Three distinguished industry operators, Dr Awwal Bamanga, of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Chairperson of Mulifelong Motors Ltd., Mrs Mulikat Sanni and the Lagos Channel Management Managing Director, Mr Kalusky Yechiel, have brainstormed towards increasing Nigeria’s capacity to handle it’s marine litter.
The three who came together, at the instance of a Non Governmental Organisation, the Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, were complimented by the presence of huge numbers of secondary schools students, with a single aim of creating an enduring awareness and enlightenment, particularly at the grassroots.
Consequently, harnessing the privilege offered by this year’s Children’s Day, the Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, with its School to Sea Career Tour vision, had berthed Thursday, at the LTT Coastal and Marine Services Ltd in Apapa Lagos.
Mr Kalusky Yechiel, the Lagos Channel Management Boss
The theme was: ‘Marine Litter in Our Waters: the Negative Impact on Blue Economy, with Solutions’.
Dissecting the theme, the event Guest Speaker, Dr Awwal Bamanga, who is an Assistant Director, in NIMASA’s Marine Environment Management Department, observed that the sensitisation campaigns and education must target boosting awareness and promoting behavioural changes as key to addressing menace of marine litter.
According to Bamanga, campaigns and education must increase awareness and promote positive behavioural change, if the menace would be adequately addressed.
He therefore called for a meticulous research so as to identify where the litter comes from, in other to address it, effectively.
Mrs Mulikat Sanni, the Mulifelong Motors Chairperson
He stressed the need for long term engagement approach in addressing the issues of marine litter with industry Stakeholders, particularly, in providing consumers the incentives, to recycle persistent materials.
He maintained that there was a need to prevent and reduce the production and consumption of environmentally persistent types of plastic, stresing that the increasing accummulation and attendant consequences should be addressed in part, through further research and complimentary studying.
He specifically called attention to the dangers of marine debris and other related challenges which he advised, must equally be tackled, in the course of checkmating marine litter.
The Guest Speaker, Dr Awwal Bamanga,
He identified some of the sources of marine litter to include unprocessed waste from sewage treatment plants, items washed down into rivers, fishing equipment abandoned at sea; and listed some of the ways the menace can be mitigated as: legislation, involvement of stakeholders, recycling, mapping out where the litter emanate, reducing siltation amonst others.
“If the marine litters are not mitigated, the impact would be hazardous, resulting in habitat damage, hazards to navigation, dangerous ingestion by fishes; which could lead to death, entanglement and economic cost”.
“Other recommendations in addressing the marine litters are long-term engagement with industry in addressing waste management issues, giving consumers incentives to recycle persistent materials.
“Also, recognition and concern regarding marine debris and others are key to mitigating marine litter,” he also said.
In his noteworthy contribution, the Managing Director, Lagos Channel Management (LCM), Mr Kalusky Yechiel expressed the satisfaction that the issue of marine liter was now getting a deserved attention; unlike before.
He equally highlighted the fact that observable signs shows that government is now more determined, in the commitment to truly change the narrative.
“I am excited with the level of education around waste recycling and marine litter management.
“What we are doing here today is the first step to a clean Nigerian environment,” he also said.
The chairperson of the Mulifelong Motors Ltd., Mrs Mulikat Sanni adopted a broader perspective as she focused more on the Nigerian girl-child, while she addressed the students at the event.
Mrs Mulikat Sanni emphasized that education must be anchored on moral; because education without moral can be likened to a tea without sugar.
She expressed her joy that the issue being tackled dovetails into Clean environment, and called attention attention to the reality of cleanliness being very close to godliness.
The Mulifelong Chairperson admonished the girls to prioritize decency in their physical appearance, conduct, speech and all aspects of their lives.
“When you take a drink, look for a waste bin to dispose the cans or bottles. We should also look towards adding value and preserving the environment,” she said.
While speaking earlier at the event, the President of Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, Mrs Violet Olaitan Williams, noted that the day’s event was to catch them young, especially for the girls to know that they are not supposed to throw plastics, even in drainage.
L-R: The President of Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, Mrs Violet Olaitan Williams; the Chairperson, Mulifelong Motors Ltd., Mrs Mulikat Sanni; the Managing Director, Lagos Channel Management (LTT), Mr Kalusky Yechiel; and the erudite Guest Speaker from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Awwal Bamanga, during the awareness creating program event in Lagos.
“Charity begins at home, so the need to educate these young ones on the right things to do must begin early.
“A letter will also be sent to managements of each schools that came today for them to have marine litter advocacy clubs, so that more awareness will be created,” she said.
The schools present at the event included the Foutain Heights Secondary School; Methodist Girls High School, Yaba; Dowen College, Lekki; Mind Builders College, Alausa; Honeyland Schools, Magodo; Dansol High School; Government Senior College, Maroko; and Wahab Folawiyo Senior High School.
