The International Law Association, Nigeria Branch, Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Environment chaired by Oluwaseyi Ebenezer has broken new grounds as it hosted its maiden event in commemoration of the World Environment Day 2023. The ground-breaking event which was a 2-day programme was held in collaboration with the Institute for Oil and Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES), Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria and Triple Green Environmental Development Foundation (TGED Foundation).
The event which featured a road campaign on plastic pollution across Ado Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State took place on the 5th of June. The campaign was declared open by the Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde who in her speech stated the menace plastics are causing to our environment and encouraged people to keep a clean and healthy environment. The campaign was attended by a large number of people who came out to lend their voices to the growing concern of plastic waste in our society. In attendance were notable stakeholders such as the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as the Ekiti State Ministry of Environment, NGOs and several Youth led Organizations in the state.
The 2nd day featured a webinar on this year’s World Environment Day theme ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution’. The webinar was primarily projected at sensitising the public on the dangers of ignorance and indifference towards plastic waste in our environment. The celebratory event attracted renowned speakers from all over the world. The keynote speaker Prof.Christina Voigt, the Chair of IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) who is also Vice President, International Law Association, Norway Branch shared from her wealth of knowledge and insights on how best to tackle plastic pollution by shifting towards a circular economy. She emphasised the need to have broad participatory processes as pollution is something that affects both the present and the future generation. The webinar also featured Dr Isa Elegbede and Dr Adenike Akinsemolu as speakers.
One of the highlight of the campaign was meeting the renowned legal luminary, Aare Babalola, CON, SAN, who founded Afe Babalola University which was recently ranked as Nigeria’s top university in the 2023 Impact Ranking by Times Higher Education. Aare Afe Babalola showed support for the campaign against plastic pollution.
The occasion which was celebrated all over the world was particularly special for members of the ILA Nigerian Branch and other participants of events both as it not only succeeded in creating the much needed awareness on this key environmental issue in Nigeria but also afforded the Committee the opportunity to charge the government as well as the various stakeholders present with the duty to not only stop at plastic pollution but to stretch their reach far and beyond to other environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss through continued collaboration and partnerships in line with the ‘United Nations SDG 17 so as to create a greener and safer environment for us all.