Lagos Cosmopolitan Women’s Club Unites with NCF, LASG for ‘Save the Earth’ Walk
Sunday Ehigiator
The Cosmopolitan Women Club (CWC) joined the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the Lagos State Ministry of Environment yesterday for the first time on a 4.5km ‘Save the Earth, Save the Future’ awareness walk in Lagos State.
The walk, which is in its 18th edition, was themed, ‘Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience’, to increase awareness and advocacy for a better and healthier environment where every Nigerian can prosper while living in harmony with nature.
Participants numbering over 500, gathered at the Onikan stadium as early as 7 am on Saturday, where they walked through JK Randle Road, through TBS – Broad Street (inner Marina), to Ganiyu Smith Road by Freedom Park to Igbosere Road taking a right turn down to Lawson Street junction, back to King George, before returning to Onikan Stadium.
Speaking to THISDAY after the exercise, the President, of Cosmopolitan Women Club (CWC) Lagos, who also doubles as the Chairman of, the Business Development Committee of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dame Mame Fatayi-Williams, noted that the organisation was in support of Governor Babajide Sawo-Olu’s ban on single-use plastic in Lagos state.
According to her, “There are a lot of issues with coastal erosion at the moment, especially in the Lekki area, where we have our NCF building itself. There is a lot of flooding and the lagoon is growing. Hence, we believe that if we do not create this awareness in time as NCF, it will be a problem.
“So here in Lagos state, we are putting everyone in queue and begging Governor Sanwo-Olu to keep supporting us on this.
“And we, as Cosmopolitan Women’s Club, believe that as mothers of the state, we should also be able to raise our voices to call for government support and also create public awareness on the issue.”
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Office of Environmental Services, Dr. Gaji Tajudeen, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Sanitation, Mr. Mahamood Adegbite noted that the walk was aimed at sensitising the citizens on the importance of nature conservation and the promotion of a sustainable environment.
According to him, “This confirms the commitment of the Lagos State Government and NCF to a sustainable Lagos for the benefit of all Lagosians. The theme of this year’s edition is apt, and a clarion call for action to dire issues affecting our well-being. Beyond this, our advocacy should be continuous as we commit to protecting our environment.
“The degradation of the land increases our vulnerability as humans, affecting food security, reducing biodiversity and interfering with important biological reactions essential to our survival on the planet, altering our ecosystem and accelerating the change in the climatic factors.
“We live in a coastal city and our actions and in-actions will affect our environment. Thankfully, Lagos is not exposed to drought but is faced with the challenges of a coastal city like erosion, flooding, and sea level rise.”
He concluded that irrespective of the challenges, the state government, through its THEMES plus agenda, has encouraged afforestation and greening of the city through the tree-planting campaign, advocating the adoption of trees and gardens in collaboration with some private organisations.
On his part, the Director General of NCF, Dr Joseph Onaja, said, “This is the 18th edition we have been doing in collaboration with the Lagos State Government.
“This year’s theme is titled, ‘Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.
“The essence of the walk today is to create awareness. It is one of our flagship awareness programs that we normally do every year to create awareness about pressing environmental issues so that everyone will be aware of it.
“As you can see, the route was strategically chosen so that people around the island will be able to know, as others also hear the message about environmental conservation on our various news platforms.”
