• Engineer. Yusuf Majolagbe, chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers (NIEE), Lagos chapter, said the state being a coastal city, several serious environmental consequences may be encountered.
• Engineer. Majolagbe said Lagos – with millions of people – needs to do more as water levels rise.
• In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, Engr. Majolagbe pointed out that climate change affects the environment in different ways, including rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, flooding, etc.

Legitime.ng Journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering environmental issues.

Ikeja, Lagos State – In Lagos Statethe heart of the most populous country in Africa, NigeriaImproper waste disposal contributes to excess gases entering the atmosphere and causing environmental problems.

Read also

CNG vehicle: Nigerians deplore difficulties accessing N200 fuel

Legitime.ng reports that waste management systems deemed second-rate have been linked to worsening climate change, which experts say threatens public health.

Although the Lagos State government is making efforts to protect the environment, some challenges remain and authorities can do better.

In an interview with Legitime.ngEng. Yusuf Majolagbe, President of the Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers (NIEE), Lagos Chapter, has advocated the waste-to-energy model, also known as waste-to-energy.

According to him, this is a strategy that can be reinforced by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government.

He said Legitime.ng:

“Firstly, the Lagos State Government received funding from the Harvest Waste Consortium to the tune of €120 million to convert waste into electricity. This means that throughout the value or service chain, it would be increasingly necessary to ensure efficient collection of this waste. However, waste has a high caloric value. These wastes can therefore generate more energy in the waste production system.

Read also

Holy cow: Coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon emissions

It is important that once this type of funding arrives and once this type of collaboration is established, the value chain is monitored end-to-end to ensure that waste is effectively collected and that it is treated as a resource. means of use.

Majolagbe explained that Lagos is collaborating with C40 regarding the conversion of organic waste generated by markets into biogas used for electricity. This involves managing sanitation, which concerns solid and liquid waste.

He said:

“So, the Lagos State Government is doing a lot now to ensure that all our waste does not just end up in our environment, to ensure that it is collected in sanitary landfills, and not only that, there is recovery materials. facilities that collect waste for use.

Environmental Sanitation in Lagos

Despite the phenomenon of garbage-littered streets in some areas and blocked drainages due to indiscriminate disposal of trash and plastic waste, Majolagbe supported the decision of the Lagos State government not to return to sanitation monthly environmental.

Read also

FG announces free C-sections for all Nigerian women

He explained to Legitime.ng:

“Economically, Lagos cannot afford to lose hours due to downtime due to lack of activities, especially on a Saturday morning. But the main thing is to ensure that all these collaborations, as was mentioned before, start to take place. And then there are more interventions and strategic plans to achieve these goals.

“One of the first measures was the ban on polystyrene foam. The second step is to ensure that subsidies are provided for waste recycling and that appropriate legislation and policies are in place to achieve this. So I think Lagos State is in the right state.

Lagos must tackle the challenges of climate change

Climate change affects everyone in one way or another, and its impacts are already being felt around the world. world.

As a highly vulnerable coastal state with a growing population, Engr. Majolagbe stressed that it was essential to protect coastal cities from climate change.

Read also

Challenges: Father Mbaka shares what Nigeria needs to keep the country healthy

He said:

“There are many concerns about inaction if Lagos does not take substantial action on climate change. Lagos is a coastal city, and this means that as sea levels rise, a number of serious consequences can occur.

“Lagos is going a little below the water level and going down inch by inch, year after year. It is important that Lagos starts doing something because it will result in loss of lives and property. This would result in a loss of economic activities, and people would not be able to access hospitals in these areas And this has been estimated by Bouston Consulting Group at a whopping $34 billion if the state does nothing to combat it. climate change. the cost of climate change is high.

Majolagbe concluded:

“We need to build resilient infrastructure to ensure that Lagos is capable of mitigating climate change and ultimately achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal which focuses on climate action.”

Read also

Tinubu’s minister shares what the president is doing to prevent Nigeria from dividing

Air pollution associated with respiratory diseases

Earlier, Legitime.ng reported that Majolagbe said Lagos had endured an uphill battle against pollution over the years.

The NIEE Lagos chief pointed out that pollution is a major problem in many cities around the world, but it is particularly serious in some of the world’s largest cities, such as Lagos.

Source: Legit.ng