By Dipo Olowookere
General Manager of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK), Mrs Bilikiss Adebyi-Abiola, has charged residents of Lagos to imbibe the culture of greening by adorning the frontage of their residences with plants and flowers in order to promote and sustain a safe and healthy environment.
Speaking on the popular Yoruba programme ‘Gbagede Oro’ on Radio Lagos 107.5FM, Mrs Adebiyi-Abiola stated that a clean and beautiful environment adorned with trees, plants and flowers adds aesthetic value, noting that Lagosians have a sacred responsibility of enhancing the beauty of their natural environment.
The General Manager, represented on the programme by the Head of the Tree planting and Maintenance Unit, Mrs Dawodu Olufunmilayo, in response to questions on ‘Promoting Recreation & Greener Lagos’, stated that LASPARK has opened up more degraded areas and sites in all the 57 LGAs and LCDAs for beautification and adoption by interested corporate bodies or individuals.
She stressed the importance of trees to human survival and warned Lagosians to desist from indiscriminate felling of trees, saying that “when people continue to kill trees, they kill life, reduce biological diversity and cheat posterity”.
Mrs Adebiyi-Abiola enjoined residents to take advantage of recreational parks within and around their neighbourhood for recreation, stressing that it’s the best way to attain healthy living and general wellbeing.
She urged corporate organisations and notable individuals to avail themselves of the serene environment in and around the parks to hold meetings, family picnics as well as memorable events.
The General Manager assured Lagosians that the Agency has Regional and Monitoring Managers in all the six divisions of the State to ensure that the standards set for the greening initiative are maintained.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka