The University of Ibadan has flagged off a Plastic-Free Campus Awareness Initiative to enlighten the community about the dangers inherent in littering the environment with plastic.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Professor P. O. Olapegba, fspsp, FNPA, while flagging off the exercise, lamented that indiscriminate disposal of plastic pollutes land and sea.
This, he said, denies man of the opportunity to derive maximum benefit from the produce of the land and fish of the seas and rivers.
He noted that plastic is a non biodegradable element, adding that the quality of the environment has an impact on the lives of the people.
Professor Olapegba thanked the French Embassy for funding the project and commended Professor Aina Adeogun, a member of the Governing Council of the University, for leading the campaign.
He also applauded the participants, both students and staff of the university, for being part of the initiative.
He then charged all members of the University community to dispose of plastic properly and see the campaign not as a mere awareness drive but a lifelong crusade.
The Focal Person of the Awareness Campaign, Professor Aina Adeogun,
a Professor of Aquatic Toxicology,
said she was passionate about the programme because she discovered in one of her research activities that plastic posed great dangers to marine life.
She appreciated the presence and active participation of volunteers who were present at the event.
She disclosed that the project was an initiative of the French Embassy to reduce environmental pollution and to encourage creativity with plastics.
Professor Adeogun emphasized the need to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics.
She stated that imbibing this attitude will not only make the environment cleaner, but humanity will be safer.
Professor Adeogun urged the participants not to see the initiative as just a competition but a needed awareness that should be sustained by individual efforts.
Participating students with some members of staff then proceeded to the UI main gate from Trenchard Hall
picking up plastic bottles in their tracks and later returned to the take-off point.
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In his remarks after the exercise, the Registrar, Mr Ganiyu O. Saliu, fspsp, commended participants for their zeal.
He decried indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles, stating that this had been the main cause of flooding and the defacing of our communities.
He then appreciated the sponsors of the initiative and lauded the leadership of Professor Aina Adeogun.
Mr Saliu assured that the exercise would be an initiative that would be sustained in the University of Ibadan.
Ten universities were selected for the project tagged “French Embassy Fund (FEF) Plastic Waste Processing Project in Nigerian Universities”
and the University of Ibadan blazed the trail with the highest entry of 300 volunteer students.
The ten universities on the project are: Nile University of Nigeria, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Covenant University, University of Calabar, University of Jos, Alex Ekwueme University, Yaba College of Technology and Delta State University.
The project was designed to be a campus-wide action for innovation and sustainability where participants stand a chance to win a lot of creative toolkits.
It is being funded by the French Government through the French Embassy Fund project “Plastic Recycling France Nigeria.”
The project is being implemented by Weir Capacity and supported by Total Energies and NNPC.
