The Chief Missioner, Nasrullah-il fatih, NASFAT, Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, has urged Nigerians to consciously be part of the government’s initiatives by separating recyclable materials from waste to protect the environment.
Onike gave the advice at the flag-off of the partnering efforts of NASFAT with the Lagos State Government on the Blue Box Initiative (BBI) held at the Secretariat Community Mosque, Alausa, Lagos.
The Blue Box Initiative (BBI) is a single stream recyclable collection programme that will encourage separation of recyclable materials from the general waste at the point of generation.
Onike said that one of the objectives of religion was to protect the environment, urging Muslims to conserve their resources, even when used for rituals.
He said: “It is high time people embrace zero-waste culture as thought by their religions.
“Theologically, there are signifiers in the universe, and in the environment; by taking care of these signifiers, we are really doing the right thing in terms of our relationship with God.”
Also, Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, Executive Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, said research had shown that it takes 450 years or more for plastic bottles to decompose.
“Most of the fishes we eat must have eaten plastic thrown into the sea, hence, the need for us to recycle waste plastics to save our environment, health and creating job opportunities for teeming youths.
“In order to encourage the sorting of waste, colour coded bags will be distributed to households by recyclers and volunteers assigned to the different local governments and Local Community Development Areas.
“Lagosians are advised to have two containers- a black container for waste, and blue container for recyclables,” Odumboni said.
Commenting, Paul O’Callaghan, the Chief Executive Officer, West Africa Energy, said that partnering with NASFAT was like partnering with Nigeria due to its widespread.
NASFAT had just introduced an initiative tagged: “HELD (Health, Education, Livelihood and Da’wah).
The BBI has a strong resonance for NASFAT’s new mantra, HELD.
