TheCable

Mohammad Abubakar, the minister of environment, says the federal government will introduce corrective measures to check pollution of the environment in the country.

Speaking at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan on Saturday in one of the activities lined up by the ministry to celebrate the 2021 World Environment Day, Abubakar warned against negative health effect of losing the ecosystem through unhealthy interaction with nature.

He also spoke against the practice of sand-filling the ocean and river beds to gain lands for construction of housing units.

The minister also used the occasion to inaugurate some projects executed by FRIN management under the leadership of Adesola Adepoju, the executive director.

“The issue of bio-diversity is partly what we are facing with coronavirus pandemic. Research has shown that the virus came from animal to human which is an interaction between bios. When you talk about the forest, then you are talking about the essence of biodiversity because that is where you have an interaction of everything,” the minister said.

“How we manage it will determine the level of bio-diversity progress or otherwise in the country. It will determine the health of the environment and the people. All these planting of trees are done to make sure we restore the ecosystem.

“On the enforcement of rules and regulations, the federal government has a team that ensures enforcement of rules. The private and public sector are aware of all these rules so what we need to do is to go out and continue with advocacy and at the same time make the payment of fines very attractive.

“What we are looking out is not really to collect money. If you do that, they will find payment cheaper and continue to pollute the environment. We will introduce corrective measures where people will stop polluting the environment. In that way, we will sustain the health of the environment and of the people.”

The minister said humans have taken the planet for granted for many years, adding that now is the time to reset relationship with nature.

“It is not too late but we have delayed a little bit. The only time we began to reset is when we started seeing the hole in the ozone layers, the global temperature rising and the polar ice caps melting,” he said.