President Goodluck Jonathan has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creation of wealth to help Nigerians rise out of poverty, with a focus on sustainable development.
Delivering his statement to the plenary session of the on-going United Nations Conference on Sustainable development, in Rio de Janeiro, President Jonathan, confirmed federal government’s determination to create greater employment opportunities for Nigerians.
According to the president, a sustainable development agenda, on a medium to long term approach are part of the national plans he has developed with several sectoral initiatives such as agriculture, petroleum, solid minerals, power, renewable energy, trade and investment, water and sanitation.
This he claims will accord priority to environmental and wider development issues.
Noting that the presence of world leaders at the Summit gave credence to the necessity of global cooperation in ensuring sustainable global development, President Jonathan urged the assembled heads of states and governments to develop an obligation to eradicate poverty and promote green economies for sustainable development.
“Today, we have a unique opportunity to reshape the future and redefine the relationship between human advancement and environmental sustainability, by ensuring that we join, in a collective effort, to reduce the conflict between human development and environmental conservation” he stated.
“In effect, Rio+20 can only be seen to be successful if the thorny issue of the means of implementation is adequately addressed” he said, adding that “we must bridge the yawning gaps undermining the fulfilment of international commitments on sustainable development, especially in areas of finance, external debt, trade and investment, capacity building and technology development.”
Intensified green economies
Drawing attention to the constraints to sustainable development in Africa such as the global financial crisis, migration, rapid urbanization, the energy and food crisis, low resistance to natural disasters, desertification and the loss of the eco-system resulting from climate change, President Jonathan called for more assistance from the rich and developed nations to help African countries, cope with these challenges.
“While we recognize that the developing countries have primary responsibility for implementing their own sustainable development agenda, there is no doubt that they need the support of the international community to achieve these objectives.”
“Twenty years ago at the ‘Earth Summit’, we made a number of pledges. Today, twenty years later, it is evident, that there is still a lot more that we need to do. Working together to develop ‘green economies’, offers us a greater chance of a sustainable future. And that work must be intensified now.”
“As our challenges are collective, both in nature and consequence, our responses must also be collective, for them to have the desired impact. And because the circumstances that confront us are extraordinary, the kind of change that is needed must also be extraordinary.”
