By Rotimi Ajayi

Since the current Minister of Environment,  Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia was appointed, she has demonstrated her passion to further the course of Environmental Governance especially at the federal level.

She has driven the ministry with great degree of intensity and in just about a year,  it would be recorded for her that she upgraded the policy implementation mechanism for climate change through the transformation of the former Special Climate  Change unit to a Department preparatory to the generally expected Climate Change Agency.

She has equally pursued the major problem that has become perennial with the Ministry, insufficient funding through the current budgeting process. Even though she succeeded in some areas, the overall budget success still leaves much to be desired for the ministry.

Now either by combination of fate and coincidence or deliberate policy strategy, the movement of some Federal Permanent Secretaries a couple of weeks ago placed the ministry in very firm policy implementation field.

The posting of the Perm Secs had thrown Mrs Ibukun Odusote to the ministry.  In a way, it is a new posting but from her administrative background, she is a woman of competence who understands issues that are quite pertinent to our environmental governance in Nigeria.

Until her immediate past posting, Mrs Odusote was in charge at the Ecological Fund Office. The posting to the Office was her first as Federal Permanent Secretary but by the time she left the office, she left quite outstanding achievement. She is the first Perm Sec in the ministry to raise the standard of project implementation and monitoring in the Ecological Fund Office.

She also raised Nigerians’ awareness on the issues crucial to sustainable environmental management. The mode of operations of the Fund during her time changed from the usual bureaucratic tempo to efficiency, timeliness and relevance.

The Fund was prompt in responding to major ecological emergencies that arose during her tenure some of which included the Sokoto, Lagos flood, the Auchi Erosion menace among others.

Now that she is back to the core Environment ministry, it is certain that changes are bound to take place in the ministry’s mode of operations. She is certain not to condone certain practises that will make the ministry to be laid-back.

Just as she said during her inaugural meeting with media practitioners covering the Environment, the combination of the present minister and herself will see major transformation in sustainable environmental management style of the ministry to the benefit of Nigerians.

It is expected that the handle of the ministry in respect of erosion project management should change radically now as there was no efficient monitoring profile from the ministry in the past.

Also, it is expected that the national afforestation initiative introduced by late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua should be moved from the level it is now just as enhanced national awareness program on issues of environmental degradation should be enthroned.

The team should also ensure Nigeria’s prompt response to deliverables under the international conventions.