Gov. Mimiko Renews Effort to Combat Climate Change- By Emmanuel Ajibulu

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Emmanuel Ajibulu, Governors, NNP Columnists, Ondo, State News Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Gov. Mimiko (Ondo)

By Emmanuel Ajibulu, Ondo, Nigeria – Nov. 17, 2011

– Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s increased efficiency and decision-making
responsibility have once again manifested in the protection of the
environment as a key part of sustainable development. This approach is an
extremely smart one and shows that the state has a strong commitment to the
fight against climate change and unwavering drive for economic recovery and
sustainability.

Mimiko’s ‘template’ for projects implementation is solid and robust,
bearing in mind that the sun that shines in Ondo State must be harnessed not
just with mindless propaganda or fake promises but with fundamentally
sustainable trans-generational projects and indelible dividends of
democracy. Empirical facts show that Governor Mimiko is not holding back t
all on its vows to engage himself actively in the fight against climate
change through the Ministry of the Natural Resources and other relevant
Ministries in the state; this was also contained in his electioneering
campaigns in 2007. Moreover, Ondo State Ministry of information and the
local media also played pivotal roles in making the citizenry buy into this
excellent move, by shaping their attitudes to achieving desirable results.

In a renewed effort to make the state green and habitable for the ecological
health and to implement measures to reduce the harmful effects of climate
change, Ondo State government recently expressed determination to preserve
the natural resources in the state, particularly the state forest reserves.
The Commissioner for Natural Resources, Lasisi Oluboyo emphasised this
during the inspection of the forest reserve at Ipele, Owo Local Government
Area of the state; he lamented the illegal activities being carried out in
some of the reserves. According to him, the state has been losing millions
of naira that would have accrued to it on weekly basis because of the
illegal felling of woods by some street boys and selfish businessmen in the
timber business. He stated that the efforts of the state at establishing a
standard wildlife park would suffer setback due to the illicit activities in
the forest.

Besides, the Commissioner added that the practice would also result in
environmental problem going by the rate of depletion of forest occasioned by
the encroachment. Oluboyo also urged the youths to desist from encroaching
the forest in Ipele, saying that they should conduct their businesses
legitimately and also help government to preserve the forest. The
Commissioner also expressed dismay that some individuals were operating with
unregistered forest concessionaire harmers despite several appeals by the
government. The leader of the youth in the community, Tope Samuel, pledged
the support of the people of the community, urging the government to give
them some time to move out their woods already produced from the forest.

In the world today climate change raises real questions about our shared
commitment to human rights and what it means to be part of a single human
community. It is a reminder that, in a world that sometimes appears
fractured and divided; we share one thing in common: the planet Earth. We
owe it to future generations, our children and their grandchildren, to act
now to reduce these risks. The principle of universal human rights demands
that we act now. When tackling an issue as complex as global warming and all
other environmental hazards, it is easy to lose sight of the human face of
climate change. Climate change should actually renew our commitment to the
poor states or rich states as the case may be. The world’s poor have one
thing in common: they did not create the climate crisis now facing humanity,
yet they will suffer the earliest and most destructive impacts.

For almost 3 billion people in the world, some 40 percent of the planet’s
population, living on less than $2 a day, global warming will erode the
gains built up over generations, not just in poverty reduction, but in
health, education, nutrition and many other areas. We know that events such
as droughts and floods will become more frequent, intense and disruptive as
a result of climate change. When droughts, floods or storms strike
vulnerable people are forced to sell off productive assets, withdraw
children from school, and cut back on nutrition and health spending.

We can all win the battle against climate change. It falls to our generation
to confront what is perhaps the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.
The World’s Environment has never had to deal with such a threat before. The
opportunities to increase international cooperation around this issue, to
support national governments and local communities to implement change, to
build resilience and to forge a collective, multilateral response to the
threat are real. We should use our positions, or connections, or influence,
our knowledge, our technical capacity and resources to do things differently
and smarter. However, it is instructive to note that Governor Mimiko has
taken a good and commendable lead in wrestling against climate crises and
hazards in and around Ondo State; this indeed should be an eye opener to
other states in the country in the overall interest of our great nation. God
bless Nigeria.

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**Emmanuel Ajibulu is media aide to Hon. Joseph Akinlaja, a member of the
House of Reps (Ondo East/West) and Deputy National Chairman of Labour Party,
Nigeria. **[email protected]* <[email protected]>**wp_posts