Africa Day of Seas and Oceans: Nature gives you back what you throw at it- Orakwusi
Chairperson of the Shipowners Forum in Nigeria, Mrs Margaret Orakwusi, has charged everyone to be responsible when it comes to how the seas are treated.
Sharing her thoughts, Orakwusi says the marine resources can serve economic growth and food security if the oceans are kept healthy.
“The resources are for us to harvest in a very responsible manner. The water, we treat it well. Because whatever we give to nature, you get back in return,” Orakwusi said.
She called for a change of attitude as sea shores remain heavily polluted with oil sludge and other waste as a result of human activities.
“Campaigning for cleaner seas is something everybody should be involved in. It is our life. So, we all have to be serious about it.
“Good that they have stopped discharging faeces into the sea. Yet, if we take a walk along the shore of our beaches, especially the heavy Apapa zone, you will see there is where they dump heavy oil. It is no longer water. The pollution is quite heavy.
“I believe that you don’t have to be a maritime business owner to know that that it is a most irresponsible way of treating nature. Another one is the dumping of toxic waste, we should all be alert. Even if a chief is talking money, like we saw previously, somebody should blow the whistle. The water is out there for our good, we therefore have to take responsibility to keep it healthy,” Orakwusi said.
The Africa Day of the Seas and Oceans is celebrated annually on July 25.
