By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The National Orientation Agency NOA and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement, NESREA , have disclosed plans to synergize on regulations that will encourage environmental preservation in the country.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja after a meeting between the two Chief Executives of the two agencies.
The NOA Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the Agency will leverage its national footprint and expertise to ensure massive awareness of environmental regulations and standards to contain the persistent environmental abuses.
According to Issa- Onilu, the poor awareness about the ban on the use of plastics in the country exposes the general lack of environmental education, which requires urgent action to solve.
“ How many of our people know about the policy on the use of plastics in Nigeria. This shows that we need massive education on the environment and your regulations. All our advocacy on environmental issues and climate change requires that we create awareness and environmental education so that those who do not keep to our regulation can be said to be deviants. The level of ignorance about preserving the environment is massive.”
The NOA DG further outlined the Agency’s platforms which can be deployed in the campaign to raise awareness, impart environmental education and seek attitudinal change towards solving the problem of abuse of the environment in Nigeria.
These platforms include the online and offline tools, many of which were developed in the past ten months and are being deployed to cater for the fast changing media consumption patterns in the country.
The Director General of NESREA Dr. Innocent Barikor said they were seeking collaboration with NOA to ensure that the agency structure becomes available for creating awareness and environment education for all citizens.
” To share with the NOA on concerns for the endangered species, especially the flora and fauna, which are rare animals and plants in Nigeria which require protection.”
“Promote Environment Education, by enlightening the public on the subsisting ban of plastic use in Nigeria.
Others include Data Collection and research to promote environmental consciousness that can help deal with the issues of carbonization and climate change.
