By Adeyinka Adeniran
Stakeholders have admonished Nigerians to preserve, protect, conserve and encourage tree planting in order to forestall climate change and natural disasters caused by the rising temperatures.
They gave the charge while raising a public awareness and observing the 2024 International Mother Earth Day, celebrated every 22nd of April.
Speaking, The Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Mallam Isa Onilu, represented by the Director of the Agency in Oyo state, Olukemi Afolayan, said it has become imperative for all Nigerians to come together and be nature-friendly in order to confront the challenges of climate change.
He said, “The part of climate change and planting of tree, it is necessary that we all put our hands together to be nature friendly, environment friendly so that we can tackle the challenges of climate change and we are grateful, some years to come we will still want you to come and see how we have nurture these trees.
In his address, Oyo state Director, Public Complaints and Commission, Adebayo Ojediran noted that the relationship between plants and human beings are symbiotic and there is a need for Nigerians to protect and preserve plants to the effects of climate change.
He said, “What is the relevance and importance of planting plants, I am sure we all know that we are talking about the environment and the environment matters a lot especially in a world where we are talking about climate change.
“In the creation of the world, God created plants and trees as well as humans so that we live in symbiotic relationship.
“Plants need human beings to live, human beings need plant to live.
“The oxygen that we required for our sustenance to breath-in every day, this plant are the ones that are giving us the oxygen.
“And the carbondioxide that we breathe-out, that we do not need, is what makes this plant to live.
“So plant need human beings and human beings need plant to live.
“Due to the activities of man, we start to now puncture, we puncture the atmosphere, to the extent that it now allows for more space for the sun heat to come to the earth.
“The resultant effects of the sun coming down to the earth is that we are beginning to have more heat which opposes what we used to experience before.
“Due to the emissions from the factory, the emissions from the industries, the commercial motorcycles who are going on the road, all of these emissions are going up to deplete the blanket.
“The long term implications of that is having impact on rainfall because the process of how rain fall, is that the sun, when it rises, the heat that come down evaporate water from the rivers and the ocean belt and it goes on, then condensation happens, saturation happens and it results to rainfall.
“As rainfall, but because the heat is not stopping, the process again continues, it is impacting on the ideological cycle.
“Where we having more of the process activated because of the heat?
“It will now result in more rainfall and more flood, in some part of the world, because of the increase in rainfall, it is impacting now in flood.
“There is a need for us to be very conscious of having to plant trees, planting more trees will mean that we will be doing ourselves a lot of good and trees by all the terms and purposes are also a control to erosion.
“What we are doing today is very significant and I will admonish all of us in our own various little corners, let us explore the possibilities of planting trees and we would be doing the next generation a lot of good.
“Sustainability is all about living in the world today, enjoy the world today and making sure that we keep and we preserved the beauty of the world for the next generation.
In her remark, the Managing Director, Peakthrust Insurance Brokers, Mrs Bimbo Onakomaya expressed the readiness of insurance industry to cover all the risks that come up due to climate change effect.
She said, “I want you to understand that the relevance of insurance to climate change and planting of tree is all what we are to do.
“It is so important for us to be able to maintain the environment.
“The basic thing about insurance is that it is important for us to be able to transfer our risks to those that are responsible for taking care of the risks while we focus on our various core competencies.
“There is green insurance for green, for climate, for passing on tactically everything that we face whether changes even to the insurance industry.
“And so, on behalf of Insurance industry in Nigeria, on behalf of the new National Insurance Commission, Commissioner for Insurance, Mrs Asegun Omoseyin, I just want to say that we in the Insurance industry in Nigeria as well as in Oyo state, we are more than capable to cover the risks that come up due to climate change.
In his address, the President, For nature and Future Eco-Green Initiative, Elijah Adejimi expressed the commitment of the group to preserving, protecting, and conserving nature for the present and future generations.
He said, “We just want to remind ourselves that earth is home to all of us and we must as a matter of responsibility begins to prioritize our activities in such a way that is friendly to the environment so that it becomes sustainable and liveable both for generations now and generations to come.
“This is part of what we call safe change campaign speaking, acting for empowering change campaign so that we can begin to build capacity and the consciousness needed for us to live sustainably on planet earth.
‘Once again, I congratulate us for being part of this, for as we continue to live on this planet earth we will commit to preservation, the protection and the conservation of the earth for generations now and for generations to come.
“The International Mother Earth Day is a special celebration that brings together people from around the world to remember that planet earth is the home for all human beings to live and live in harmony with nature.
“It is the responsibility of all and sundry to protect the planet and look after all the species that live there.”
