BY KENNETH O. EZE
As part of efforts to help realise the global objective of a better
and safer ecosystem, the Dangote Group has initiated a tree planting
campaign through an Employee Volunteering initiative. This move is in line with the culture of sustainability embedded in the organisation’s
operations.
The campaign, aimed at creating awareness and preserving the environment, which aligns with the United Nations 2021 World
Environment Day theme ‘Ecosystem Restoration’, kicked off on Monday,
June 7 in some public and low-income private schools around the Ikoyi,
Lekki/Ajah and Victoria Island axis of Lagos State.
At the premises of the designated schools, Dangote Volunteer employees drawn from the Head Office in Falomo, Ikoyi, in collaboration with officials of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, planted trees
to ensure a healthier environment for current and future generations.
The environmental initiative, led by a team drawn from the Sustainability, Environment and HSSE Departments of the Dangote Group, was in line with the organisation’s focus on giving back to the society, especially the host communities and the less-privileged.
Some of the schools visited by the Dangote Volunteers included Ilasan Community Secondary School, Ilasan (Lekki); Gbara Community Senior Secondary School, Gbara, Jakande (Lekki), and Ikota Primary School,
Ikota (Lekki); Aunty Ayo School, Ikoyi; Falomo Senior High School,
Falomo; and Government Senior Secondary School, Maroko, Victoria Island.
Among the Dangote Volunteers were the GM/Head of Sustainability
Dangote Cement, Eunice Sampson, SGM/Head, Community Affairs and
Environment, Dangote Cement; Tukur Lawal and Yetunde Ogunnowo of
Branding and Communications Department; while Abidemi Balogun, Lead
Environmental Education, Nigerian Conservation Foundation represented
the Foundation.
On the World Environment Day and tree-planting exercise, Sampson said, “The theme of this year’s celebration, ‘Ecosystem Restoration’ is very apt and timely. This is because, whether we realise it or not, as individuals or as institutions, we depend 100% on our ecosystems for survival. The only way our ecosystems can continue to sustain us, is if we make deliberate efforts to also sustain it. A degraded ecosystem cannot possibly provide us with the resources that we need to thrive; neither can it support the needs of future generations.”
Contributing to the subject, Balogun said, “The environment is
borrowed from the future generations; we should endeavour to use it well. Posterity might never forgive us if we don’t.”
Her comments were in tandem with Tukur’s remarks, who said, “This year we have embarked on strategic activities to commemorate the 2021 World Environment Day. Our partnership with the Nigerian Conservation
Foundation will further ensure the sustainability of these ecosystem
restoration initiatives.”
Every year, the World Environment Day is commemorated on June 5, and the Dangote Group through its initiative joined the international
community to mark the special event. This is a UN initiative designed
to create worldwide awareness on, and action to protect the planet from negative impacts, and ensure a healthier environment for all.
Tree planting is one of the ways to restore the ecosystem, and according to the United Nations, over 4.7 million hectares of forests are lost every year. In this year’s collaboration with the NCF (Lekki Conservation Centre), the objective is to plant 200 trees in 10 schools, and create awareness on environmental responsibility and stewardship among the school children, while observing COVID-19 social distancing protocols.
The tree planting campaign is expected to continue on Thursday, June 10 at the schools around Ajah/Badore axis, after the World Environment Day ceremony at the Lekki Conservation Centre of the NCF.
This year’s World Environment Day kicked off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a global mission to revive billions
of hectares, from forests to farmlands, from the top of mountains to the depth of the sea.
