ZeWA Dialogues Akwa Ibom Government on Regulation To Foster Environmentally Friendly Brands
A group of key actors involved in waste governance at the local level, Zero Waste Ambassadors (ZeWA) have called on the government of Akwa Ibom State to regulate the activities of brands in order to keep the Akwa Ibom environment safe.
ZeWA made the call on Thursday, April 25, when ZeWA team paid a visit to the Senior Special Assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Governor on Brand Management and Marketing, Mr Raphael Edem as part of the team’s activities to mark the 2024 World Earth Day.
The coordinator, Zero Waste Ambassadors, Faith Paulinus, expressed concerns over the discoveries from the team’s brand audits which he noted that brands perceived by the public as reputable brands have their plastics disposed indiscriminately.
Paulinus noted that it is the responsibility of the citizens to ensure the safety of the environment through proper waste management.
“This week, the whole world is celebrating world earth day and the main focus of this year is plastics. Plastics are one of the things that has been threatening the environment so much. As a Coalition, we have taken it as a campaign to sensitize the people about the dangers of plastic,” he said.
He further said “One of the issues that we want to talk about is the activities of brands. We have so many brands in the state whose activities and services contribute to the threats facing the environment. It is our appeal to your office as the brand manager of the state to see to it that the activities of these brands are regulated in order to keep the environment safe.
He said the team was advocating for the state to join in the ban on single-use plastic, adding “because of the amount of plastics threatening the world, several countries and even states in Nigeria have placed a ban on single-use plastics. We feel that there is a need for legislation in the State against single-use plastic”.
The Coordinator noted that part of the activities the team engaged in to mark the Earth Day was conducting brand audits to ascertain the brands that have polluted the environment the most, urging the Department of Brand Management to also draw the government’s attention to the activities of companies and organisations operating in the State.
Earlier in her tone-setting, Lucy Eyo of Zero Waste Ambassadors, noted that in line with this year’s theme of World Earth Day “Planet versus plastics”, the team had embarked on a sensitization campaign on curbing plastic waste pollution.
She said that the global theme was borne out of the need to enlighten the world about the increasing threat that plastics were posing to the planet, adding that it was necessary to reinforce the awareness that plastics do not decay.
On his part, the Executive Director of Policy Alert, Mr Tijah Bolton-Akpan, noted that with Akwa Ibom’s reputation in cleanliness and conducive environment, there were more expectations on the State and it was necessary to keep improving.
“Akwa Ibom is a strong destination brand. What this implies is that we cannot allow our stats as a State to fall below par. The State has been doing well so far by the index in terms of cleanliness. People compliment the state because of this and that is the essence of the State brand as a destination. But I think we need to take it higher,” he said.
He stressed that globally, destination marketing has moved beyond mundane PR metrics to policy indicators such a city or state’s performance in terms of SDGs. “We are talking about the environment and sanitation. We could be looking at SDGs number 12 and 13. The question will therefore be how is the state contributing to the race to achieve those sustainable development goals? These things have a way of enforcing other dimensions of economic growth because if one dimension works, it allows another to work too”.
He re-echoed the appeal for the State to sensitize brands, companies and cottage industries on adopting more sustainable methods of packaging their products.
In his response, the Senior Special Assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Governor on Brand Management and Marketing, Mr Raphael Edem assured that the State Governor, Mr. Umo Eno is passionate about ensuring a safe environment for the State.
Edem said that environmental management and sustainability was part of Governor Eno’s ARISE Agenda.
The Senior Special Assistant explained that the governor has already undertaken various interventions in flood and erosion control while a lot others were ongoing, adding that the government was considering adopting more sustainable ways of waste management.
“The issue of ensuring a safe environment is something the governor is very passionate about. And I am happy that we are having this conversation because the task is not solely for the government. I think sometimes we fall victim to our own success.
“Because Akwa Ibom has consistently been adjudged the cleanest state, our people just sit back and relax and expect to keep being clean. One of our major challenges is that culturally, we have been spoon-fed for too long in this State. There are a lot of issues that people leave to the government 100 percent and this is one of them,” he said.
According to Mr Edem, “waste can be managed in a lot of ways. It can be reduced, it can be repurposed, it can be recycled, and can be reused. That is why I agree with the states that have banned single-use plastics. Here in Akwa Ibom, the state government is planning to improve waste management by adopting more sustainable and environment-friendly methods”.
Mr Edem assured the team that his office was ready to partner with them in the advocacy for a safe environment, noting that the task of ensuring a sustainable environment was a collective one which required a significant effort from the citizens who generate the waste.
Others on the team include Esther Eyakndue of Safe Space Environmental Foundation; Ubong Matthew of Plasticultured; Ediongsenyene Ndunobong of Blue Initiative For Sustainable Development, and Tony Etuk of Policy Alert.