Kunle ADELABU
The Chairman, Igbogbo/bayeku Local Council Development Area, Comrade Sesan Daini, during the 2019 Tree Planting Exercise appealed to residents of the council to plant trees to commemorate christening of a new baby, graduation, and birthday
According to him, this would ensure safer, beautiful environments and to save the world from the negative effects of the global warming.
Comrade Daini spoke during the exercise held at the Methodist Primary School, Ibeshe in Igbogbo.Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Ikorodu Division, Lgaos, Southwest, Nigeria, also took part in the 2019 Tree Planting Exercise on Sunday, July 14, 2019.
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu was represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Environment, Mr Ishola Rasheed Olalekan
In his address, Comrade Sesan Daini stated that the council since the inception of the exercise 11 years ago, “We have actively planted trees at Oba Omolaja Street, Igbogbo Road, Igbogbo/Ipakodo Road, Obafemi Awolowo Road, Methodist Primary School, Elepe, Methodist Primary School, Bayeku to mention but few”
While commending the administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu for conitinuing with the exercise, Comrade Daini also highlighted the importance of tree planting:
“This planting of trees is very6 important for our environment because trees provide oxygen, cool the atmosphere, help conserve energy, save water, prevent erosion.
He added, “It helps to beautify environment. Trees have been scientifically proven to be useful as the first defense in its fight against global warming as they absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and replenish the air with oxygen.
“We implore you to plant trees to commemorates several events such as christening of a new baby, graduation, birthday etc” he appealed
The representative of the Governor, also speaking said that maintaining green environment was a cardinal agenda of his administration, reiterating his commitment to achieve cleaner and greener ecosystem.
He said tree planting remained an effective strategy to combat the effect of climate change and global warming, stressing that the sustenance of the initiative was a testimony to the foresight of the previous administrations to ensure Lagosians live in healthy environment.
He said: “We cannot keep on ignoring the effects of climate change, which is the most significant material risk to our future; it is also the world’s most devastating threat to human survival. As we increase effort to rid the state of waste, all hands must be on deck to also improve the aesthetics of the environment by adorning it with ornaments, plants, beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees.”
Sanwo-Olu noted that there would never be a short- or long-term benefit of cutting down trees under the guise of development, pointing out that the notion of planting five trees in replacement for a tree pulled down was inadequate to address the problem of environmental degradation.
He said: “The truth is, when tree replacement may perfectly rekindle our hope, it does not equally compensate for the damage done to the soil’s biodiversity and the degradation done to the ecosystem. When primary tropical forest is lost, they can never be recovered. As a government, developing new opportunities around green spaces to promote the green economy is cardinal to our development agenda.”
