The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) held its annual fundraising dinner tagged ‘Green Ball’ with the theme ‘Restoring Mother Nature: New Deal for Nature and People’ with the aim of restoring nature which is subject of the adverse effect of climate change.
Director General of NCF Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, speaking at the event recently in Lagos, said the alarming conclusions on the seriousness of climate change and environmental degradation in Nigeria make it necessary for the foundation to redouble its efforts.
He said recent scientific reports from the United Nations and other international agencies showed that climate change and the decline in nature have reached the point where they threaten human existence.
“This is more so in Nigeria where awareness of environmental issues is quite low and where these issues rank low in priority in our private and national lives. Hence, the essence of our gathering to deliberate and raise funds to raise the bar for the conservation promotion,” he said.
In his remarks, chairman of the occasion, who is also the president, Board of Trustees of NCF, Izoma Philip Asiodu, said “the nation is losing its land at a fast rate, desert is disappearing, mangroves are being cleared, and pollution is everywhere.”
He said report has it that Lagos and other coastal communities may be submerged in 2050 if the federal government failed to take drastic steps.