FRIN boss decries lack of public interest in environment issues

Dr Adeshola Adepoju, ED, FRIN

EXECUTIVE Director of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Dr AdesholaAdepoju has decried the lack of public interest in issues concerning biodiversity and the environment in general, even as he has pointed out that the institution is doing all it can within its capacity to create awareness and stir up interest in such issues.

Speaking in an interview with Nigerian Tribune, Dr Adeppju said that part of such efforts to create the necessary interest was to “catch them young” by going to public schools to enlighten young minds on the need to pay attention to environmental issues and the important role it plays in the healthy survival of man.

He said the reason issues concerning the environment were not at the fore of public discourse was “simply a function of interest.”

According to him,  “People are not interested in things like this. But if you ask people where the Central Bank of Nigeria is or where the other commercial banks are, they will tell you. If you ask where NNPC depot is, they will tell you. But ask someone in town where FRIN is, the person may not know; and this instution has been here for over 70 years.”

“We have done a lot of awareness, but it’s a function of interest.

“The only way we can build interest is to start with students of primary and secondary schools. By the time they are enlightened that this is crucial to their existence and they tell thier parents, ‘we need to pant a tree because we want to breathe better air,’ the interest will start coming up.”

He threw more light on the initiatives made to reach out to students. “We have what we call young farmers associations. There are a lot of that, and we have a well structured extension outfit that goes out regularly to schools. We are partnering with many schools to start up these associations.

“If we go to motor parks to give people there seedlings to plant they will not, because it does not become food on their tables. But they dont know that after eating they need to breathe well to digest the food.”

The executive director described the challenge of interest as a “foundational” issue and called for press to pay more attention to issues of the environment.