_Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi_
The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has called on relevant stakeholders to support the government in the fight against environmental degradation.
He gave this charge at Edo State Government House in Benin, on Tuesday October 3rd, 2023, at the end of an 8.5km sensitization walk across the Benin Metropolis, organized by the Edo State Ministry of Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development to commemorate the 2023 World Habitat Day, which had as its theme, ‘Resilient Urban Economies: Cities as Drivers of Growth and Recovery’.
Designated the first Monday of October every year by the United Nations in 1985, World Habitat Day is recognized, in order for humanity to reflect on the state of towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
In his remarks, Governor Obaseki congratulated the participants for the sensitization walk, reiterating the impending danger posed by environmental degradation.
Obaseki said: “The significance of the walk today is to let people know that our habitat is all we have. Our habitat and the environment are very important to us, and we must make it resilient. We must make our habitat and the environment sustainable for us and our future.
“You all have seen what is going on, particularly with climate change. There is no other greater evidence to let us know that we just cannot take our environment and our habitat for granted. It is particularly troubling in a place like Edo that is in a rainforest. And as a result of what we have done with our land and our habitat in the past, you can see what we are going through in terms of erosion, in terms of landslide.
“If we do not do something urgent, very soon, this place will be difficult for us to live in. If we continue to deforest at the rate we are going, this place, which is supposed to be a rainforest, will now look like a savannah. If we do not clean and green our environment, and restore the environment to how God has created it in the first place for us, we, our children, our forebears and the people who will succeed us on earth, will suffer very dearly for it.”
The Governor decried the manner in which humanity has desecrated its habitat, terming it unfair, as the environment has been taken for granted for too long. He further reiterated his government’s commitment to environmental sustainability, calling on relevant stakeholders to support the cause.
“For us as a government, we need support. We will continue to lead the charge but we need our communities. We need you professionals in the built environment. We need all of you; teachers, professionals, government workers, to help us raise the alarm that we cannot continue this way.
“We are very concerned, that is why we are working on our 30-year urban and regional master plan. We are going to legislate this plan into law, that even beyond this administration, there will be a roadmap; people would know what they must do, and it becomes unlawful if they do not do what they are supposed to do as it pertains to protecting the environment and the habitat”, Obaseki stressed.
On her part, the Edo State Commissioner for Physical planning, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, noted that a collective effort is required to sustain the environment.
According to her, “We have gone round, and the message is that; it is all our responsibility; the habitat belongs to everybody. It is not just the government’s work. If you do your part, the government will do its part. The habitat is all that we have. If we destroy it, it will affect our lives.”
