J.F. Kennedy, a
former American president once said and I quote “Think of what you can do for
your country and not what your country can do for you.” This maxim has made the
average American develop passion for his
country. Today, America is a force to reckon with among the comity of nations.
Personally, I have observed that
the average American loves his country. Today, in Nigeria, many communities are
beginning to realize that you must protect that which belongs to you. You must
guard and protect with all your vital energy, that which God has bequeathed to
you. A few years ago; there used to be this misconception that nobody owns
Lagos. Then there was this ‘I don’t care attitude’ among many Lagosians regarding
the environment. General disregard for laws or legislation regarding the
environment was the order of the day. In the Guinness Book of Records just a
few years ago, Lagos was recorded as the dirtiest city in the world. Today the
story is different. The place called Lagos
gradually becoming a sight to behold. It took the determination and zeal
of a people, passionate about their environment to reverse the trend from “I
don’t care or non-charlance to an organized society. Many communities in
Nigeria are borrowing a leaf from the change Lagos is experiencing. should we
in Ikaland decide to sit on the fence? Orogodo in Ikaland is at the brink of
ecological disaster. You don’t need a binoculars to realize this fact. There is a reason why God
in His wisdom brought us to this
beautiful place. Whether it will continue to retain its beauty depends on you
and me. But the truth or the reality on ground is that you and I as
stakeholders are sitting on a keg of ecological gun power. Seriously speaking,
I feel completely unhappy and utterly dissolutioned to see my beloved Orogodo
decimally eroded by factors not beyond human efforts. We are blessed with many
intellectuals in the area of environmental science. We have among us many
notable organizations or advocacy groups who are desirous to see an environment
devoid of filth, erosion and pollution. Are we a nation of rhetorics without
actions. When shall all this laudable dissertations on ecological problems in
Ikaland and precisely in Orogodo area be implemented. That erosion is
threatening all of us in Orogodo has been repeatedly trumpeted, is a clear
indication that someone cares. Now we need action and not rhetorics. Now the
rain are here again and it grieves the heart of lovers of my dear Orogodo to
see foundations of some houses opening up, fence dwalls collapsing, graded roads washed away. Many roads remain impassable
because sand has taken over. The edges of roads are failing. Admittedly, very
few instruments of government are working when it comes to improving the
welfare of its people. From the federal to the local level, political
representatives are as guilty as we their gladiators. Something must change.
Where are the instruments of change in my beloved Orogodo. Martin Luther King
and Mahatma Ghandi were powerful instruments of change in their communities.
They influenced the world. They left enduring legacies beyond their immediate
frontiers. At this juncture, permit me to congratulate many kind hearted Ika
sons and daughters for positively impacting our communities. Onyen Donzi Ihien
Orina Mma. Our land is being gradually degraded. Orogodo is experiencing a
degrading depletion of resources such as soil and a destruction of the
ecosystems. When the foundation of houses and sewages are opening up, wells used
as storage for drinking water are polluted by heavy metals, when few good
drainages are blocked by wicked human activities, when habitations are lost,
then the environment becomes less valuable, biodiversity is lost and the
environment is hurt. Yes our environment is pained because of our insensitivity
and callous disregard for it. There is an urgent need to reduce and/or stop
ecological disasters. We will reap what we sow by our actions. noN we are
sowing many communicable diseases as typhoid, malaria, dysentery, cholera,
acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, yellow fever to an excessive degree.
Illnesses that are largely preventable.
Politicians in Ika land are
largely insensitive to the plights of our people. Our forefathers did not leave
a deleterious environment for us, neither must we for posterity. Our fathers,
leaders and people must struggle to replicate the good we see and appreciate in
other cultures. This is a clarion call for Ika sons and daughters here and in
diaspora and who are desirous of seeing a better society to rise to the
challenge at hand. The battle against our environment must be concerted
vigorously fought and decimated. This is the only place we can call our own.
Voluntary organizations and community development associations should begin to
mobilize people in their various communities and construct gutters. The
planting of trees is a strong deterrent and an enduring palliative against
erosion. Opinion leaders and influence formers must repeatedly inform the
people living in their communities to desist from pouring refuse in drainages.
Political movements must sensitize their members about the need to pass on this
salvaging message. Were Orogodo to be situated on a flat surface, fighting
erosion would have been an ardous task. We are located largely on a slopy
landscape which does not retain too much stagnant water. For now the packaging
for water and many items in the market place are non-eco-friendly. We are
compelled to use this non-bio-degradable items. A known example is the polythene
which cannot decompose and has become a nuisance as they choke the drains. We
must all come to a realization that our environment is borrowed from our
children. A stitch in time saves nine. Majority of our people are groaning and
sighing over our environment gradually becoming detestable.
If politicians care to listen,
let them as a matter of urgency tackle headlong and or frontally these pressing
environmental problems that face our society today and commit policies that
enforce the sustained use of our
environment.
Government must live up to its
responsibities now by fixing all failed sections of all tarred roads, construct
durable drainages, mount aggressive public enlightenment campaigns using public
address system in all communities. Let him that has ears tell his neighbour.
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
Leave a Reply