Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday, flagged off a Green Campaign to plant 350,000 trees across the state in response to changing ecosystem and climate conditions.
Sanwo-Olu has also called for the support of the residents to rid the state of indiscriminate waste dumping especially in unauthorised areas.
The green campaign with the theme: “Clean and Green is our Perfect Dream”, kicked off at an event held in Lekki Phase 1 to commemorate the state’s tree planting day – an annual programme initiated 10 years ago by the administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola, with the objectives to galvanise policies and actions towards mitigating the effects of climate change.
The commemorative tree planting activity was held simultaneously in seven other locations across the state, including Costain area of Ebute Metta where the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, anchored the exercise.
The governor, represented by his wife, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, said maintaining green environment was a cardinal agenda of his administration, reiterating his commitment to achieve cleaner and greener ecosystem.
According to the governor, tree planting remains an effective strategy to combat the effect of climate change and global warming, stressing that the sustenance of the initiative was a testimony to the foresight of the previous administrations to ensure Lagosians live in healthy environment.
“We cannot keep on ignoring the effects of climate change, which is the most significant material risk to our future; it is also the world’s most devastating threat to human survival. As we increase effort to rid the state of waste, all hands must be on deck to also improve the aesthetics of the environment by adorning it with ornaments, plants, beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu noted that there would never be a short- or long-term benefit of cutting down trees under the guise of development, pointing out that the notion of planting five trees in replacement for a tree pulled down was inadequate to address the problem of environmental degradation.
He said: “The truth is, when tree replacement may perfectly rekindle our hope, it does not equally compensate for the damage done to the soil’s biodiversity and the degradation done to the ecosystem. When primary tropical forest is lost, they can never be recovered. As a government, developing new opportunities around green spaces to promote the green economy is cardinal to our development agenda.”
The governor lauded the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) for the mileage it has achieved in helping the government to realise the green objectives, noting that seven million trees had been planted out of the 10 million targets by 2020.
He observed that achieving a green credential would help the government to improve healthcare and sustain the environment.
Besides, Sanwo-Olu said in furtherance of his commitment to a green and sustainable environment, the government would re-launch ‘One House, One Tree’ campaign across the state, saying the move would ensure every house in the state plants one tree to intensify the green project.
Permanent secretary, ministry of the environment, Biodun Bamgboye, described trees as “essential” to the ecosystem in which they are planted, noting that the yearly event was aimed at building enduring environmental legacy in the state.
Since the tree planting campaign started, Bamgboye said the state had pursued “aggressive green initiatives and policies” in its communities, with the aim of stabilising climate conditions and transforming Lagos into a cleaner state.
JOSHUA BASSEY
