2019 Tree Planting Day: Lagos launches ‘One House, One Tree’ campaign

The  State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the First Lady, Ibironke Sanwo-Olu, at the tree planting ceremony in Eti-Osa local government, said today’s event was strategic as ‘ it is reinforced in our THEMES agenda which emphasize our commitment to ensure a cleaner, greener, healthier and safer environment.

” It is also very important to note that the theme of this campaign “Clean and Green is our Perfect Dream’’ aptly expresses one of the key objectives of our agenda for the environment.

Tree planting is one of the strategies to combat the effect of climate change and global warming.  This initiative and its sustenance over the past years, is a testimony to the foresight of previous administrations to ensure a healthy environment as well as protecting the general wellbeing of the citizenry, ” the governor said.

The governor urged all Lagosians to ensure the beautification of the state is maintained by planting trees in their houses.

 “As we increase efforts towards ridding the state of waste, all hands must be on deck to also improve the aesthetics of the environment by adorning it with ornamental plants, beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees.

We cannot keep on ignoring Climate Change, which is the most significant material risk to our future. It is also the world’s most devastating threat to human survival. We can no longer pretend that we have a society at ease with itself,” he said.

He added: “Let us be reminded that there is no short or long term benefit of cutting down trees. The notion that when a tree is cut down, five trees should be planted as a replacement is grossly inadequate.

The truth is that, while tree replacement may perfectly rekindle our hope, they are not equal in biodiversity. Man-made forest do not compensate for the damage and degradation done to the ecosystem through land clearance, therefore, when primary tropical forest is lost, they can never be recovered.

For us as a government, we are aware that substantial progress has been made towards optimizing economic values of green spaces globally. Developing new opportunities around green spaces to propel the green economy is cardinal to our developmental policy.

Indeed, the green economy would provide another platform for our ambitious city to promote its green credentials, improve citizens’ health and sustain the environment. Changes are needed in our urban planning strategies and a push for an increase in green spaces is highly imperative.”

He urged Lagosians to support the state government in it’s policy to achieve greener and cleaner Lagos.

“We need to establish the right attitude that would support Government policy on the environment. This involves not only the government but also non-state actors and network of citizens.

To this end, lets resonate it across the city of Lagos that as we mark our birthdays, let’s plant a tree; as we dedicate our children, let’s plant a tree; as we celebrate our children’s graduation, lets plant a tree; whatever memorable event that we do, let’s endeavor to mark it with planting of trees. This little act of benevolence to nature can actually save our planet from further destruction.

In furtherance to our commitment to a green and sustainable environment, It gives me great pleasure to announce that we are re-launching the ‘One House, One Tree’ campaign across the State. The campaign is to ensure that every house in Lagos possesses at least one tree which we believe would go a long way to intensify our greening project.