June 5 each year is globally set aside for the celebration of World Environment Day. As usual, this year it was celebrated to quote FUTO VC with ‘uncommon and unusual theme’ which is ‘Think-Eat-Save’.
As it was celebrated in Nigeria, The Centre for Women, Gender and Development Studies, [CWGDS] an office under the Vice Chancellor’s office organized the day, and was celebrated on 26-27th June, 2013.
This year celebration centre on sanitary inspection of schools in FUTO to ascertain the cleanest school, environmental sanitation of the university premises, student’s debate and drama, slide show, lectures and prize-giving award.
The programme start from School of Engineering and Engineering Technology [SEET] with the opening declaration of the VC, Prof C. C. Asiabaka, whereby he, the director of CWGDS, Dr. Ihuoma Asiabaka, principal officers, head of departments, students, and others engages in picking refuse waste and packing it in nylon bag around the university premises for storage and disposal.
Later the programme shift to the Hall of Mercy, where a debate was held between various schools of the university on ‘which school is more environmentally conscious’, and another one between girls and boys titled ‘between boys and girls, who are more hygienic’. Then a voiceless drama was presented on the importance of environmental and food hygiene, and the impact of environment on our health.
In the address delivered by the VC, he had this to say “the land we till for agriculture, the waste we dispose, the canals we build for irrigation, the drains we construct, the vehicle we drive on the roads, the industries and factories we establish, the petroleum products we exploit, the trees we fell, the animals we rear, the houses we build either for accommodation or for business, the boreholes we drill, the generators that provides us with power, and other innumerable activities of man impact positively or negatively on our cherished environment”.
Hence, the environment affects and influence human life physically, biologically, socially, mentally, spiritually, and financially.
The director of the CWGDS, Dr. Ihuoma Asiabaka, in her welcome address said that “This year’s theme ‘Think-Eat-Save’ [TES] is chosen to encourage the prevention of food wastage and to raise awareness about the environmental impact of the food choices people make because when food is wasted, natural resources are wasted. TES also aims at reducing food loss along the entire chain of food production and consumption, particularly food wasted by consumers, retailers and hospitality industry”.
She also added “According to United Nations Food and Agriculture [FAO] 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually; and this is equivalent to the same amount of food produced in the whole sub-Saharan Africa. United Nations environment Programme [UNEP] reported that 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. Thus this enourmous imbalance in life styles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment make this year’s theme ‘Think-Eat-Save’ most timely”.
The key note paper was delivered by Prof Alfred Ihekorenye, executive director, Agro Development Technology Initiative Nigeria limited on ‘promoting food security for improved rural livelihoods in Nigeria’. He dwell on National Special Programme for Food Security in Nigeria [NSPFS], women participation in the food security programme, government’s new paradigm shift: from food security to Agricultural Transformation Agenda [ATAP], value added agriculture and many others. He conclude by saying “I must state loud and clear that post-harvest systems encompassing primary processing within the farm gate centre and progressing to secondary, tertiary and downstream processing to add value and enhance market potential of agricultural produce are the critical prime movers of food security and agricultural change which in the present democratic dispensation in Nigeria dovetails nicely with the Transformation Agenda”.
The second paper is ‘Flooding, a consequence of anthropogenic neglect’ delivered by Prof C. O. Owuama, Director, Institute of Erosion Studies, FUTO. He talks on causes of flooding, forms of flood, the effects of flooding, anthropogenic neglect, etc. He conclude with this saying “If we have to SAVE or sustain the environment from devastating effect of flood, government, the business community and academia must THINK and then encourage researchers to adapt or adopt or improve on the existing technologies in flood control, modify regulatory laws on development of open spaces, create awareness in the educational curriculum, and enforce regulation especially in the design, construction and maintenance of water regulatory systems. It is only after then we can relax, Eat and enjoy the human environment”.
At the end of the programme, an award was given to the ‘cleanest school’, which is School of Health Technology [SOHT], and for the part of the debate on ‘which school is the most environmentally conscious’, the award goes to School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology [SAAT]. On ‘between boys and girls, who are more hygienic’, the girls carry the day as they won against boys.
Participants expressed their satisfaction with the programme and commend the Centre for Women, Gender and Development Studies for pioneering the celebration of the World Environment Day in FUTO last year.
Kennedy Higbe, 300 level, Public Health Technology attended the programme and had this to say “I am happy with the celebration of the day; it will go in inculcating environmental consciousness to the students wherever they might be”.
Celestine Onah, student and member of the local organizing committee describes the effort as worth emulating for the schools, students to make sure they make their premises cleaner, safer, healthy and habitable, not only for winning the first position in the next celebration, but for their better health.
Submitted by: Mohammed Sani Garba, EVT 500L, FUTO.
Photo credit: SchoolGist Staff.
