… says protect environment, future
The Lilibeckking Development Foundation (LIBEDEF) in partnership with Social Change Best Urban Innovation Movement held a workshop to address the issues of climate change and its debilitating effects on the environment.
The workshop took place on Saturday, March 16, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
In attendance were students, concerned residents and other invited guests who exhaustively educated and enlightened the audience on reasons residents should abstain from activities that hinder a healthy environment.
Climate change is said to refer to the significant and long term alterations in earth’s weather patterns and average temperature primarily caused by human activities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
A climate justice Activist, Cadmus Atake-Enade who was also a guest speaker, mentioned that burning of fossils fuels releases carbon emissions into the atmosphere which are detrimental not only to the society and ecosystem, but also to the health.
Cadmus emphasized that youths in Benin City and across Nigeria should push for clean energy to rescue our environment and also adopt alternatives that are environmentally friendly.
He further urged that residents should go for alternatives that keep the environment clean and conserve energy.
“Go for renewable energy usages in your houses, rather than spending money to buy fuels, diesels and all that. Why not think of the alternatives that will be cheaper, cleaner and safer for you and your family,” Cadmus stressed.
Also, drawings and pictorial presentation by artists were displayed to explain what climate change is all about.
Onyemaechi Anita, one of the artists, painted a picture explaining how deforestation can give rise to climate change, and explained: “Cutting down trees that give oxygen and take out carbon dioxide would not make the air clean. We can’t say stop cutting trees. It’s just like saying no more development.”
“I portrayed a holding an hour glass sweating. The topside of the hour glass is depicting deforestation while the lower part of the hour glass is representing the solution which is the solar system being distributed to cities towns, villages.” Onyemaechi noted.
Also, another artist Chukwuma Victory Ebere, a graduate of Fine and Applied Art from the University of Benin, exhibited a painting which depicts the effect of civilization on the environment.
“By effects, I mean the uneven situation of climate change in the environment that causes sicknesses, death and more.
“On the other side of the painting depicts the rescue mission. What we have to do to make the environment suitable for all of us. Things like afforestation, against the act of deforestation. Planting of more trees which will transform the polluted environment to a cleaner energy,” he said.
Speaking on finding solutions to climate change, Chidubem Ekere, another artist who painted an industrial generator that produced smokes that affect climate, and bring about health complications in humans, explained that we should create more dams as they are sustainable way to generate electricity rather than harming ourselves and environment.
The Coordinator for students’ Environmental Assembly Nigeria, University of Benin Chapter, Igbuan Promise, expressed his gratitude for being in the workshop.
“It was interactive and informative. We got to learn that moving from the use of burning fossils to generate energy to the use of renewable and sustainable energy like solar system, wind system too.
“It was also an eye opener to see the dangers of using this burning fossils because the gaseous emissions that come out of these engines are detriment to our health.
“From the illustrations from the artists, I’d really say it was a wonderful piece and it enlightened me. I was wowed.
One thing they all depict aside telling us what is climate change is that there is hope and sustainable alternative to energy,” Igbuan explained.
Giving reasons for awareness creation through the workshop, Destiny Ose Aigbokhae, the Secretary, Board of Director, LIBEDEF, noted that he has witnessed so many reasons why the advocate for a clean energy is necessary, noting that it will guarantee little to no pollution or greenhouse gas emissions into the air.
“As a youth, I’ve seen so many reasons why you have to be innovative and we need to make changes, impacting lives, the community people and the society and environment at large.
“The Lilibeckking Development Foundation with our main cause to first support deprived school children. Secondly, we identify, plan and manage community based development aimed project with quality lifestyle and economic welfare,” he said.
He noted that youths should not be left behind in battling environmental and climate change.
Aigbokhae also highlighted that, “When it comes to environment, we think about health first. We see that there is a need for clean environment, renewable and sustainable energy where human beings don’t have polluted air to breathe in.”
While addressing the solution to these harmful environmental factors, Aigbokhae mentioned that instead of continually engaging in burning fossil fuels, using solar power can serve as a renewable and sustainable energy.
“Cutting down these trees by deforestation, the solar panel can really help us. These trees take in carbon dioxide and give us oxygen, and they are being cut down either by way of development like villages turning into town and town turning into mega cities and all of that.
“So, we don’t need to be burning fuel, diesel, gas everyday. Turning on the generator can lead to both air pollution and noise pollution,” he said.
Further addressing the aim and vision of the foundation’s movement towards advocating for a healthy environment, Mr. Aigbokhae revealed that more enlightenment programmes would be created again so that by 2030, there would be a drastic decrease in environmental and air pollution.
“We’ve done this before in secondary schools by teaching them what is climate change, causes and effects, and what we need to do. And we intend to continue with the training so that the awareness can be widely spread,” Aigbokhae maintained.
He urged members of the public to adapt to cleaner energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy.
Aigbokhae also encouraged members of the public to strategize ways to turn waste into something useful like engaging in recycling, planting more trees and spread the awareness on the need to save our environment.
“Our climate our future. We must safeguard our climate and safeguard our future,” he emphasised.
