Blessing Taiwo
African countries have been enjoined to collaborate with one another in order to achieve a sustainable future for the continent.
The charge was made at the 23rd Chief S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture held in Lagos on Tuesday, organised by Nigerian Conservative Foundation (NCF) and sponsored by Chevron Nigeria Limited.
Ex-vice president of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in his speech, urged African nations to be united, speak with one voice and harmonise trade for remarkable development.
He spoke on the theme— Greening Africa’s Economies: Can Climate Positive Growth Deliver Prosperity?
According to Osinbajo, Africa is faced with food insecurity, infrastructure deficit, energy poverty which means lack of access to energy for a large number of its population especially electricity which makes the state of poverty worse.
“The availability of energy is directly related to income and development. The energy poverty issue in Africa is huge. Over 600 million Africans have no access to electricity 150 million have regular access.
“The emission of greenhouse gas from russell fluid is the primary cause of global warming. We must stop the use of russell fluid if we will achieve the next to zero objective. The progress the world is making is too slow to meet our next to zero objective,” he stated.
The former vice president commended the use of low carbon fuels and hydrogen projects in Africa which is tilted toward protecting the nations.
He assured that Africa has the potential to lead the world’s truly sustainable industrialisation as it is already on the path of progress.
“For the first time in history, we have the technology to significantly reduce carbon emissions from industrial production on a large scale. Also, we are building climate-friendly industries, more affordable than the traditional methods.”
In his address, Olusoga Oduselu, General Manager, Policy, Government, and Public Affairs of Chevron Nigeria Limited, stressed the need to achieve a safe continent and green economy through collective climatic actions.
Speaking on his company’s contributions on the subject, Oduselu said, “Chevron Nigeria values a lower-carbon future, investing in reducing carbon intensity and expanding lower-carbon businesses.
“Chevron Corporation is a signatory of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change and Chevron Nigeria supports Chevron Corporation’s commitment to global net-zero goals.
“Chevron Nigeria enhances environmental performance with innovative projects in energy efficiency, flare reductions, renewables, and carbon capture. In Nigeria, we collaborate with the National Climate Change Council on developing the Carbon Market Framework.”
He added that since 2006, through the S.L. Edu Research Grant and in partnership with the NCF, Chevron Nigeria Limited has awarded about 38 PhD students scholarships to pursue their doctoral programmes on research works related to environmental conservation and sustainable development in Nigeria.
On his part, Tokunbo Wahab, Lagos State Commissioner for environmental and water resources, highlighted the initiatives of the state to ensure the safety of its ecosystem.
“Our decision is very firm to protect the state’s ecosystem despite threats. We have made tough decisions to protect the earth,” he said.
Earlier in her welcome address, Justice RIB Adebiyi, the chairman NCF National Executive Council, stressed the need to plant trees, learn about climate change, create awareness and support sustainable practices like recycling, reducing waste and investment in green technologies.
At the event, two PhD students were issued certificates as winners of the research grants for the year, namely —Yohanna Christopher Tumba from University of Jos and Oluwatoyin Mary Olayinka from University of Ibadan.
