His Royal Highness, Oba Omogbolahan Lawal, Oniru of Iruland has lamented over the current state of marine litter in Lagos.
The new Oniru of Iruland made this known during a speech he delivered at the launch of the ‘Lagos Coastal Plastic Search’ which held on Friday November 20th 2020.
According to him:”To clean up our waterfront. I believe that the current state of unrestrained marine litter and plastic refuse disposal to the environment is unacceptable. Whenever it rains, albeit slightly heavily, the coastal landscape – to include gutters, drainage channels, dams, beaches and waterways – become overtaken by marine litter that is not just restrictive to our daily use but outrightly embarrassing and discouraging for tourists. Furthermore, such recurrent incidents affect our recreational uses and reduces the touristic value and attraction to users. In addition, the resources channeled to clean up and decongest is becoming significant – and all these are avoidable, if we all lived climate-friend lifestyles in the first place. Most importantly, these affect significantly, life under water because the quality of fisheries and aquaculture is also diminished”.
The King also expressed his pleasure in partnering with the organizers of the event.
“I was pleased when the organisers reached out to us to partner on this great initiative, which is why the Palace has collaborated with the efforts of the planning team to make this day a success. I would speak briefly about the need to ‘Preserve Life Underwater as an antidote for Sustainable Living’.
“Iru Kingdom is largely a coastal and peninsular settlement and as such, we are largely affected by climate change. The environmental issues that confront Iruland such as flooding, storm surges, beach erosion, heavy rainfall, pressures from overcrowding and the incessant infringement of unparalleled urban development activities; make a strong business case for the fragile ecological nature of most areas of the kingdom to be protected and for interventions to intensify to meet rising needs.
Due to our physical location and economic stature as a result of the daily activities that happen here, we are also at the forefront of championing the development of the concept of sustainable cities in Lagos”.
The ‘Lagos Coastal Plastic Search’ is hosted by Doyin Ogunye, Chief Executive Officer of Mental and Environmental Initiative for Children (MEDIC). The event which kicked off on November 20th 2020 will end on 27th of November.