Degradation and decay all around us
ACHO ORABUCHI
Dallas, Texas, USA
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Dr.
Okenwa R. Nwosu (photo),
a practicing medical doctor, has been a very dedicated advocate for conservation
of authentic indigenous Igbo cultural values of which the ancestral land is a
central component. He has written extensively to draw attention to the
multiplicity of problems that face Alaigbo and the contemporary Igbo society and
has continued to advance practical ideas which, when properly implemented, can
significantly enhance the quality of life of the average Igbo and his fellow
compatriots. Dr. Nwosu is currently the Executive Director and co-founder of the
World Igbo Environmental Foundation, Inc. (WIEF). In this new capacity, he
spearheads an endeavor to collate and disseminate information about
environmental disasters in Alaigbo as well as mobilize the manpower and material
resources required to arrest and reverse the decay of one of Africa’s premier
rainforest habitats in southern Nigeria. He is a vanguard of social justice. In
this interview with Acho Orabuchi, Champion US-based columnist, Dr.
Okenwa R. Nwosu spoke eloquently on the socio-cultural, economic, and
political dimensions of WIEF. Excerpts:
What informed your decision to create the World Igbo Environmental Foundation, Inc. (WIEF)?
The World Igbo Environmental Foundation, Inc. (WIEF) was created as a response to the deplorable state in which Alaigbo finds itself in this era. There are signs of degradation and decay of our living space anywhere one cares to look throughout the country, particularly in the territories that comprised the former Eastern Region. Degradation and decay manifest in forms of emergence of thousands of erosion gullies, massive contamination of our cities with solid and liquid waste, deforestation, air pollution and widespread poisoning of ecosystems by reckless spillage of petrochemicals in oil-producing areas. The cost in human lives and missed economic opportunities for the worst affected parts of Alaigbo and contiguous territories is inestimable. Humans are extensively integrated with the environment in which they subsist. The very composition of our body tissues is a reflection of the ambient environment in which we live and pursue our livelihood. The residents of the sewer water-choked sections of Aba (Enyimba City), for example, invariably drink water and eat foods which are grossly contaminated with various types of disease-causing microorganisms and often end up having very high morbidity and mortality rates. In other words, deplorable status of the environmental condition at ground zero is the greatest impediment to the survivability of the Igbo.
This must be a monumental undertaking. What are the challenges and benefits?
Undertaking to confront the unacceptable situation in our ancestral land, with the goal of arresting and reversing current trend, requires all the energies and effort that we can muster and more. It is definitely no child’s play in which one can elect to become casually engaged. In fact, many individuals and groups choose to avoid frontal engagement with the complex and humongous environmental challenges at ground zero because of their intimidating nature. What are required, in terms of human and material resources, to begin to make a dent in the problem are simply mind boggling. But the benefits which shall accrue from getting a handle on the menacing situation shall end up having far-reaching consequences in the socio-cultural, economic and political fortunes of inhabitants of the target area. But for now, widespread devastation of Alaigbo remains an affront and a major inhibitor to the socio-cultural, economic and political aspirations of Ndi-Igbo.
How do you plan to accomplish the objectives of the World Igbo Environmental Foundation, Inc. (WIEF)?
The most important change must begin with the attitudes and perception of the average Igbo. The Igbo are the ones caught up in this vortex of decay and they must lead the way to their group self-redemption or continue down this current path to perdition. Unlocking the latent but potent pride of the Igbo must precede the successful implementation of practical solutions to better manage environmental factors that make the ancestral home of the Igbo unsafe and thus unfit for human survival. It is WIEF's primary challenge to create and cultivate a credible methodology for getting a broad cross section of the Igbo society to identify with WIEF's agenda for Alaigbo as a first necessary step in our collective quest to change the status quo for the better. It is the WIEF-inspired Igbo who shall see it as his/her duty to help to put in place a practical process to collect solid waste in our urban centers rather than leave our trash and garbage to clog the streets and block up storm-water drainage channels. WIEF must appeal to the cultural pride of the Igbo to prompt us to step forward to clean up and manage our living space without which the survival of our own progeny shall be precarious, if not uncertain. The Igbo have proven, by coping with the vicissitudes of the Civil War, that they possess the innate capacity to aspire to achieve through determined concerted effort whenever the threat to our very existence is perceived as an imminent reality.
WIEF's chances of making impressive start toward the accomplishment of its medium and long-term goals shall be greatly enhanced if the foundation can find the effective means of making the average Igbo to perceive WIEF and its agenda as his own avenues for actualizing his self-redemption. The much talked-about Igbo Renaissance can be jumpstarted through a spirited endeavor to initiate and pursue our foundation's goals and objectives for the benefit of the target population. Since Ndi-Igbo are ubiquitous throughout the country, the environmentally conscious Igbo are valuable asset to Nigeria, in particular and the entire world, in general. The high level of skepticism in the enlightened but famished population at ground zero shall respond much quicker and stay committed to whichever group that truly represents who they are or aspire to become than to a lackluster generic entity operated by Ndi-Igbo. If a broad section of Ndiigbo can rally their effort in support of the WIEF agenda, many sponsors at the community, local, state, national and international levels shall reach out to support the foundation's effort without hesitation.
There are socio-cultural, economic and political dimensions to WIEF's vision for Alaigbo. WIEF's principal ambition is to play a leading role in bringing about the creation and sustenance of a healthy habitable living space for contemporary humanity, starting with the Igbo. Unambiguous philosophical and nominal identification of this foundation with the Igbo worldview is proving to be the most important reason for the strong and enthusiastic following for WIEF as well as its goals and objectives both in the Diaspora and home-based communities.
How do you plan to get the people on the ground involved?
WIEF already has its boots on the ground in Nigeria. The foundation recently made an onsite inspection tour of the gully erosion disaster which swallowed many homesteads in Umuchiana-Ekwulobia together with a segment of the federal highway that links Anambra and Imo states. The need to arrest the advance of this ravenous gully before it wreaks even greater havoc to Igbo heartland has informed WIEF’s decision to conduct a seminar/workshop for communities in the area on practical steps to contain this menace. As we speak, Dr. Odili Ojukwu, a professional environmentalist and a team of experienced capable hands at home are putting finishing touches to the plan to organize this crucial event before the arrival of the next rainy season. Though the seminar/workshop shall be co-hosted by the State Government, participants shall be drawn from the other 4 states of the Southeast, neighboring states, academic institutions, Anambra/Imo River Basin Authority and community leaders from all parts of Alaigbo. Decisions and recommendations from this get-together shall form the bases for initiating programs for containment of aggressive erosion gully site throughout the target area.
WIEF’s stratagem is predicated on building a functional alliance between communities, government, institutions and concerned groups at the local, regional, national and international levels. WIEF Nigeria shall utilize the Local Government Areas in the target area as operational units for planning, implementing and monitoring many aspects of its programs. The foundation shall soon mount intense publicity campaign to sensitive the populace on the need for citizen hands-on involvement in any scheme that can succeed in arresting and reversing the current trend. Mass media, churches, social events and even town criers shall be properly utilized to ensure that the message gets all intended targets.
WIEF decries the massive pollution caused by hectic oil-producing activities in the Niger Delta, the coastal waters and equatorial rainforests of Alaigbo and contiguous territories. Focusing on cleanup and restoration of environmental equilibrium in devastated communities in oil-producing areas is a sure conduit for providing jobs and putting cash directly into the hands of the impoverished residents who can do the work by themselves. WIEF is developing practical models for collaborating with multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria and relevant arms of the Federal Government to adopt a novel approach for dealing with the desperate situation that is evident in most parts of the Niger Delta. Tackling the environmental dangers at ground zero shall create millions of new jobs thereby amplifying the impact that WIEF shall continue to have at grassroots level in coming years.
WIEF’s task would cost lots of money. How do you plan to fund the projects?
Yes, you are right. The cost for implementing WIEF’s agenda and programs is huge. But even bigger is the cost of allowing the current trend of degradation and decay to continue unchecked. No one doubts the fact that all the necessary funds to get the job done can be found from local, state, national and international sources. The limiting factor has been insensitivity and lack of prioritization amongst those who control the purse strings and thus the power to dispense public and private funds earmarked for ensuring proper management of our living space. WIEF has special stratagems for unlocking multiple funding sources to guarantee successful implementation of our master plan in the target area. Funds shall be sought from individuals, groups, communities, government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and through sundry activities that shall generate cash flow to support our operations.
Chairman of WIEF Board of Directors, Mr. Joe Eto, is presently spearheading the task of raising needed funds from our Diaspora community to commit to the foundation’s activities at ground zero. Diaspora Igbo groups like the WIC, PNF and various state associations, to mention a few, shall be engaged as partners in addressing many aspects of WIEF’s programs going forward. The leadership of US-based Anambra State Association (ASA USA), for example, have been formally approached to co-sponsor the inaugural WIEF seminar/workshop at Ekwulobia, Aguata LG, scheduled for late March 2007. As soon as the necessary structures are put in place, expert hands shall be deployed to source funds for WIEF within the US and amongst international bodies that routinely sponsor agenda and programs aimed at global environmental issues. The Igbo must first lead the way by raising the initial funds before others are brought in to help.
What do you foresee as the dividends that would come as result of WIEF?
Successful implementation of WIEF’s vision at ground zero shall restore a sense of pride and self-dignity to the general populace who have been made to accept that living in broken and filthy surroundings is the norm and the best they can ever have. Resurgent self-pride, in turn, engenders a motivation to purposefully pursue many other developmental agenda which have helped to transform other societies from poverty and hopelessness to prosperity and confidence in the future. Without the burden of shame for being part of a culture that appears unwilling or incapable of taking charge of and managing its God-given living space, the Igbo can begin to creatively exploit the huge potentials with which our people are well endowed. Massive creation of jobs, which shall accompany sustained execution of WIEF initiatives and programs, can spur a socioeconomic quantum leap that is unprecedented in recent times. It shall definitely be much easier to sell Alaigbo as a compelling foreign investment destination based on the fact that the target area has plentiful locally available high-level manpower, large consumer population and appropriate environmental maintenance protocol.
Perhaps, the greatest dividend from a successful WIEF agenda is the likelihood of emergence of a regional master plan for addressing major developmental issues of concern for Alaigbo and contiguous territories that constitute the Nigerian Eastern Economic Corridor. A unified land use and standardized environmental management policy in all legislative units in the corridor can constitute a practical basis for fostering regional solidarity in shared economic and even political interests. Many Igbo socio-cultural and quasi political groups have tried unsuccessfully, since the Civil War, to derive a practical and credible basis for reviving the much-needed regional solidarity that mirrored what existed in the former East. Regional planning and coordinated execution of a WIEF-inspired agenda may succeed in persuading all concerned to see our current environmental nightmare as regional in nature and thus better solved by working together as neighbors.
Do you have any other insight to add for the audience?
WIEF is a bold endeavor designed to bring about a fundamental transformation in the prevalent attitude of the average Igbo with regards to how he perceives his living space, in particular and the world around him, in general. Beyond the material benefits that shall accrue to our society from inculcation of proper environmental management skills and maintenance culture, ongoing efforts shall also instill a new sense of confidence and self-pride required to open up many more vistas that currently still elude us as a people. A successful WIEF can become the quintessential Igbo gift to our own people, Nigeria and rest of the world. We, therefore, ought to take full charge for its evolution, from design to implementation and develop it as a showcase of the will and capacity of the contemporary Igbo to overcome our current shortcomings through self-help and persistent hard work. The Igbo may not be entirely culpable for the deplorable state in which we find ourselves today. We must, however, take full responsibility for devising and implementing practical solutions required to restore the can-do mindset that has epitomized the Igbo in recent past.