Fashola Calls For Establishment Of More Resettlement Centres

As African Mayors gathered in Lagos on Wednesday for a Climate Change Declaration, the state governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has charged leaders across all geographical locations to think of establishing resettlement centres to prepare against eventualities of dislocation by natural disasters.

Fashola spoke at the opening ceremony of African Mayoral Climate Change Declaration West Africa PRE-COP 17 CONGRESS with the theme: Building Climate Change Resilient African Cities: Climate Proofing Africa on the Road to COP 17 and signing of the Cape Town 2011 Agreement by African Mayors held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.

According to Governor Fashola, “from New York to Mumbai, Lagos to Mississippi, Ibadan to Pakistan, Japan to Australia, thousands of human lives and billions of dollars worth of property have perished with it, including farmlands which provide our major source of sustenance.

“All these have happened in peace time, without war. This is the reality that we face; an enemy whose army is not known, a force created by our own actions and inactions that is taking human lives almost at will through extreme weather conditions such as drought, flood, severe winter, tsunami, hurricanes, earthquakes and typhoons.

Perhaps most importantly, because of the geographical location of Nigeria, it is doubtful whether any other country in Africa faces the kind of threat of severe weather that our country is exposed to; in the North, Nigeria faces a great risk of loss of lives, farmlands and territorial area from desert encroachment in the same way that she does in the South with the threat of coastal erosion from the Atlantic or as a result of flooding from rising water levels,” the governor said.

Speaking on Setting the African Agenda for UNFCCC COP17/CMP7 in Durban, South Africa, the Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia who was represented by the Head, Special Climate Unit, Dr. Adejare Adejuwon said climate change continues to pose greater challenges to human existence by causing intensive rainfall and drought depending on the geographical location.

The minister emphasized the need for African leaders to form a formidable agenda on issues of climate change, urging industrialized nations to cut high level of Greenhouse Gas Emission by taking advantage of other alternative sources of energy.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Robin Gwynn commended the initiative by the African leaders considering the devastating effects climate change has on the continent.

He said the British government has already commenced plans to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emission by 50 per cent by the year 2025, adding that the capacity of the African continent to mitigate the effects of climate change will go a long way to determine if investors will make long term investments.

Executive Director of Local Government for Sustainability in Africa ICLEI, Ms Kobie Brand, also called for a strong mobilization and commencement of action plan which must include easy access to funds to aid countries to mitigate the challenges posed by climate change.

In his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tunji Bello said Africa imperatively needs to unite to make a strong voice on the menacing influence of global warming.