Stop Tempting Nature, Banire Warns Nigerians

The Lagos state Commissioner for the Environment, Muiz Banire, has charged Nigerians to  desist from carrying out actions that would result in reprisals from nature.

The Commissioner gave this warning at this year’s Walk For Nature held in Marina, Lagos.

The event, with the theme: ‘Sustaining a Greener Lagos’, saw the participants walking the  entire Marina led by Banire, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy  Affairs, Rotimi Agunsoye and the Chairman of the Nigerian Conservative Foundation, Philip  Asiodu.

According to the Commissioner, the myriad of natural disasters being witnessed around the  world is as a result of the way people treat nature and its resources.

“We are products of nature; we cannot continue to live at variance with her dictates and  wishes.

“Our culture, both traditional and developing ones must take cognisance of nature’s  well-being.

“Sadly, we have erred nature. Nature seems to be in rage, current happenings around the  world substantially indicate that we are not in harmony with nature,” he said adding that  earthquakes, landslide, massive flooding, hurricanes, extinction of flora and fauna were  some of the examples of the consequences of natures anger resulting from too much  pressures on it.

While reiterating the efforts of the state government at combating the effect of climate  change in the state, he said that the reason the country had not witnessed any  catastrophe as a result of the reactions of nature was just because the country was lucky  and not because it is exempted from any tragedy.

“It behoves on us as well as the entire global people that we must be wise in whatever we  do in terms of industrial and domestic purposes.

“Nature must be inevitably put into consideration, mother earth must be respected and the  environment must be passionately protected and guarded,” he added.

The Commissioner maintained that Lagos had become a pacesetter in the area of fighting  climate change and that the government would not relent in this drive to make the State  habitable for people.

Banire also said that the administration of Babtunde Fashola had a target of planting  three million trees before its expiration. He enumerated the number of gardens created  within the state so far adding that more would be created.

“Let me also say that as we protect nature, we are not loosing anything, we are making  money; that is the new economy-green economy. Opportunities abound as we explore a low  carbon economy,” he advised.

—Eromosele Ebhomele