 You're welcome back we are still here talking about environment I promised you that we're going to talk about the dangers the disaster that plastic pollution brings to us especially here in Lego State and we're glad that we have in the studio here Mr. Oladakbo Shoneyee Communications Manager Nigera Conservation Foundation. Good morning and welcome to the program. Yeah good morning thank you for having me. Okay we're talking plastics today but first of all let me just have a peek into what the conservation society is facing in Nigeria. You want to conserve the forest you want to conserve the species that we have in Nigeria. We want to conserve a lot of things that we find in nature that sometimes we do not even find anywhere else in the world. What has your challenge been like? Okay so number one is funds are not available that's what we just found from corporate organization from individual who can actually provide support even from government you know you don't get enough on to do some of this project. Number one you get resistance if you want to talk about protecting the environment forest it's okay this forest don't don't exploit it don't cut down the trees you see you have a lot of resistance in the aspects. So you also have a lot of people lack and understand your education about how to manage our environment even this is your plastic pollution that we have it is because people don't know so when you begin to say don't do this this is how to do it yeah people feel what is it what is environment we survive don't worry yourself it's the least of the worries of people so to say so that's that's an attitude that you get from a whole lot of people you know that's some of the major problem we are facing and we are trying to go to using the media platform to talk to people why is important that they should support environment why we should make fund available corporate organizations in your CSR why it is very very necessary for you to give big budget to environment matters. Okay let's zero in on the plastics that we're talking about now why now okay give us a picture of how it is a disaster to our environment. Okay so let's start this way Legos for instance generate about 13,000 metric tons of waste so 10% about that waste is plastic so in our head for those of us who understand and you can picture the weight and the size of when it's a metric tons so you can imagine the amount of plastic we generate in a day now number one where is the space to even put this waste if we pass through Lucius you see that sense that comes from there so you discover that so that is telling us that we need to reduce the amount of waste we generate that's number one number two that we need to say how we can manage the waste or before it becomes a waste what can we do to deal with it because it's going to constitute new sense to our environment is polluting our environment so the plastic now polluting our environment everywhere it rained about two days ago we know we are familiar with it every time we see flood so what you say around is a plastic and when you say plastic you're talking about the pet bottle you're talking about the lylons you're talking about the cellophane you're talking about the takeaway plastic that people use at functions or not so you see them everywhere you know that's one of the problems so it's an ISO it litters the place it deities the environment number two is that because of the nature of the plastic that does not decompose for maybe up to about a thousand years or over a hundred years at least in the minimum it means that whatever it gets to if it's not properly disposed as waste not properly managed it lives there for years so for years even when it becomes weak or break into smaller particles I can find the way into the water system and then the marine species feed on them we are also going to feed on marine species who have cancer so that's you can see so it goes round round like that you know apart from the issue of occupying space we also have the issue of before that it's an economic is an health it brings it as a tourist okay we have this Cleaner Lagos initiative I think in the Ambo Day time and one of the the provisions of that initiative was to recycle so what what happens to that why is it so difficult to have recycling plans because the 10 percent of plastic can effectively be recycled into something else and the other maybe 90 percent maybe goes into fertilizer and so many other things that what is the challenge what has become of that initiative and what is the government doing about okay so Lagos take government data we work with we work in partnership with Lagos government in fact that's one of the reason why we're having a program on Saudi called work for nature creating our and the theme is solutions to plastic pollution let's talk about how we can bring solution just literally two things as individuals you can do to deal with issue of plastic pollution in our society the initiative of recycling is still there in Lagos state Lagos government is promoting seriously through the means of environment and water resources how to recycle so but what people need to understand is that that we used to say waste is not a waste but to become a waste so and that was letting being in our head every time when we make use of plastic if at all we need to use it that let's find a place where they recycle there are so many recycling companies in Nigeria even in this Lagos there are so many of them you can locate them you can get their contacts online you can even you can even reach out to NCF and say okay can you link us with recycling company I always have this plastic I want to dispose of them they will come around and pick it they will even give incentive they don't they don't pay for free so that they even give themselves some of that give cash some of them give you item maybe sometime you don't saw that they build points to a point that you now say okay you have you qualify for fridge you qualify for blender and address so so they're in place it just that people don't you know before you get out this thing they become certain weight and you know certainly people don't have that patience to do that I say I will just keep plastic man no no no I don't have that type so is a deliberate effort we need to make which have to be intentional about our attitude to this plastic pollution once we can do that we can achieve that you know that recycling and you would discover to reduce the amount of plastic waste we have in our environment and outside the recycling we have the off-cycling also the off-cycling means that you can convert that plastic to another use you know as an art or craft people do it like this year we are sitting on I was in one studio yesterday and I saw that it was made of tire tire is also part of the rubber we're talking about part of the waste that don't decompose so what how are we converting this thing to other use you know furniture if I provide furniture and flower vests in the house it was little as even buildings I've seen I've seen a video where someone used a plastic bottle we have been a card no we have been a budget yes that some guys are doing that we have some of that are using it to do to create interlock where they can be so people are being creative about it you know and you know there's also money in it so people can also go up go into this recycling and off-cycling business so now what is your level of interaction with the the governments of each state okay let's zero in on Legos right now what's your level of interaction with them what has their response been like regarding the safeguarding of our environment oh I will give kudos to this current government and that that's the truth like I said we're having a program on Saudi in partnership with them if they are not interested in development they will not have signed on on that program this program we're having on Saudi is the 17th edition is an annual work for nature uh that means that we've been having partnership with them over this program for 17 years 17 year non-stop and we still continue plastic bottles in our gutters the trees that see a typical Nigerian a typical it's very hard to convince to change orientation you have to do over and over education over and over over and over and over there was a day a governor in the states woke up and said we're going to do one day uh on free day yeah meaning that it is possible for people to actually drive without pressing the on people did it because they were compelled to this commercial drivers that look as if their head is hot that they eat everything every smoothie they actually do that yes that they they actually I say also is possible there is also a government that came and said you can't hang on the bus if you are driving commercial buses if you're even if you have to let them sit down they will comply me so what we have made joining the girls is enforcement yeah so that's also an aspect government need to look at currently now I understand that the commissioner the new commissioner for environment has been leading in steam they've been going to places break destroy shanties close down some market because they they said they are dirty they didn't clean up an address that is what most of us understand when we see that the government come to monitor or implement the law and address no then we take action we take action that's it when they say they are pedestrian bridge don't cross because the pedestrian use it at least to save your own life and then to are now very cool up movement free web club instead of in dream drivers I know creating conviction people say no but by then they start arresting them and people will now make use of the pedestrian yeah but have you also thought about the psychological orientation of the people because I give you an instance where I'm saying this sometimes it's not just the enforcement the physical enforcement that gets the people the example I'm giving you is for instance in Calaba there used to be a time when Donald Duke was the governor yes it was a judge the most the neatest or the most the cleanest state in not only Nigeria but maybe in the rest of Africa it was very very clean and at that time environmental sanitation monthly environmental sanitation was banned because nobody needed it they just needed to tell the people that are the Calaba people are like those evils so everybody began to think in that direction nobody littered the streets anymore because if I'm Calaba I will just beat my chest and say I'm part of the neatest people now can't that kind of orientation come to Lagos wait because Lagos people have some kind of pride according to the budget yes so when they go outside they tell you I'm coming from Lagos do you know who I am can't that kind of orientation also Lagos is an example of Nigeria Lagos is like Nigeria has 36 states different tribe minimal to around 40 major tribes that's what Lagos is so by tribe it means that we have different languages different culture different understanding different biases so that is what Lagos is metropolitan cosmopolitan so you are having different set of people in Lagos with their own belief it becomes so challenging to manage it's not like a cross river how many tribes do you have in cross river pardon me so who are the people that they said one kilometer another language that is in cross river so no no no no no but what's even the the major difference that you have in Lagos so you say that we have and in Lagos the truth is if you want to do it maybe one day if you can want to carry out a survey early early year generally between January 1st and 21st come and stay in baga come and see vehicles coming in into Lagos and trucks bringing in new people Lagos keep increasing every day so these people that are coming in they are coming in with the orientation from their own state so they are coming to Lagos that has an existing law you know and then so it take a lot to get them to comply that's the challenge we are having Lagos so what we need to do is using this platform of the media to keep talking about it every media organization need to talk about why the city of Lagos has to be clean and talk about what are the little things they need to do that's number one number two is enforcement government have to put all the agents in place to enforce without collecting bribery without bias without bias there without anything they need to do it you know and number number two is that they need to sanction don't just inform don't just make people like the issue of the pedestrian I talked about you have caught and let the person face the law and you don't need to it's not issue of a I will penalize 50,000 you don't need it people cannot even afford to pay those money but that's not what they need just tell somebody that there was a time we go down at the first bachelor if we are caught crossing the road or litter the place they don't find you cash you just take you to one place you go and do community service that community service you can spend hours there people detest it because it delays them but that issue of fine I'm about 10,000 because hey John how far if people get me 10,000 I will pay it and I will go my way you might think that I am tripping the record that you have been five or you know this is not but people are not but you delete them because time is money people will begin to feel that pain that was the day a guy was had a wedding to attend abroad and then he beat the traffic lights it was caught he initially initially denied but later they showed him video do you believe he say yes so the judge told him I'm not going to find you for anything just stay in the court for the old days sat there number one he was supposed to be the best man at the wedding he means that wedding number two he spent the old day in court that is a no punishment those are the things we need to introduce to change the orientation of people not every time you want to find the 50,000 you know you see all these government agents they want you follow one way or do this they quickly run into your vehicle they do all these things they said they are writing you a ticket their ticket no no no all those things now I'm telling you if you delay somebody for the whole day or you tell them go and watch the public toilet they will not they will not be caught next time doing it that is what we need to put in but that's sanction that's serious punishment that will make that will humiliate you or humble so to say you know and that's it but in your in your aggressive campaign as it is you are also expecting the media to do their bit will that beat of the media just be talking to be be mindful of your environment all the time I remember things like Andrew I'm sure you remember where you're stepping out you too and all those those kind of adverts and all that have you done something like that that talks to the people without telling them that I came here to advise you because that's what some of those things do yeah so aside going to tv and radio to talk about it we also do community engagement we essentially we go into the grassroots where we tell people what to do where we do uh stakeholders engagement we have meetings we always call town hall meeting we discover with every nice reason for instance the virtual project that we are doing because virtual is going to extinction the virtual goes as a nature sanitary officer ordained by god himself that the only animal we have in this world that can do cleanup crew cleanup activity without emitting disease into the atmosphere is a special gift for those special but you know people are killing them people are killing them for believe base meaning that they're using it for one gg or the other people are killing them and hitting them you know but we are doing this campaign and we can't do this campaign just talk to people you need to go and identify different group of people stakeholders and bring them together one of them they try to medic you know so and the hunters we've been having engagement with them and truly they were the one who came up and said because we asked okay you don't get vultures you used to get the vultures declined as reduced so he assumed you don't have vultures again and you are using for this tragic medic what else can you do they came up with it that you we can use they can actually use uh plants one of it in your body call it a way a way gege a way something something so they were the one who came up some of this plant you know by them so we appeal to them okay stop using vultures use this plant and truly they have adopted it because they have an association we appeal to them that's a way to get people to change and then you also come up with some jingu pay that right everywhere there was time we did some people that around airports in this Nigeria to talk to educate people about why they need to have a change of action and not just and on social media we do promotion of our messages and not just what action we want people to take yeah but 17 years is almost as old as the current democracy in Nigeria you've been engaging with government how would you assess the level of success so far oh it's been it's been it's been yielding because if it does not be produced any result I cannot show you legal state government has no for SNL we don't want to partner with us so but it's not only one thing we concentrate on this year we are looking at solutions to plastic pollution last year we look at sustained by diversity so every year we always come up with one thing most of the time in line with what environment that's what it is so we just because environment is why this large so you have to just take an aspect to deal with so every year we look at what can we promote what can we talk about this year let's deal with this so what is the result you can how do you make sure you discover that what for instance the plastic pollution as we continue to talk about it and you see that people begin to have a change of attitude the orientation and then we also take it to schools so we have been doing that but then with some corporate organization through our environmental education we go to school we donate beans where they can put plastics so the recycle company comes there to pick those plastic so that reduces the amount of plastic waste they have in the environment and they educate a child that child will go home I'm going to tell the parent and the parent because the parent because we love our children we listen to them almost every day my children engage me they say these are they have they told them this in school they have to do this so either you like it or not because they are your own because you love them you also fall in line so that's a good way to penetrate into family okay talk to Lagos now final word okay so Lagos we are asking that this Saturday you can also join us in our program work for nature so it's an open event we have one taking place in Ogudu another one at Ikeja another one at Onikon can reach out to us and save on our social media platform where you can participate in the program however beyond that let us understand that the environment belongs to all of us without us environment we survive but without environment we cannot survive for instance the oxygen we need to breathe it comes from the tree so if you call the tree then we are going to die and nobody wants to die even when you get to hold you still want to be alive so and that's why we need to take issue of environment very serious all right thank you very much Dapo for coming on the program this morning it's a pleasure that we've had you here we do hope that next time maybe we'll be talking about some talking to this some of these recycling companies so that we get to have an insight as to what they do and what they require is it that I will have to become like the abuki I see on the street I can I can get incentives for the plastics I find around my house or that so we'll discuss those issues at the time great so so um or Lada Shoneye is the communications manager at Nigeria Conservation Foundation and he's been talking to us about the disaster of plastic pollution especially here in Lagos so if you're in Lagosian and you're watching us right now do your bit wherever you are and let the government do the rest for us we cannot always wait for the government because the plastics are in our environment they're not in a lausa that's no way that you find them but that's how we also are going to draw the curtain on the program this morning it was a pleasure having you stay there and watch us let's do it again tomorrow and on behalf of the entire breakfast on plus tv africa family my name is Nyam Gul Akgaji have a wonderful day