By Ishaya Ibrahim
A non-governmental organization, I-Rep Mother Nature, has raised the tempo in the campaign for climate-friendly actions in Lagos communities.
In the last three weeks, the NGO visited communities in Apapa, Ikorodu, and Ogba to raise awareness of tree planting and against the indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles. Film shows, musical performances, drama, poetry, and dance were deployed to amplify the message.
On April 18, I-Rep Mother Nature kick-started the campaign at Irede, a coastal community in the Apapa Wharf area of Lagos State.
The Irede outreach featured short films, music, poetry, and stage plays all with themes around climate change, portraying the harm done to fish and other marine life through indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles which eventually end up in swamps, rivers, seas, and other water bodies.
They also show the harm done to man through the consumption of fish that are exposed to harmful chemicals used in the production of bottles leading to all kinds of ailments, including cancer, liver failure, kidney infections, and many other non-communicable diseases.
Prolific filmmaker and environmentalist, Willie Workman Oga, who also is the executive director of I-Rep Mother Nature, said climate activism is a task everyone should be concerned about because of the high stakes involved.
Oga, who uses his artistic work to call attention to the dangers of climate change, for which he has won several international awards and nominations, said everything that affects the environment in any part of the world, affects us.
Oga explains why the outreach was targeted at young people. “If you catch them young and get them to get used to the mitigating effect of climate change early in their lives, they will grow up protecting the environment more effectively.”
A representative of Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) at the event, Oluwaseyi Oyewole spoke on the dangers of indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles.
He told the kids: “If you throw plastic bottles away when it rains, the plastic ends up in our water. It is that same water you are going to get fish from. If plastic bottles are clustered in the water bodies, do you know it affects your fishing? It can kill fish in the river, and at the same time, it still affects us humans.”
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He told them what to do: “From these water bottles, after drinking them, you put them in our trash bag, a purple nylon. When they are many, you can sell them to people who use them for recycling. They use it to make bags, jackets, clothes, etc.”
A journalist and environmental activist, Dele Ojo spoke on the benefits of tree planting.
He said trees help cool the environment, reduce flooding and erosion, and balance the ecosystem through photosynthesis.
He said: “We need to plant trees. We don’t have to rely on nature because nature planted trees for us. When God created heaven and earth, he created trees too. Trees are very important for our environment. For a long time, human beings have cut down trees to do a lot of things. And that thing has been affecting us. That is why you hear about climate change. It is because of human activities.”
The highlight of the event was the planting of trees in the Irede community, which saw young members of the community playing major roles during the event.
On April 24, the NGO visited Owode Ajegunle community in the Ikorodu local government area of Lagos State.
The team was received by community members eager to learn how they could contribute to mitigating the impact of climate change.
And like in Irede, drama, poetry, music, and other artistic displays were deployed to promote climate-friendly actions of tree planting and shunning indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles.
On May 5, the NGO stormed Ogba to make the same case for climate-friendly actions.
The awareness program saw the enthusiasm of the community to embrace the recycling culture of plastic bottles.
In all the communities, a group of young volunteers called Community Environmental Youth Vanguard was set up to champion the recycling drive and tree planting effort in their communities.
According to Oga, one major noticeable impact of the program was the positive response from the communities to the advocacy.
He appreciated the Global Greengrants Fund for their support in facilitating the outreaches.
