Laws and such laws prescribed for the establishment of institutions and agencies that would facilitate smooth and efficient function of URP administration, the contrary, as contained in the NITP publication was “the apparent unwillingness on the part of some states to go beyond the passage of URP laws to the actual establishment of institutions and agencies provided for in the laws….” (page 51).
This is one of the challenges on the menu of reforms the NITP has to contend with and address squarely. Of what use is any law when its provisions are not implemented by the authority? The NITP’s role in this aspect is to formally inform the state governments concerned about this advertent/inadvertent (?) omission and request that the statutory institutions/agencies are set up. The limitations of our colleagues in the public sector to push such agenda are well known, because he who pays the piper dictates the tune. There is very little they can do beyond memo writing, but when the NITP intervenes, it carries a lot of weight. The tendency is that Government would be receptive to the advice of the Institute and more often do the needful. In addition to this humble suggestion, the leadership of the Institute assisted by a few delegates can pay a visit to the Governor of each state where there is default to make the observation known and counsel the state executive on what should be done. Such move is of necessity now more than ever before.
On TOPREC/discipline/public perception of Town Planners
“….the performance of the TOPREC can be described as fair but, certainly, not outstanding. In the areas of planning education, control of practice and discipline of Town Planners, much more is expected of the regulatory body.” (page 51).
The weakness of the regulatory body is more apparent in the area of maintenance of appropriate conduct, discipline and order within the profession. “The establishment Act of the planning profession has stipulated what is expected from planners. But how well are the Nigerian planners fulfilling the professional bargain?” (page 188). It is an open secret that some unscrupulous members of the profession are not good conduct-compliant. As the “sheriff” of the profession, the TOPREC has failed to strictly enforce its disciplinary power against those members whose conduct are found wanting. If discipline is lacking in any organization, the resultant effect is lack of integrity and bad public image such organization is bound to suffer. The negative public perception of the town planning profession in Nigeria can be turned around if TOPREC reforms and purges itself of past docility and have the courage to wield the big stick against members who subject the profession to public opprobrium by their unprofessional conduct. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is an exemplary study in the way the conducts of its members are scrutinized. The Association is quick to sanction its members for any proven professional misdeeds even to the point of being disrobed. The TOPREC can follow suit.
In conclusion
The sum total of this piece is that the town planning profession is faced with so many challenges, which admittedly, are to the knowledge of the NITP. The ones hereby expounded deserve urgent attention and resolution because they have been lingering for too long to the point of being our “albatross” against progress.
The constitutional amendment to include planning on the concurrent legislative list is major and very key, in order to pave the way for the enactment of a new URP law that would address the mistakes in the extant URP law of 1992. The issue of reform about the TOPREC is also of significance. If members are not compelled to abide by the rules and regulations of the profession, and sanctioned whenever they misbehave, Town Planners’ public image will continue to be battered.
Luckily enough, the NITP publication under reference has come up with series of recommendations for the way forward at improving urban and regional planning as a desirable profession in Nigeria in terms of practice, integrity, education, training, law review, administrative restructuring for effective urban management and the recognition of physical planning as a critical element of all national development planning efforts amongst other germane recommendations.
No one leadership of the NITP has the capacity to resolve all of these challenges and or implement the recommendations in one fell swoop during short term tenure, but efforts should be made by any out-going administration of the Institute to put them as the part of the “unfinished business” in the hand-over note to the in-coming administration to follow-up.
To this writer, the NITP has set an AGENDA for itself based on the check-list of recommendations/solutions proffered. The Institute does not need to re-invent the wheels, but should demonstrate the political will to walk the talk.
A gathering of experts on Friday, September 18, 2015 in Abuja endorsed a draft copy of Nigeria’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which is under preparation.
L-R: Chioma Amudi (Department of Climate Change), James Chidi Okeuhie, Prof Olukayode Oladipo, Iain Morrow and Hans Velrome, during the national stakeholders consultative and validation workshop in Abuja, on Friday, September 18, 2015
This emerged after a daylong national stakeholders consultative and validation workshop whereby stakeholders were not only updated on the level of progress made so far on the preparation of the INDC, but likewise made necessary inputs into the document that improved on the existing draft.
A final draft is supposed to emerge on Monday, September 21 after the team preparing the document went back to the drawing board on Saturday and Sunday to incorporate the inputs made on Friday. This document will be presented to government officials for final endorsement before being sent to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards beating the September 30 deadline set by the UN climate body.
Contributions were made to the document by a cross section of experts including the academia, private sector players, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). At the end of the workshop, participants had better understanding of the development process of the INDC.
The opening remark was delivered by Dr Samuel Adejuwon, Director of the Department of Climate Change on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Nana Fatima Mede. The event was moderated by Mr. Peter Tarfa, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change.
About two months after it hosted a Project Initiation Workshop on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 in Abuja, Nigeria then commissioned the British environmental consulting firm of Ricardo-AEA to produce the INDCs, a document that lists actions countries intend to take under a new global agreement that will emerge in December at the COP 21 in Paris, France.
Four Nigerian scientists – two consultants and two officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Department of Climate Change (DCC) – worked with officials of Ricardo-AEA (three of them) to execute the project. The Ricardo-AEA team comprises Hans Verolme (team leader and renowned climate policy expert), Iain Morrow (mitigation expert) and Chris Dodwell (UNFCCC and INDC expert). The Nigerians include Prof Olukayode Oladipo (nation’s leading climate expert), James Chidi Okeuhie (climate expert), Bayo Adekoje (DCC) and Chioma Amudi (DCC).
At another gathering, Verolme on Monday, June 29, 2015 in Abuja listed tasks to be carried out to include, besides an Inception programme, Stocktaking that features literature review and data gathering to produce a baseline report; Mitigation Analysis that involves projects of future emissions, identification of mitigation potential, long-list of possible actions and costing of options and co-benefits, to produce a mitigation potential report; as well as INDC Mitigation Contribution, that entails technical support to government decision making process, to produce brief paper on narrative and options analysis.
According to him, there would likewise be Consultation on Draft INDC, comprising drafting of outline INDC along with outreach to other ministries and stakeholders, to deliver an outline draft INDC and a consultation workshop; and Capacity Building that will be carried out in parallel with other tasks by presentation of analytical approaches during in-country missions, to produce final report on priority capacity need.
Describing the 2015 INDCs as a first step that may fall short of the global climate goal, Verolme stated that scope of an INDC would vary depending on national circumstances and the depth will differ depending on data available. According to him, the sources of emission in the country are: gas flaring, land use change, deforestation, transport, agriculture, waste, as well as industrial and energy processes.
He hinted that the contents of the final product would feature high points like: National Context, Mitigation (Contribution, Information, Fair and Ambitious?), Adaptation, Planning Process and Means of Implementation.
Unlike acclaimed unproductive previous climate talks, negotiators and world leaders are optimistic that the Paris climate conference is bound to be a success.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres. Photo credit: eaem.co.uk
From scientific studies, more intensified now than before, heat waves, drought, desertification, earthquake, sea level rise and landslides are various adverse effects stemming from unabating global warming.
A research by American Meteorological Society reveals that there is high tendencies that global temperature will rise by 3.5 to 7.4 degree Celsius in less than 100 years from now. This should be of great concern for earth inhabitants.
Recent debates in some quarters on effectiveness of long and short term goals have generated conflicting mixed perceptions. A flashback to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), reveals that MDGs was erected on 15 years long term goal, no concise short term mechanism was put in place to checkmate level of progress made. No wonder, its woeful performance.
Towards the success of the long term agreement, short term goals should be a barometric gauge. Long term goal is unarguably the journey’s final destination; having a tint of foresight while, short term goal is the yardstick. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Long term goal without checkmating mechanisms is bound to fail while, at the long run, adoption of only short term goals have been tested not to be efficient for climate change mitigation and adaptation, blended radical road map is all it entails for fruition. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) inclusion of Feasible short term goals incorporated with committed long term target from all odds will generate a positive outcome.
Kyoto Protocol has been perceived to set emission reductions targets for developed countries while neglecting developing countries. It has been criticised to be “elitism” in structure. For Paris conference not to fail, it must be all encompassing in contrast to Kyoto Protocol, no country ought to be left out. Without folding our arms, this is a collective task we needed to swiftly address because, if we refused to act, it might backfire and this could be dangerous.
In shedding lights on the urgency for global decisive climate action, International Energy Agency (IED) recently envisaged that “current pledges will have a positive impact on future energy trends but will fall short of the major course correction required to meet the 2 degree Celsius goal”. One is then tempted to ask, Is it that the current pledges won’t have any impact towards protecting the ozone layer? Why will it fall short having taken Co2 reduction steps? That is to tell us the level of emergency required in resuscitating our planet from further deterioration. In essence, IEA’s view is a clarion call for nations of the World to step up their commitments and sincerity towards coming up with concise radical climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches.
This further highlighted why it is expedient for world leaders to ensure workability of the conference resolutions and stick to the plans. While sticking to the plans, periodic review of progress made by nations every five years should be encouraged.
In phasing out fossil fuels and migrating to renewable energy sources, knowing fully well that clean energy is somehow expensive, most especially, financing clean efficient energy projects in developing countries could be clogs in the progress wheel of clean energy total migration. Without clear finance stance, the pledges might not move beyond words of mouth. Finance methods to be adopted in catapulting INDCs into reality shouldn’t be vague, it should be crystal clear and feasible and be reviewed from time to time.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Ltd (SNEPCo) hosted a business summit in Aberdeen, September 12, at which over 270 personnel representing Nigerian companies within and outside the country explored opportunities to repatriate skills and experience to the oil and gas industry back home. The forum, christened The Global Nigerian, is the third in Europe’s oil and gas hub, and had the theme Networking and Collaboration as a tool for national Development and Growth.
SNEPCo Managing Director, Tony Attah. Photo credit: shell.com.ng
SNEPCo Managing Director, Tony Attah, said in an address: “When, in 2013, we set out with the initiative for local companies to collaborate with Nigerian experts in Aberdeen on opportunities and challenges in the Nigeria oil and gas industry, we knew this would be a game changer. Today, we can say that the game changer is beginning to take shape as Nigerians have started returning home to set up businesses.”
A representative of the Nigerian High Commission, Mr. Hassan Hassan, agreed: “This is the right time for our experts based abroad to return home to make a contribution and be part of the success story.”
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Denzil Kentebe, commended Shell on both The Global Nigerian and Partnership Facilitation Programme and confirmed the board’s continuing support for both initiatives.
In a presentation on procedures for potential contractors in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, the Deputy Manager, Reservoir Management and Evaluation, JV oil operations, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Investment and Management Services (NAPIMS), Mrs. Martina Atuchi, told the experts: “We are inviting you to be part of the leading economy in Africa with a lot of untapped hydrocarbon resources.”
General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Shell Nigeria, Chiedu Oba, gave a progress report on the decisions of The Global Nigerian since the first business summit in Aberdeen in 2013. He said several Nigerians had returned home to establish businesses in the oil and gas sector, while networking had continued on a collaboration portal which recorded more than 12,000 visitors every month by the 60 registered companies and users.
The participants agreed that the return of a significant number of Nigerian oil and gas professionals could make a ‘game changing’ impact on the efficient delivery of many opportunities that exist in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors. They also suggested the need for low interest rates to boost the growth of the companies.
The Global Nigerian 2015 was enthusiastically supported by government and industry leaders including representatives from Nigeria’s leading oil and gas trade organisation PETAN and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
Shell companies have continued to support Nigerian companies in the execution of contracts in their operations. In 2014 alone, 90% of the contracts valued at $1.9 billion was awarded to Nigerian.
Students of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) in Delta State, recently built an energy-efficient car, which has been christened “Delta Cruz”. Last Thursday, at the university campus, they embarked on a demonstration of their self-built vehicle in readiness for the 2015 Shell Eco-marathon competition in South Africa, in October.
Delta Cruz on display… Students of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State, demonstrating their self-build energy efficient car on their campus last Thursday in readiness for the 2015 Shell Eco-marathon competition in South Africa, in October.
The Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom in Delta State, His Royal Majesty Emmanuel Sideso, unveiling “Delta Cruz” on Thursday
A recently built supposedly affordable and green housing project in Nigeria located in Igbo-Etche, Port Harcourt in Rivers State has been completed, and the first families have moved in. The Passive House Prototype eco-village, built by Comprehensive Design Services and CAP Consultants, led by Chinwe Ohajuruka (and her team, with Omie Ben-Kalio and Michael Ukpeh) is now fully functioning.
Passive House Prototype
The self-cooling and solar-powered design uses bio-climatic features such as natural ventilation and shading, light coloured roofs, courtyards, solar power for pumping water and lighting, waste recycling, compressed earth Hydraform blocks, as well as locally available materials for construction. The new families will be guided and assisted with the use of the green low technologies that the Passive House principles are based on, according to the Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI), adding that residents have already remarked that they do not need any fans or air-conditioners to live comfortably.
“A key factor in the design is its affordability for low-income earners, as they find it very difficult to access funds for property ownership, and the next step is to provide more families with the opportunity to own this kind of home,” stated Kofo Adeleke of the CCDI in a statement. “This project addresses the low income housing shortage, environmental sustainability and Nigeria’s goal of achieving a low carbon green economy, and has managed to tackle all three at the same time.”
According to her, CCDI has been looking at environmentally sustainable financing and green products and services that financial institutions can provide to developers for green housing projects and for families to obtain green mortgages to buy them. Green mortgages with lower interest rates for clients who purchase energy efficient homes, solar energy financing, environmentally friendly technology leasing and carbon financing are all part of the solution to scale up green projects, she adds.
Adeleke submits: “Chinwe Ohajuruka is a finalist in the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards business plan competition (https://award-editions.cartierwomensinitiative.com/award-editions/2015/chinwe-ohajuruka); she is representing Nigeria as well as the West Africa sub-region. The winner will be announced in mid-October at a joint Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards and Women’s Forum event in Deauville, France. Through this, Chinwe Ohajuruka has been able to demonstrate that environmentally sustainable and affordable housing in Nigeria can be achieved through modular Passive Housing Prototypes and believes in leading by example to prove that such projects are doable, replicable, scalable and commercially viable in Nigeria! Her mantra has been that if Nigeria can address the housing deficit as well as other infrastructure by building green, Nigeria will lead the world in sustainability.
“The successful execution of this project provides evidence for developers, financial institutions, microfinance organisations, state and federal governments, foundations, NGOs and others on the opportunities for partnerships and collaboration on affordable green housing.”
With Malawi’s population hovering at 15 million and 80 percent living in rural areas, agricultural and environmental experts feel crop diversification and adoption of winter cropping using water harvested from floods or rainfall would help the country have abundance food.
Floods are a capricious part of life for many Malawians
Chrissy Chidikha, Village Head (VH) from Kadzumba Traditional Authority (T/A) Maseya in Chikwawa District and a victim of heavy flooding, has lived a miserable life for the past years.
Even today, Chidikha does not hide her discontent at how crops were washed away and family squeezed in a tent or school block for shelter due to floods, a typical example of climate change faced not only in Malawi but globally.
Making matters worse, all her land was being submerged in water, leaving her with no food to feed her husband and three children.
And when the flooding period is over her land situated 100 metres from Shire River is left with many swamps, potential areas for winter cropping and the practice of climate smart Agriculture-CSA
“I have lived a miserable life such that even after the floods, dependency on handouts was the order of the day,” she said.
Like Chidikha, Ronald John is another villager from the same area, who has no kind words for floods. He too has depended on relief support for a living, which is not enough to take them throughout the year.
“The relief support is not always enough and it’s a challenge for us. This is why life without food is meaningless and in fact, you cannot raise a family by begging,” he said referring to how bad it is to be a flood victim.
But such perennial problems are history for both Chidikha and John since Stephanos Foundation introduced small scale farming and winter cropping activities taking advantage of water from floods and swamps.
Farmers worldwide are already feeling the effects of rising temperatures and more frequent droughts as a result of climate change
Communities have also taken upon themselves to ensure that once floods are over they grow crops such as rice, sweet potatoes, beans, maize to save their families from hunger through irrigation and treadle pumps.
Said John: “We missed the point as we did not think of growing crops or practice climate smart agriculture, CSA in our areas so that we harvest before the rainy season.”
Upon a visit in Kadzumba Village, John and Chidikha likewise other communities were busy watering their crops using watering canes and treadle pumps. The crops look promising.
“I have four plots of rice from which I expect to harvest more than 22 bags. At the same time we are also into crop diversification because I also grow maize and beans,” Chidikha said.
In the previous years, she used to harvest less than four bags of rice, until they were trained to use the available swamps to plant rice once floods ceases by Stephanos Foundation, which introduced the food security programme through small scale farming and crop diversification.
On the other hand, John has a farm where he plants trees annually whose leaves revamps fertility of soils after a thorough decomposition process.
“I am also into mulching, utilisation of green manures, conservation tillage and conservation agriculture,” said John aged 48 years.
Stephanos Foundation has similar projects in Nsanje, Zomba and Blantyre to ensure that flood affected people have food.
“We want to ensure that people utilise the abundant water, swamps or waterlogged areas to plant climate friendly crops. We provide training, seeds, treadle pumps and supervision for masses to practice the correct farming,” said programmes manager of Stephanos Foundation Chimwemwe Sallie Hara.
He hinted that K15 million was pumped into the programme to alleviate human suffering in the aftermath of floods through irrigation and crop diversification.
What communities and Stephanos Foundation are doing are in tandem with a broad range of agricultural water management policies and technologies.
These policies and technologies contribute to mitigation and adaptation through sustainable land and water management (SLWM) practices championed by TerrAfrica, a component of Nepad across the Africa region.
For Nepad officials many of these practices such as mulching, green manures, conservation tillage and conservation agriculture help land users to adapt in areas predicted to receive lower precipitation.
Nepad has also discovered that under present conditions, much rainwater is lost to agro-ecosystems as, for a variety of reasons, it does not infiltrate the soil but rapidly runs-off overland, limiting water availability for plant/crop growth, removing topsoil and deleteriously affecting hydrological regimes.
Besides rainwater such initiatives, a study of Malawi’s potential for irrigation carried out recently identified 57 potential sites.
Seven are in the North, 12 in the Centre and the South has 38. The 38 sites in the South 25 are in Shire Valley, which is prone to floods annually.
With this model, 69 percent of produce more than eight different crops, 89 percent of farmers are food secure and that 75 percent of farmers engage in business.
George Mhango, Blantyre, Malawi
This story was produced under the aegis of the CSE Media Fellowships Programme for the Global South.
Nigerians have been urged to ensure compliance with relevant environmental statutes and regulations in a bid to protect our environment from further harm and degradation.
Director-General, National Environmental Standard & Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Anukam. Photo credit: dailypost.ng
Director-General, National Environmental Standard & Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. Lawrence Anukam, stated this in his speech at the 6th Environment Outreach Magazine Public Lecture which took place at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos recently.
He said that the degeneration of the environment has reached very frightening levels and the earlier the nation begins to put a stop or reduce this dangerous trend, the better for us all.
He described NESREA as the government agency saddled with the responsibilities of enforcing compliance with environmental laws, regulations and guidelines, adding that the agency has been doing all it can to ensure that its mandate is carried out to the letter. He acknowledged that funding is a major challenge for the agency but, with the support of all Nigerians, the agency will still achieve its objectives.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, condemned the negative actions of Nigerians towards the environment. “God has given us all the natural resources we see around and it is therefore our sacred duty to protect and utilise them for His glory,” he said, even as he urged all Nigerians to continue to protect the environment and save the natural forests from further unwanton destruction.
He drew attention to a recent publication in London on the warming of the earth’s surface and the dangers posed to the world as a result of the uncontrolled felling of trees and our inability to keep pace with reforestation of the environment. He tasked all participants at the lecture to take the message of the Lecture seriously and ensure that they apply the lessons learnt after the event.
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board, Denzil Kentebe, represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Patrick Obah, said that his organisation will work with the Environment Outreach Magazine to carry out some environmental and sustainable development initiatives for the good of the country and the Niger Delta in particular.
Host of the event and Publisher of the Environment Outreach Magazine, Chief Noble Akenge, described the theme of the Lecture, which is “Redefining Nigeria’s Environmental Agenda: Imperatives for Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement” as very apt in view of the poor or negative attitude of Nigerians towards obeying the law especially environmental laws and regulations.
He also stated that the objective of the magazine is to bring to the public domain the problems of the environment and how efforts are being made to solve them. He further said that, during the annual lecture, the magazine also identify some persons and institutions who have distinguished themselves in the service of the environment and honour them.
Chief Akenge also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to give environmental issues the attention it deserves. He also urged states and local government councils to begin to cooperate with the Federal Government and also put in place strategies to tackle the numerous environmental problems facing our nation.
He stated that the magazine would continue to advocate for a better environment in the country until a considerable level of improvement in the sustainable management and protection of the environment has been achieved.
Some of the Environmental Award recipients include Dr. Alex Thomopulos, Chief Operating Officer of the Guardian Newspapers Limited; Dr. Lawrence Anukam, DG, NESREA; Professor Clifford S. Teme, former President of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society; Dr. Mrs. Comfort Maduemezia, Chief Consultant at Enville Environmental Consultants, Lagos; Ms. Dorothy Bassey, Head of Public Affairs, DPR, Lagos; Dr. Eugene Itua of MDS Limited, Lagos; Stakeholders Democracy Network and Jawura Environmental Consultants, Lagos among others.
The occasion was attended by top government functionaries; environmentalists; members of the academia; members of the diplomatic corps; the organised private sector; NGOs, students and members of the general public.
