“I BETTER PASS MY NEIGHBOUR”

It is no longer news that the Nigerian economy is mostly powered by generators, no matter how small a business is in Nigeria, it must be a proud owner of the popular “I better pass my neighbor” generator, even a one-room apartment must have a generator but apart from the negativity this has for Nigeria’s economy, what about the effects the exhume fumes from generator has on our environment and health?

These fumes contain gases that contribute to global warming. Global warming leaves us with nothing but Extreme weather conditions, Health problems associated with extreme weather condition, Increase in malaria as a result of warm weather which breeds more mosquitoes, respiratory problems etc.

I stay awake at night and am afraid to open my windows at night because of the fumes from my neighbor’s generators, and I wonder when did it get this bad? Nations have been successful with alternative and cleaner sources of energy and I wonder why we cannot adopt such safer means of generating power.

This is 2012 and we are yet to get our acts together, if a nation as small as Ghana can boast of constant power supply, then I wonders why Nigeria cannot, this makes me ask the question, are we really better than our neighbors? As at 2011 Nigeria ranked 156 out of 187 countries on the United Nations -Global Human Development Index, while Ghana ranked 135. Nigeria ranked low on life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living etc

On a final note, a nation’s well being is beyond the economy or the GDP; it is about the human development and sustainable development.

Olaleye Taiwo @greenernaija #sm4cc

Engage us,Empower us and Resource us- YABA LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN PERSPECTIVE

UNFCC COP 15 was held at Copenhagen in 2009,more than 1200 local governments representative from 250 cities all over the world came together and their message was simple: do not underestimate our voice as local elected leaders ,our willingness and power to act and our ability to mobilize.we are government leaders representing billions of people in our communities who have long demanded action.Engage us,empower us and resource us:include us in agreements in our common fight against climate change.

According to the book: Mobilizing local government for climate action-raising awareness and building capacity by Community Conservation and Development Initiative ,yaba local government was assessed based on these issues.transport ,sea level rise, public health,fuel efficiency stove, waste management, enegy efficiency in buildings,food security and urban agiculture,urban greening and open space,waste management and eco budget etc

It is expedient to note that all these issues were extensively discussed at a workshop held by Community Conservation and Development Initiative,and one of the recommendations that  was made was that communication and coordination between the state government,its parastatal and local government must be improved .Local government should be more involved in decision making about state government and parastal activity within  the their community .

Yaba local government has some limitation for instance on transportation such as rail and jetty comes under the control of the federal and state government and this  limits the LG regarding income generation.

There is a need for public private partnership to construct a jetty within the local government specifically in Makoko .Assistance in fish farming ,purchase of boats and fishing gears and credit facility is also needed.This will help the local government generate more fund .

As i take a look some of these issues bothering on climate change in Yaba local government,i feel there is a need to echo the words of these community leaders at  Copenhagen 2009.Yaba local government needs to be empowered in order for the fight agianst climae change to be won at the grass roots level.
''Engage us,empower us and resource us''.

OLALEYE TAIWO- @greenernaija

QUESTIONS THAT NEEDS ANSWERS

The adverse effect of climate change on poor communities like Makoko community in yaba local government can only be imagined, This brings us to the question,how equipped is the local government in mitigating the effects of climate change on this community? Is there a way of securing the livelihood of these people? Is there a form of disaster management put in place in time of disaster? Are there ways of ensuring that health care services are readily available in these community?These are some of the questions we hope to answer in the course of using social media to create awareness about climate change.

The Rio+20  conference is coming up soon in Brazil and I believe more emphases will be laid on how local governments can make more impact at the grassroots level, this conference will focus on seven critical issues like jobs, energy, cities, food ,water, ocean and disaster.

In dealing with each of these issues, certain questions must be asked. Will there be considerable commitment on the part of government to help the local communities and local government officials combat  climate change in their own unique way?Will there be greater commitment in engaging the youth in local communities in combating climate change?

These are some of the questions that begs for answers and I hope rio+20 will have them.

Olaleye Taiwo @greenernaija #sm4cc #rio+20

DRAINAGES

I went to a particular street in yaba Local government of Lagos and this is what  some of the drainages looks like. The rainy season is here  and we cannot afford to have drainages blocked with all sorts of dirts,drainages that  breeds mosquitoes and causes havoc to our health.Lagos! our environment is important,Let us keep it clean. #sm4cc @greenernaija