By Francis Sadhere
Our environment has been described as our heritage that must be protected and preserved for our children yet unborn, says the National Coordinator/CEO, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), Comrade Sheriff Mulade.
Comrade Mulade stated this during an interview with our correspondent in Warri, Delta State.
Comrade Mulade, an environmentalist, however blamed the dirty environment and the pollution of our environment on the inability of successive government in the country as a whole, and the state in particular, to stand up to protect the environment.
He said past Commissioners of Environment in Delta State were a bunch of failure, stressing that they do not know anything about the environment, and therefore cannot bring any positive impact on the environment.
Comrade Mulade added that past environment commissioners could not bring the desired environmental changes to the state because they were more concerned about what they were going to make from their offices rather than the impact they were going to make in the environment.
“Over the years all the Commissioners that we have been having in this state are a bunch of disappointment. Most of them that were appointed to that ministry were not expert in that field. I see their appointments as political compensations. Most of them do not have passion for the environment and when someone does not have passion for the environment he will not be able to perform well,” he said.
He therefore, called on the new administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to appoint technocrats to man the ministry of environment, adding that that was the only way that the populace will feel the positive impact of the ministry.
He said; “What I want the new administration to do is to appoint technocrats who have a passion for the environment to be in charge of those ministries. I want his Excellency, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa to appoint experts into the ministry of environment so that the people will enjoy the environment and feel the impact of the government.
“The new commissioner of environment that will be appointed by Governor Okowa should be somebody that has a listening ear and is ready to listen to environmental experts, NGOs and Deltans. He must be somebody who has a passion for the environment. He should participate in environmental programmes.”
He also called on the state government to build two waste recycling factories in Warri and Asaba which will turn waste to wealth and create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.
“What we are saying is that Delta State should build recycling factories and create employment for our youths. Delta has five major cities and the waste generated in Warri alone is enough to generate employment for over five thousand youths.
“In Delta State for example, we want the state government to create two recycling centers in the outskirt of Warri and Asaba were all our waste would be taken to be recycled. If Senator Okowa is ready to give Delta State a new look, he should tap into this idea,” he added.
On the issue of gas flaring still going on the Niger Delta region, Comrade Mulade called on President Mohammadu Buhari to muster the political will to put a stop to it, lamenting that successive government had played lip service to the issue.
He blamed the continued gas flare in the country on Federal Governments over-dependence on oil to run the economy of the country which he said has made the country to be at the mercy of the oil multinationals.
He noted that the multinational oil companies have continued to have their way because the Federal Government does not have the power to compel them to stop the flaring, adding that the Federal Government has continued to romance with the multinationals so that they will not shot down their facilities.
