Mrs Rosemary Osikoya is the Kogi State Commissioner for Environment. She speaks with BOLA BADMUS on the sidelines of the national stakeholders’ forum on Re-Greening Nigeria about the challenges faced by the state in area of environment and the achievements so far recorded by Governor Yahaya Bello in 15 months.
LAST year, Kogi State was one of the beneficiaries of a loan to tackle environmental degradation. What has happened since then?
If you are talking of that, there are different levels. You know the environment itself is multi-faceted. If you go around the state, you will see a lot of infrastructural development going on. There is massive road construction with drainages accompanying the roads. Those are also strategic projects that will ensure channelisation of water. In 2012, Kogi was flooded. The state was shut down and part of the contributory causes that they had was absence of drainages that channelise water. So again, the massive drainage work that is going on across the state doesn’t come cheap. If you come on a visit to the state, you will see what we are talking about.
Security is another area the state is making huge progress. But when you come down to environment, there is climate change. Yes, there is channelisation of water and all of that. But beyond what that single fund could do, with this strategic area, and you could see the rain has come and we thank God that Lokoja was not flooded last year. But you see when you talk of building your underground water and all the issues connected to forest cover and all of them, you would need a lot more funding than just one which is being well utilised in such areas.
Your government has been trying in the area of environment giving what you have listed so far, how has been the support and cooperation from the people so far to ensure that all these challenges are addressed?
Within the month of March and down to April, we conducted stakeholders’ meeting that was covered by the media. We met in Isanlu, Kaba, Idah, Dekinah, and Ampah. Those were the ones we had just about that time. There were security interventions regarding kidnappers and the like. So, we didn’t meet in the central. What we did at those meetings was that we met with all traditional rulers, all first class and second class chiefs. Community leaders were there too as well as youth and women groups.
From what traditional rulers themselves said, this was the first time in 25 years of state history that all of them were gathered together at that level of grassroot stakeholders and not because government was doing a political campaign but because it is discussing issues that bother on the people’s lives. This is feedback they will give you too if you ask them.
The traditional rulers said they were not aware that environment is regulated with the laws we were telling them about. The feedback we got from them was very astonishing.
If you have been following the trend in monthly environmental sanitation, you will notice that it is for us like a sensitisation campaign championed by communities themselves across different areas of the state. We have held it for 13 times since May 2016. When Governor Bello assumed office in January 2016, the first thing he did was to send a team of experts to all the local government areas and this team came up with a document called the New Direction Blueprint, which is the road map that sets the target.
In the face of economic challenges that the country is having, and giving the campaign promises made to people of Kogi, to what extent would you say the governor has been able to deliver on his campaign promises?
Appraisal should always be holistic and it depends on the lenses you are wearing to see a lot better. But in assessing people, we should create a level-playing ground for everybody irrespective of extraneous circumstances.
In 25 years of statehood, Kogi had nothing on ground. From the presentation we made at the forum, we stated what we met and that the fact that Governor Bello has done in 15 months, what has not been done in 25 years. Then at that period, you cannot but score him over 80 per cent on environment issues.
For the first time in the history of the state, 100 forest guards have been recruited, not just recruited and taken to their work as it happened most time, they were trained by the National Park. We paid the Forest Research Institute to come and train them. We have to train them again because we are looking at timber consultants who would come in to help us enforce the law. We also trained the entire workforce in the area, including forest officers. Some of them confessed that in 25 years of working for the state, they have never been trained on how to hold a hoe. So, in Kogi now, as far as environmental issues are concerned, Governor Bello has done over 90 per cent in the past one year. By building and consolidating on the gains we have made, we will make Kogi to be in the lead. If you look at states like Cross River and Ogun, they have enjoyed a lot of external support. Even currently, Nasarawa is enjoying a lot of Federal Government’s support, but yet Kogi State has not enjoyed any of the support.
What of other areas including roads, education and health?
The strategic focus of the government is on five thematic areas. At the moment, I think from last week, we started collating our monthly report covering the period January to May. I am very confident that before this weekend, you can check on the website because the governor has directed that all the reports of the sectors be uploaded, so you will have an updated reports pasted on the website and it will be good for you to follow that up. But beyond everything you see up there, it will be interesting inviting you and other Nigerians, come to Kogi State and come and see what we are doing.
Now, if you are saying all these, why is it that we still read some negative stories on the state and the governor?
Comment is free.
What about the allegation of double registration as voter made against him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as the feud between him and Senator Dino Melaye?
It is good to put things in order. INEC is an institution of government and like my governor would say, ‘let’s wait for them to give their final voice on that one.’ It is not an issue that is open for me to comment on. That is one.
On the second one, of course, you know there is Freedom of Information Act. The law has not penalised anybody for forming an opinion and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. And what you see most times in the media is an expression of people’s opinion. But since there is not a room where they begin to mark people’s opinion, you find out that people could begin to say whatever they like, which is why again I am grateful for what is called investigative journalism. We would like to say that beyond just hearing and saying things, it is good for us to go back to those old days when there was a lot of due diligence, investigation, not just finding easy and cheap things to say about. Let us do away with emotions and propaganda and let us investigate what the real facts are.
The government of Governor Bello is busy working. There has been a lot of improvement and progress in the state and it takes us to ask the right questions. I would say come to the grassroots and ask those questions and you will know that what you see on the social media are comments by people who are not even on ground in the state. We have been trying to ask people who make such comments where they are. And what you get to hear is that ‘oh I am sitting somewhere in Lagos.’ How can you sit in Lagos and talk about what is happening in Kogi when you don’t live in Lokoja? So, let’s do more of investigative journalism and substantiate the facts that are there before you take off finally.
Is the governor not distracted by all these things?
The governor is not distracted at all. He is focused. He has a roadmap and he always says “If you don’t know where you are going, you will go anywhere and you can end anywhere.” Like I said earlier, we have a document called a New Direction blueprint, which is given to all of us in the cabinet. This is why I could tell you ‘how do I achieve 100 per cent aforestation?’ First I need to look at what our law says, which is why we are mapping. The fact that we are able to tell you this is where we want to go; this is the progress we have made tells you we are focused.
I would to take you back to what former President Olusegun Obasanjo said sometime. He said “If you say I am not working, ask Dora Akunyili, is she working? Is Okonjo-Iweala working? So if you agree they are working,” then he said, “I am working.” The same thing I would tell you in this context. How would you say Governor Bello is distracted when the Ministry of Environment just made a presentation to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation represented by all stakeholders and they were very appreciative that Kogi is taking the lead in making very significant progress? We are not distracted. We are focused.
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