By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Following the commemoration of the 2022 World Earth Day, environmental activists have urged Nigerians to be ecological defenders in communities they reside in.
Nnimmo Bassey, the Executive Director of Home for Mother Earth, in his address at an activity to mark the day, said,”It is obvious that humans have gravely ignored the need to see climate change as a catastrophic phenomenon.
“Globally, leaders are more ready to invest in destructive activities than to invest in climate action. In Nigeria and the rest of Africa we tend to believe that if other regions gained by polluting the atmosphere we must exercise the right to pollute so as to attend their level of so-called progress.
“Nigeria keeps flaring gas in the oilfield communities, pumping millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and poisoning both the people and the environment. That is called progress at the altar of foreign exchange.
“Deforestation is going on at alarming rate all across the nation. Where is climate action in that? The world is moving away from internal combustion engines or cars using petrol and diesel, perhaps we may be celebrating the fact that we will become the cemetery of discarded cars and machines.”
Bassey further stated that “Today is a good day for everyone to decide to be active ecological defenders in our communities. We should also reject risky agricultural genetic engineering as it erodes our biodiversity and thus negatively impact our environment.
“Do not engage in polluting activities such as destructive mining, oil theft, deforestation and other wasteful actions. Reject single use plastics.
“Plant a tree. Be your brother’s keeper. Love and invest in our planet because we have no Planet B”.
Also, Israel Orekha, the director of Connected Advocacy who spoke on the topic ‘Invest in our planet’ expressed optimism that the earth has a potential to get better if we invest in our youths.
“There is a gap in capacity and inadequate knowledge in our youths. The need to bridge the gap is by involving young people in the drive to sustaining the future and to adopt an eco-friendly solution”
Babawale Obayanju of Environmental Rights Action (ERA/FoEN) who spoke on the ‘Future of the Earth; Plastic or Fish’ noted that over the years, the investment in the future has been investment in machines.
“With continuous upgrade and modernization in our equipment, we have become modern day slaves and we are losing our culture and identity as Africans. Our future should be in the interconnectedness with the planet and how we can protect our fishes which we suffocate with our waste and plastics in our oceans.
The International Mother Earth Day’s theme this year urges us to ‘Invest in Our Planet’ as a means to building a liveable future for humans, other beings and natural systems.
