President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, his ministers, and Kandeh Yumkella, the Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Group on Sustainable Energy for All, havelaunched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in Abujaand discussed the challenges and opportunities for the country and the region.
President Goodluck Jonathan
In the keynote address, which was delivered on Jonathan’s behalf by Vice President Namadi Sambo, Jonathan said: “Nigeria is fully committed to achieve the targets of sustainable energy for all by the year 2020”.
He urged UNIDO and other development partners to continue to support Nigeria in the country’s efforts to achieve sustainable energy for all – in order to “drive away poverty” and enhance overall socio-economic development.
In December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. In response, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative to mobilise action from all sectors of society to achieve sustainable energy for all.
The Secretary-General set three interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2030: providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
“Put simply, we will not achieve our goal of sustainable energy for all by 2030 without Nigeria,” said Yumkella. “I commend the President, and his government, for their leadership, as well as their efforts to expand energy access.”
The event, which in addition to Sambo featured the Ministers of Power and Water Resources, included sessions focused on the challenges and opportunities for Nigeria in the sector, financing infrastructure for 2030 and the integration of local and regional energy markets.
The Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Senate and the House of Representatives (Parliament) also participated in the launching to underscore the importance of achieving sustainable energy for all.
During the event, Jonathan, through Sambo, reiterated his government’s commitment to increase energy access, improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy.
The Nigerian Government’s engagement with the Sustainable Energy for All initiative will add to the significant momentum the initiative has generated this year. At the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June, substantial commitments to action were announced by Governments, the private sector and civil society.
It is no longer business as usual at Propertymart Real Estate Investment Limited, where home seekers now no longer have to wait till after making full payment to become bona-fide property owners.
A laid out road network in Mainland Garden Estate, Mowe-Ofada
Hitherto, land in the firm’s “City Park Estate 1” could be purchased via the allocation of plots to subscribers after the payment of the entire value of the land. The estate is located at Ofada in Mowe within the Papalanto axis in Ogun State.
But the rules have been changed and a subscriber can now get physical allocation after only the initial deposit of the entire cost of the land is made. The innovation also entails the subscriber having the privilege to choose his/her plot(s) before initial deposit, as well as being allowed to commence building construction on the land even while still making subsequent payments.
Under a special price offer of N799,999, an intending beneficiary is expected to make an initial deposit that is 30 percent of the total cost. The balance is spread over 12 months. After the special offer period lapses, a plot would sell for N1, 149,999, which is required to be paid outright.
Palms Garden Estate, Mowe-Ofada
The road network, electrification, as well as perimeter fence are already in place, according to officials of Propertymart, who stated that the special offer would close by the end of September this year.
Managing director, Adeyinka Adesope, said, “Propertymart has changed the rules in its quest towards addressing real estate development challenges and making home ownership more convenient and affordable.
“Consequently we have introduced physical allocation to prospective customers while they are still paying for their plot(s), which is as flexible as paying for 12 months. As the environment changes, customers get more enlightened and it is important to yield to customer request.”
City Park Estate 1 is Propertymart’s fifth project. Previously inaugurated projects are Palms Gardens, Mowe-Ofada; Mainland Gardens, Mowe-Ofada, Palms Gardens, Abuja; and CitiView, Arepo.
Mainland Garden Estate
Estates like City Park Estate 2, Mowe-Ofada; The Grenadines CitiView, Arepo; and The Grenadines Lokogoma, Abuja have been introduced after City Park Estate 1.
While City Park 1 is just opposite Mainland Gardens, City Park 2 is located close to Palm Gardens, all at Mowe-Ofada, Ogun State.
All the estates have made remarkable progress in terms of infrastructural facilities development, such as roads, drainage channels, as well as powerline cabling. Prototype houses have also been built to showcase the house types earmarked for the scheme.
Scientists have said that the global changing weather pattern as well as the warming of the earth is responsible for the events that led to the deadly ocean surge that effected Lagos last week. The incident left about 10 people dead and several others missing.
Rescue officials attending to the dead
According to the experts, earth warming, which is the outcome of the removal of the planet’s natural shield from the harmful rays of the sun, is raising global temperature and causing ice in the Polar Regions to melt, thereby swelling the ocean and resulting in sea level rise.
Chairman, Nigeria Environment Study/Action Team (NEST), Prof. David Okali, said that ocean surge is prominent at this time due to water current from the Western Atlantic as a result of the El-Nino factor which, he submitted is not peculiar to Nigeria.
El-Nino is a climate pattern that causes extreme weather (such as floods and droughts) in many regions of the world.
A climatologist who lectures at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, stressed that a temporary solution would not ease the effect of ocean in Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general.
He called for a comprehensive study of the nation’s coastline dynamics that would help understand the marine morphology of the country. He posited that climate change effect due to sea level rise would be better tackled through a marine research on an integrated coastal management zone.
The Professor of Climatology urged the Federal Government to put in place an effective adaptation mechanism, even as he clamoured more finance in the area of research to enable the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) function effectively.
According to him Nigeria would be able to combat the effect of climate change due to sea level rise which causes ocean surge more effectively through proper and adequate marine research.
Environmental activist, Titi Akosa, said that climate change is a global environmental challenge and that the Lagos State Government should put in place mechanism that would help the people adapt to its effect.
She said, “The early warning signal for disaster being announced by the government is not enough. If you instruct the people to relocate due to expected excessive rain and its effect in flood prone areas, where do they relocate to? All these are issues the government should begin to work towards. All these demolition and eviction is not good for the image of the state and even Nigeria as a whole. This would affect growth and development.”
The National Emergency Management (NEMA) has however described the incident as a natural disaster, but that the human-casualty was self-inflicted.
NEMA’s Director of Planning Research and Forecasting, Dr. Charles Agbo, said: “While the Atlantic Ocean surge is a natural phenomenon, the human casualty was attributed to man-induced disaster when humans engage in activities close to or on the sea without precautionary measures in place.
“The ocean surge at Kuramo Beach and other areas of Lagos was a natural phenomenon while the human casualty could be blamed on carelessness of people living too close to the danger of the coastline when early warning alert were raised by appropriate authorities on the effect of climate change and global warming.”
According to him, an assessment of the Lagos coastline by a team of NEMA officials has revealed that more beaches might be affected by wave tide.
But some of the residents who were evicted insist that the ocean surge was caused by the Eko Atlantic City project being championed by the state government. According to them, the sand filling at the Atlantic Ocean for reclamation of land is putting pressure on communities along the Lagos coastline.
Another group of residents disclosed that the government has been trying to evict them because it nursed plans of sell the land to private investors.
General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-osanyitolu, said that the residents and business operators on the beach were illegal occupants and not meant to be there.
He noted that the demolition and eviction of the residents were done for their good because the state government wanted to avoid more casualties from a possible future occurence.
On the issue of compensation for the displaced people, he emphasised that there would be no compensation or relocation as he advised them to go elsewhere to look for a better place for accommodation. He claimed the people were sensitised a long time ago on the need to leave the area but they chose to erect structures and make them permanent places of abode.
Tina Armstrong-Ogbonna recalls a recent experience when, against all odds, she offered a helping hand to a dying man on the streets of Lagos
Lagos
My office is located at a very strategic position between Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and the Government Residential Area (GRA) in Ikeja.. It is along the popular Adekunle Fajuyi Way. When you step outside the gate you are greeted by a chaotic presence of commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called “okada” who pack indiscriminately to pick or drop passengers. Every night the out gate of my office is a small community of traders, serving these okada men and passers-by. The trading entails the sale of recharge cards to food items such as yam, bean cake and “suya” (barbecued meat).. In a community like this it is not unexpected to have miscreants who are on the lookout for a prey.
On Monday the 5th of June 2012, a day after the Lagos Dana Airline fatal plane crash, every corner you turned people were discussing the incident. I was getting ready to go home but wanted to buy something, when I noticed an usual crowd of people just close to the office gate. My curiosity made me to move closer to behold a pathetic site of a man that appeared to be convulsing. As it is common in Lagos, on-lookers gathered but none of them was willing to offer a helping hand to the dying man. While some were not sure about about how it happened, others were scarred of talking as almost everyone was starring as life was beginning to leave the man who was on the bare ground. A woman was crying and begging anyone to assist so that the man could be given some assistance or taken to the nearest hospital. At this point, I asked if his mobile phone was in his pocket and someone gave it to me. I scrolled through the log of recent calls but there was no airtime on his mobile phone. I then recharged my phone with some airtime and started dialing the numbers on his phone. Some of the phone numbers were not going through. His sent messages were not available; I checked through his inbox messages and also contacted some of the numbers found there. I noticed that as the calls were not coming from his phone the respondents wanted to know who I was. I told them how their numbers were found on the man’s phone; I then called out the man’s number if they were familiar with the number on their phones. At some point the crowd of okada riders reduced from the scene as some people confirmed the man was dead. The man’s phone was not helping the situation as I could not recharge his phone with airtime because the keypads were weak and not responding. I decide to call the Lagos State Emergency Service number of 767 to come to the scene. Some of the people around me were murmuring that what we were doing would eventually put us in trouble, that if the Police should come to the scene we would all be arrested and taken to the Police Station for further questioning.
As all these went on, I was shaking deep down but kept my cool outwardly because I was now the person at the centre of the pandemonium. At a point some of the numbers we called started responding and asking of the location of the man. Lots of suggestions were coming from different passers-by, who advised me to be careful and some even asking me how I got the man’s mobile phone. The people I started out with in helping the man started to leave but I decided to help till when the victim’s family member or friend can be contacted.
I called a senior colleague to inform him of the situation and where I was just in case the situation turned unsavoury. One of the person I called earlier called back to inform me that she was on her way and would soon be with us. Out of the blues came two girls in their early 20s and they started screaming and crying in panic. One of them claimed to be the man’s daughter. At this point people tried to calm them down to explain what had happened. The friend of the daughter was rolling on the ground while the daughter was trying to call some family members. I felt a bit relieved when the Lagos State Emergency Service ambulance arrived to attend to the man. After some medical check they asked the large crowd of onlookers what happened to the man and nobody was willing to answer. I raised up my hand and told them how I called their number for emergency assistance, after I tried contacting numbers found on the man’s mobile phone. By this time, the man’s wife came to the scene as the daughter had contacted her elder brother who came with his mother.
The medical personnel confirmed that the man was lifeless but the wife in a state of shock disagreed and started calling on her husband’s name as she was praying for him. The emergency service officials told us we should have called earlier enough when the man was first noticed as the apparent delay in calling the emergency service worsened the man’s condition. Family members, which included the wife, son and daughter, along with her friend, began making plans to carry the lifeless body to the hospital.
I realised I had spent about two hours trying to be a good Samaritan and had to go back to the office for my bag. I learnt something in the course of my helping to contacting this poor, innocent man whose children confirmed was not really strong because he had a heart condition.
Most people when confronted with this kind of situation are afraid to help because they believe the police would arrest them and take them to the station for questioning. In most cases, such persons have ended up been implicated. Secondly, people should learn to save the phone numbers of their loved ones and family members in a way that, in case of an emergency, they could easily be identified. Last year, my immediate elder brother was involved in a fatal road accident that claimed the life of one of the four occupants of the vehicle and two others who later got paralysed.
In the accident, my brother lost his phone and all his personal belongings. The only phone number he could remember was my elder sister’s number because the number was easy to memorise. That was how the people who came to his rescue were able to contact us. When in a place surrounded by people, the individual that has volunteered to help should be careful because some pick-pockets could take advantage of the situation. When I was trying to help the man, I noticed how a young man always wanted to come close to touching my pocket and I caught him twice and gave him a knowing look which made him realise that I was aware of what he was up to. Because of the situation, I could not openly confront him.
Also, I have come to believe in the Lagos State emergency number of 767 and 112, which are toll-free. This was the second time I have personally called the numbers in an emergency situation and they responded. The first time was when a building was about collapsing around Maryland bus-stop opposite Channels Television and they came to the rescue, attesting that someone called their line about an emergency situation. I know people hardly believe when some government officials talk about how they would assist people, but I am a witness to the fact that that these emergency numbers are functional and the relevant agency would come to the rescue.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Lagos State Wastes Management Authority (LAWMA), Ola Oresanya, shares on issues related to waste management, PSP operators, waste-to-wealth initiative, among others.
OresanyaKindly give an insight on waste collection, management, and disposal in Lagos
In the last five to six years, we have increased the impetus when it comes to waste management in the state vis-à-vis transportation. In the last three years the authority has acquired many trucks, while the PSP initiative is also progressing. In a nutshell, in the last five years, we have acquired more than 500 trucks to drive our initiative and, by so doing, i can say without mincing words that we have done so much in the area of waste collection, management and disposal. Therefore,I can confidently say we are on track as far as our mandate is concerned. However, one is not unmindful of the fact that the issue of population poses serious challenge to our mandate. The state is moving to about 20 million people and this translates to about 10,000 metric tones of waste on a daily basis and this is very challenging. You will also agree with me that, in the last three years or so, Lagos has become very clean in respect of treatment of solid waste and rapid transformation of the environment at large.
How would you go about ensuring that Lagos is clean?
The media is one of the major assessors of the job that we are doing at LAWMA. Presently, we have different departments that take care of the issue of waste. Let me quickly mention here that, at LAWMA, we have a unit that handles the issue of marine waste that entails the collecting waste from the off-shore and at the same time from the foreshore of our lagoons. We equally intend to, in line with the mandate of His Excellency Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola that Lagos should be clean at all times, work towards ensuring that we keep faith with this mandate.
Tell us more about marine waste collection.
It is still very novel, just about two years that we commenced this marine waste operation and it has added value not only to the neighbourhood because it has actually reduced the pollution of the environment, clean water at the same time, we have good fish breeding on our waters now due to less pollutions and pollutants.
Let us take a look at the activities of the PSP operators. They seem to function more effectively in the urban centres. You hardly see them in the areas like Alakuko, Ijaiye, Ahmadiyyah, Agbado, among other places, yet they bring outrageous billings. What are you doing to ensure that their activities are felt in places aforementioned?
Apart from the economic down turn, the PSP operators have to make do with what they have. They are in business to break even and, also, to make profit. Therefore, the residents too should be ready to pay for their services. It must be stated that these payments must be predicated on the provision of good services. But be that as it may, the government is trying to encourage them by providing extra vehicles for them as a way of assistance in order to make them perform optimally. Let me mention here that a major challenge to the PSP operators is the issue of bad roads in the hinterland. Most of the in-roads pose challenges to the PSP operators especially during the rainy seasons. But the authority is encouraging them by asking them to procure smaller trucks that can navigate these inner roads, even as the government is in the process of acquiring smaller trucks for them in order to access most of these corridors. In not too distant future, the PSP operators would be able to reach all the nooks and crannies of the state.
How do you intend to check the excesses of some of the PSP operators?
There are a lot of sanctions that we have put in place for such people. For instance if we discover that an operator in a particular ward is not performing, we severe the ward into two and bring in another efficient operator. In other words, we reduce the coverage of that PSP operator, when we find out that he is not ready to improve on his services, we replace with another operator. We call it ‘cut and paste’. But this is usually a last resort because we don’t want them to lose the franchise but after about three or four warnings, we take the last option, which is replacement. But let me sound it loud and clear here that most of the PSP operators under our scheme have, so far, ensrihned best practices in the discharge of their duties. This development is not unconnected with the stiff conditions that we have put in place before giving franchise to an intending PSP operator.
Do you have any case of an operator that has gone through this severe sanction?
We have that but I don’t have the record at my disposal now but certainly we do have instances of PSP operators that have been given the highest form of sanction. But giving them the highest sanction or otherwise should not be the main thrust of our dealings with them but to strive towards making them conform to our standards.
How does an aggrieved subscriber vent his feelings whenever he or she is shortchanged by these under-performing PSP operators?
Journalists should assist the authority in disseminating the activities of LAWMA. If you notice any of these shortcomings, please don’t hesitate to call any of our toll-free lines like 5577 and I can assure you that we shall not fail to respond to your complaints. It is equally important to note that there is an advocacy unit that is mandated to go on a sensitisation programme. This is with a view to admonishing Lagosians of the need to patronise the PSP operators and also to let them know their rights in respect waste collection and payments.
How do you take the welfare of your sweepers into consideration, since they are exposed to danger every day in the course of their duty?
Lagos roads are usually very busy. Becuase of this development, we have engaged in series of workshops for our road sweepers with a view to knowing about road ethics and at the same time safety. In this case, we invite subject matter experts as facilitators such as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), LASTMA, the Police and the NURTW among other stakeholders in the road sector. We even invite the okada riders in order to ensure that everybody is carried along on the issue of safety. Apart from all these, we also provide ‘C’ caution and wide spikes to protect them from danger on the road. We also inculcate in them the idea of placing the ‘C’ caution at a distance so that any motorist approaching would have seen the sign from afar. They are also indulged to face the traffic while sweeping because, in the past, most of them had been knocked down by careless drivers while sweeping backing the traffic. In addition to the issue of safety, we also take the issue of their health very seriously by providing for them a registered a clinic with an in-house doctor. Here, they are exposed to periodic medical checks for the purpose of ascertaining that they are in good and perfect health at all times.
What informed this idea of employing physically-challenged persons as staff, especially on some of the pedestrian bridges?
It is our own little way of assisting them and also to encourage them that it is not their own making that they are physically-chllenged. When you get to Charity bus stop, Ikeja Along bus stop, Oshodi, Onipanu bus stop, you find them sweeping these bridges. An interesting part of the whole concept is that these people are customized, they are branded as well, that is, they are always in LAWMA outfit consisting a fez cap, pull-over and reflective jacket. This is a sot of poverty alleviation.
A new Worldwatch Institute report examines the rise in subsides for renewable and fossil fuel-based energy production.
Coal, a fossil fuel
Total subsidies for renewable energy stood at $66 billion in 2010, but are still dwarfed by the total value of global fossil fuel subsidies estimated at between $775 billion and more than $1 trillion in 2012, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service. Although the total subsidies for renewable energy are significantly lower than those for fossil fuels, they are higher per kilowatt-hour if externalities are not included in the calculations, write report authors from Worldwatch’s Climate and Energy team.
Estimates based on 2009 energy production numbers placed renewable energy subsidies between 1.7¢ and 15¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while subsidies for fossil fuels were estimated at around 0.1-0.7¢ per kWh. Unit subsidy costs for renewables are expected to decrease as technologies become more efficient and the prices of wholesale electricity and transport fuels rise.
The production and consumption of fossil fuels add costs to society in the form of detrimental impacts on resource availability, the environment, and human health. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences estimates that fossil fuel subsidies cost the United States $120 billion in pollution and related health care costs every year. But these costs are not reflected in fossil fuel prices.
“These so-called hidden costs, or externalities, are in fact very real costs to our societies that are not picked up by the polluter and beneficiary of production but by all taxpayers,” said AlexanderOchs, Director of Worldwatch’s Climate and Energy program and report co-author. “Local pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels kill thousands in the U.S. alone each year, and society makes them cheaper to continue down their destructive path.”
Shifting official support from fossil fuels to renewables is essential for decarbonizing the global energy system. Such a shift could help create a triple win for national economies by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, generating long term economic growth, and reducing dependence on energy imports.
According to projections by the International Energy Agency (IEA), if fossil fuel subsidies were phased out by 2020, global energy consumption would be reduced by 3.9 percent that year compared with having subsidy rates unchanged. Oil demand would be reduced by 3.7 million barrels per day, natural gas demand would be cut by 330 billion cubic meters, and coal demand would drop by 230 million tons of coal. And the effects of the subsidy removal would extend beyond the end of the phaseout period. By 2035, oil demand would decrease by 4 percent, natural gas by 9.9 percent, and coal demand by 5.3 percent, compared with the baseline projection.
Overall, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 4.7 percent in 2020 and 5.8 percent in 2035. The IEA’s chief economist recently estimated that eliminating all subsidies in 2012 for coal, gas, and oil could save as much as Germany’s annual greenhouse gas emissions each year by 2015, while the emission savings over the next decade might be enough to cover half of the carbon savings needed to stop dangerous levels of climate change.
“At the same time, a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies would level the playing field for renewables and allow us to reduce support for clean energy sources as well,” said Ochs. “After all, fossil fuels have benefited from massive governmental backing worldwide for hundreds of years.”
Progress toward a complete phaseout, however, has been minimal. The 2009 pledge by the Group of 20 major economies to reduce “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” has been left vague and unfulfilled. The lack of a definition has left countries to make their own determination if their subsidies are inefficient. As of August 2012, G20 countries had not taken any substantial action in response to the pledge – six members opted out of reporting altogether (an increase from two in 2010), and no country has yet initiated a subsidy reform in response to the pledge. Furthermore, there continues to be a large gap between self-reported statistics and independent estimates in some countries.
Some argue that reducing subsidies would disproportionately affect the poor. An IEA survey of 11 developing and emerging countries, however, found that only 2-11 percent of subsidies went to the poorest 20 percent of the population, showing that subsidies tend to be regressive.
Tanzania will host the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF)) from September 26 to 28, 2012, the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives, Christopher Chiza, and President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Jane Karuku, have disclosed.
Arusha, Tanzania
The meeting is said to be the next milestone in developing African-led food security solutions.
At the recent G8 Summit, global leaders including 21 African countries and 27 private sector companies committed $3 billion to a New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, launching the next phase of the global food security effort to raise 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years.
The AGRF 2012 sets the stage for Africa’s leaders to drive the initiative by promoting investments and policy support to increase agricultural productivity and income growth for African farmers. During the forum, hosted at Arusha’s Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, global leaders will tackle leadership policy, revolutionizing African agricultural finance models, strengthening markets, and transforming African agriculture through innovative partnerships.
“Tanzania has long known farming is at the centre of our economy,” said Minister Chiza. “We are pleased to welcome leaders from across the continent and around the world to find new ways to scale the success we’ve seen in our own agricultural breadbasket.”
As the host nation, Tanzania’s recent agricultural growth represents a case study of what is possible. In the Kilombero District of Morogoro, the yields for maize have recently increased for some smallholder farmers from 1.5 to 4.5 tons per hectare; the yields for rice have increased from 2.5 to 6.5 tons per hectare.
“The goal of the government is to transform Tanzania into a middle-income country by 2025, fuelled, in a significant part, by growth in its agricultural sector,” Chiza added.
The forum brings together African Heads of State, ministers, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, farmers, NGOs, civil society organizations and scientists to discuss and develop concrete investment plans for scaling agricultural development success in Africa. Tanzania will welcome notable guests including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates, IFAD President Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, Nigerian Minister of Agriculture the Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, World Food Prize Laureate Prof. Gebisa Ejeta, and Yara International President & CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad.
Following recent discussions at WEF Africa, the G8 and David Cameron’s Hunger Summit, the African Green Revolution Forum will continue to look for ways to unite the power of the public- and private-sectors in the global food security efforts.
“Public- and private-sector leaders are joining forces in unprecedented ways to ensure a more food secure future,” said Yara President and Chief Executive Officer, and co-chair of the forum, Mr. Jørgen Ole Haslestad. “We have seen great success when players come together and invest strategically – we hope to build on new momentum and work together to transform agriculture in Africa.”
The forum will remain focused on unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential by empowering smallholder farmers across the continent. By collaborating with farmer’s organisations, civil society and other partners, the discussion will explore new ways to provide resources, overcome challenges and improve yields for the millions of farmers who are working less than two hectares of land across the continent.
“Smallholder farmers are at the centre of all we do,” said AGRA President Jane Karuku. “Our approach is clear and proven – if we provide African farmers the tools they need to grow more and improve their incomes, they will help lead us all into a more prosperous future.”
Six more bodies, including that of a six-year-old girl, have been recovered at Kuramo Beach in Lagos, swelling the casualty from the deadly Saturday morning ocean surge to 10.
The shanties were a dead giveaway as the ocean surged
Recovered around 1.30pm on Monday by a rescue team made up of divers and officials of the Lagos State Environmental Health Management Unit (SEHMU), the bodies were said to be bloated.
Search parties are however still looking for more bodies at what used be Kuramo Beach, but now completely wiped out by a government demolition team.
Victims were mainly petty traders by the waterfront who resided in the makeshift houses located within the Kuramo area.
The development not only spoilt the day for fun seekers and tourists, who had planned to take advantage of the recent Sallah celebrations to hang out at the Beach, but residents have been sacked after the entire area was cordoned off and manned by security personnel, with all the shanties demolished and set ablaze by government officials.
Narrating how the surge came about, a resident in one of the shanties, who gave her name as Tope, had informed newsmen that the surge occurred at the early hours of the day.
“The ocean surge happened very early in the morning when so many people were yet to wake up. We are still looking for some people now as we speak. We just pray that they were not washed away by the surge,” she had fervently wished.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what had happened because as the days went by, more bodies were recovered by rescuers.
For instance, as of Monday, six more bodies had been reportedly recovered, including that of a six-year old girl, bringing the number to 10. However, rescuers, including local divers, were yet to recover the bodies of the remaining six victims, earlier declared missing. On Tuesday, however, very few government officials were seen around the area, even as the people continued to bemoan the mishap.
The ocean surge had swooped on the inhabitants of the shanties while most of them were still indoors, resulting in total confusion along the coastlines, as many of them were caught unawares.
Government on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of the residents to forestall possible disaster from the anticipated seven days of high waves accompanied by a strong Ocean surge, predicted by experts, which impact has started hitting parts of the country’s coastline with Lagos expected to be the most vulnerable due to its location.
Many residents blamed the incident on government, attributing the surge to the multi-million-dollar Eko Atlantic City project, where it was said to have recovered about nine kilometres of lost land from the ocean, with an intention to build a world-class mixed use scheme that is expected to house about 250,000 residents.
General Manager of the State Emergency Management Agency, (LASEMA), Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, had said after the incident that a total of 15 bodies were washed away, based on the information received at the scene.
He had urged the affected residents to seek alternative accommodation in order to save their lives from attack in the future adding that the recovered bodies were deposited at the Isolo General Hospital Morgue.
The State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Segun Oniru, said the evacuation was to pave way for the movement of sand into the area.
He explained that the action was taken immediately to avert the disaster of the Atlantic Ocean, joining the Kuramo Waters and subsequently the Lagoon.
According to him, Lagos state has been getting extreme weather conditions due to its location, and that areas badly affected from which people would be expected to move away included, Badagry and Ojo Waterfront areas, Bar Beach, Kuramo Beach, Goshen Estate, Maiyegun as well as Alpha Beach.
Oniru assured that the state emergency services had already been mobilised to continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly to prevent more disaster.
He urged Lagosians to remain calm as the government was doing everything possible to protect more loss of lives and property to the surge.
On the Eko Atlantic City Project, Oniru had on several occasions said that it was not a project unique to only Lagos alone and would not have any environmental impact on the area as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been duly conducted and certified okay.
He blamed the disaster on the neglect by the Federal government, saying the problem would have been solved a long time ago if the apex government had redeemed its promises to assist Lagos State Government to solve the ocean problem.
In 2011, after a similar tide had hit the Kuramo Beach, Oniru had said: “When President Goodluck Jonathan visited this area after the July 10, 2011 flood, we were happy that soon, there will be solution to this environmental threat but unfortunately nothing has happened since then.”
The Lagos State Government has embarked on a venture aimed at turning the unenviable condition of its solid waste generation into a blessing. The nation’s commercial nerve centre has been having a running battle with managing the huge turnout of its domestic waste, giving it the infamous tag of being one of the filthiest cities on the planet.
The Olusosun Dumpsite
It appears that, all along, the overpopulated state sat on a goldmine, but the authorities have apparently come to the realisation of this fact.
Courtesy of a Landfill Gas Recovery and Utilisation Project (LGRUP), government will soon begin to produce gas from the heaps of refuse dotting the metropolis, thereby generating direly-needed revenue and serving sundry purposes.
Decades of groping in dark have given way to a positive turnaround, typified to the overhaul of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the adoption of private sector participation (PSP) under an Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) endeavour.
The project, which is being executed by LAWMA in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the African Carbon Asset Development (ACAD), is meant to capture methane gas generated from waste, utilise it for electricity, prevent the release of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) into the atmosphere, curb country’s carbon footprint and ensure compliance with international standards on environmental governance.
The LGRUP is a component of the ISWM project, which is a PSP initiative, whereby government will execute a 20-year concession agreement with the private sector.
Among other benefits, the LGRUP is meant to bequeath better environmental health and living standard; ensure job creation and investment opportunities; provide public utility and infrastructure through public-private partnership; wealth creation and market-based solution for waste.
The ISWM is for the closure, collection and utilisation of landfill gas at the existing dumpsites; and the establishment of an integrated solid waste management facility comprising of a material recovery facility, recycling and composting facility as well as sanitary landfill for residual use.
The objectives of the project are to fully harness and utilise alternative options available in managing waste, thus reducing reliance on landfill disposal as well as minimise the emission of greenhouse gases, while managing waste in an environmentally sound, socially responsible and financially sustainable manner.
LAWMA is in the process of implementing the second phase of the project under a consultancy contract. The first phase, which comprises pre-engineering design, commenced in February 2011 and should be completed within 12 to 18 months.
Starting with the Olusosun landfill site in Ojota, the project will also be extended to the Abule-Egba and Solous landfill sites.
Managing Director of LAWMA, Ola Oresanya, said, “At the Olusosun landfill, we have developed gas wells to manage and recycle municipal solid waste into clean energy. Landfill gas can be generated 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
“Landfill gas is extracted from landfills using a series of wells and a blower or vacuum system. This system directs the collected gas to a central point where it can be processed and treated depending on the ultimate use for it.
“Landfill gas-to-energy projects do not only mean deceasing the hazards towards our climate; they also serve as a substitute for fossil fuels, such as natural gas. Landfill gas can be extracted for a variety of energy purposes, such as generation of electricity with engines, turbines, micro turbines and other emerging technologies,” he added.
Landfill gas, according to Oresanya, is produced through biodegradation, volatilisation and chemical reactions, noting that the more organic waste present in a landfill, the more landfill gas is produced by bacteria during composition.
Apart from the landfill sites, he said electricity would be generated from the 1,000 tonnes of waste daily processed at the Simpson Transfer Loading Station for the benefit of poor communities around the station and to illuminate the Third Mainland Bridge.
Oresanya disclosed that the state was planning to establish 20 new landfill sites to replace the existing six, with work already started on the one in Epe, while the one in Badagry, which will be the biggest in Africa, would soon commence.
The LAWMA boss said that the gas recovery project had already commenced in Olusosun and would gradually be extended to other landfills once the arrangement had been firmed up with the private sector investors.
Other waste-to-wealth projects being facilitated by LAWMA, according to Oresanya, include the nylon buyback programme, recycling banks, recycling plant at the Olusosun recycling centre; collection of PET, aluminium cans, cardboard, cullet and other materials; and compost facility in Ikorodu in collaboration with Messrs Earthcare.
Others are the establishment of the recycling village for waste to wealth; engagement in school advocacy programme; waste paper collection; attracting investors for recycling, compost, tyre and waste to energy projects among others; collection and disposal of garden waste; and collection of broken bottles or cullet.
General Manager, Technical Services, LAWMA, Jeleel Olubori, described the LGRUP as being part of the process for developing and registering a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project under the Kyoto Protocol managed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“The recovery of landfill gas from the authority’s landfill sites, though coming at the end of the first Kyoto emission regime, should be commended, considering the environmental incidents witnessed within the last 12 months in the state and other parts of the country,” he said.
Legendary Nigerian environmental journalist and nominee for the 2012 CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Awards, Tunde Akingbade, shares his experience during the programme, where he was eventually decorated with the Highly Commended Environmental Journalist Award.
Tunde Akingbade
After the announcement of finalists in the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the year Awards 2012, the organisers of the competition asked me to send a Microsoft version of my story: Eko Atlantic City – Rumbles in the sea which won me the nomination. The story was published in The Guardian on Sunday on November 6, which the judges picked all over Africa had read. The trip to Lusaka began on July 17 from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. I arrived O’ Tamba International Airport five and a half hours later in the early hours of July 18 and waited for the six hours to connect another South African Airways aircraft to Lusaka, Zambia.
Ms Vannessa Hellholf, the coordinator of our travels from Multichoice met me and my colleagues at a particular exclusive club/restaurant at the airport. Little did we know that all the finalists were gathered there for the onward journey – in the same plane to Zambia. It was when we got to Zambia that we discovered that all of us billed to participate in the programme were actually together. We were welcomed that evening with a dinner where the programme for the event was tabled. We also met the CNN/Multichoice organisers at the Intercontinental Hotel a five-star hotel in Lusaka. I soon found out that the hotel runs many environment programmes in its organisation including waste water management. Very early the following morning, we embarked on tour around the city of Lusaka to be able to know strategic places and historical sites.
In the afternoon, we headed to Mtendere Community, Lusaka where an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Hope Worldwide Zambia (HNNZ) has been educational development of orphans-with the support of the Coca Cola Africa Foundation in Zambia HWWZ has been helping orphans of Zambia’s HIV epidemic which are about 1 million for the past seven years, the NGO cares for the orphans and vulnerable children of the HIC/AID pandemic through a child-centred family focused community-based approach. It was a highly emotional experience for me as we journeyed through the life of children in the community.
According to figures from Coca Cola Africa Foundation’s President, Mr. William Asiko both HWWZ and the foundation served the needs of over 120,000 children across eight countries in Africa including Nigeria. In Zambia, they carry out their activities through the support of Ministries of Education Health, and Home Affairs in urban communities in Kalingalinga, Mtendere Chairama and Kanyama.
We were welcomed with pomp and pageantry by the Mtendere community including some women who are mothers of the orphans. These women were also taught how to make a living through their crafts which were also put for sale. Dr. Sharad Saparad Sapara, UNICEF Representative in Uganda was at event and he spoke on why UNICEF is helping children worldwide. Mr. Mivanbu Wanendeya, Vice-President and Head of Commutations for Ericsson Sub-Saharan African, was also president at another prorgramme which focused on business management in Africa and NGO work. It was moderated by Isha Sesay, CNN’s broadcaster from Atlanta, Georgia.
We also watched the drama from the kid’s theater as well as choreographed dance drama by the adults.
The following day, we were taken to Chiminuka Lodge and park about 40 kilometers away from Lusaka where there was a dialogue on the media practice as well as governance. The main speaker on governance was Mr. Martin Kalungu-Banda, author of the bestselling book – Leading like Madiba; Leadership lessons from Nelson Mandela. There were other great speakers like Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, President Nigerian Guild of Editors; Mr. Kim Norgaard, CNN International; Joyce Mhaville, MD, ITV, Tanzania; and Fred M’MEMBE, Editor in Chief of The Post, Zambia.
After the session, we went on a tour of the 10,000 hectares park at the Chaminuka Lodge.
The Chaminuka Lodge is some distance away from Lusaka, the Capital city of Zambia. The Chaminuka Lodge has a nature reserve that has more than 72 species. It is the first private wild life park in Zambia. We were informed the previous night to wake up early in the morning so that we would embark on the trip to Chiminuka Village Park. We travelled from Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka through well-paved road until we got to an intersection near the Kenneth Kaunda international Airport. We now moved through an unpaved road through the woods and crossing some narrow bridges until we got to Chiminuka, a village which overlooks the Lake Chitoka. One of the fascinating attractions was some of the school children who rushed out from the two schools from the cluster of three villages which have about 700 people who live and work in the area to catch a glimpse of our vehicle. We stood on the spot unaware of what we hand in the wings for us that day at this beautiful park created by Andrew and Danae Sardanis who came to live in the village since 1978. Standing on 10,000 acres of wood land and Savannah, the park has an attitude of 3, 600 feet. The climate is sub-tropical but it could get cold sometimes. We gathered that the coolest weather is always between June and July. We visited in July and it was a little bit veto. After a conference which entailed discussions on media practice, we mounted an upon-top 4- wheel drive safari vehicle with a ranger who guided the trip.
First we arrived at the Lion’s den. They were having their meal. We saw the head of the animal they had just dismembered into their stomach I took pictures of the den and made a sound. It was as if the lioness understood what I wanted. She wagged her tail, looked at me for a moment and snapper her postures. Nearby was the hyena. Very restless animal, he hyena disappeared into the wood and within few minutes from slave trade, I found myself exploring Zambia’s house of history of colonization, struggle for independence and political hiccups in post-colonial Africa in Lusaka.
We were taken to a small five-bedroom, modest bungalow where the former President Kaunda lived. There was a bed in each of the rooms.
“One these were the places where they were making babies,” remarked one of the visiting journalists.
There was a wardrobe in one of the rooms. The ex-president kept his dresses in the wardrobe and his guitar. The guitar was still there. The ex-president, a former choirmaster at Church of Central Africa Congregation, was described as “an avid ballroom dancer.” There was an ironing table and a pressing iron which his wife, Betty Kaunda, used to iron dresses in a corner. Nearby was her kitchen. It reminded me of how the Americans preserve the heritage of their presidents at the White House in Washington DC.
There were historic pictures on the wall. One of them was the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of UK and Duke of Edinburgh, Mark Philips to Zambia and the meeting with the Kaundas.
When the former President was in power, the people of Lusaka carried out arson and blocked the road that year to show their anger for neo colonialism following harsh economic measure imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and removal of food subsidies by Kaunda in the 1980s there were riots and disorder in Lusaka. The President’s Land Rover was burnt by irate mob. The Land Rover was on display at a very strategic spot at the compound where he lived before 1964 in Lusaka. The award ceremony was glamorous and there were several media gurus from all over the world, captains of industry and multinational corporations. With me at the event was the immediate past Africa President, Y’s Man Femi Oduntan who also flew in from Nigeria. There was also Miss Chipo, Y’s Youth from Zambia and her sister. They had come to give me the moral support. The Y’s Men International of which I am a member in an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations. There were top executives of the CNN/Multichoice and it was indeed a parade of stars. The awards were later awarded to winners in each category. Thereafter there were celebrations, dinner and dance which were indeed memorable.
