The environment which is man’s habitat has been subjected to so much harm.
This situation apart from denigrating it is capable of destroying its inhabitants who depend on its sustainability for their survival.
This explains why states across the world have intensified their efforts to protect and conserve their environment in line with the dictates of sustainable development goal 13 which explicitly speaks to the need for climate action by all.
While several efforts have been made by private organisations and state governments to tackle environmental challenges in the country, Lagos State is leading pan-Nigeria as the state seems poised to reduce the environmental challenges the state is exposed to, to the barest minimum.
It is common knowledge that Lagos State has taken the management of waste very seriously, as it makes conscious efforts to ban the production and distribution of single use plastics which hitherto littered the environment and blocked waterways.
This ban, apart from contributing to the aesthetics outlook of the state, plays a great role in curbing environmentally unsustainable practices.
Through extant laws,noise pollution has been reduced to the barest minimum,while the indiscriminate disposal of waste has been checkmated.
The state government in its quest to sanitise its environment and ensure compliance to established laws has set up a multiplicity of agencies to drive its environmental conservation agenda.
These include,the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency,Kick Against Indiscipline Corps and the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.The trio which are empowered to arrest erring members of the public have in no mean measure helped to enforce Lagos environmental regulations.
While the journey has not been a smooth sail as gleaned from the constant altercations experienced between the public and its enforcement agencies,the state has remained resolute in its quest to sanitize the environmental space.
Although, there are challenges here and there, we admonish the state government through the ministry of environment to periodically review its operations and check the activities of its personnel to prevent them from sabotaging its efforts.
The private sector should also partner with the state government to ensure that environmental sustainability is expeditiously achieved. Granted that Lagos leads in terms of environmental conservation, we call on other states in Nigeria to follow, as the environment must be protected from harm.
*Edidiong S. Akpabio, Author, Researcher and Public Affairs Analyst, can be reached on [email protected]
