A top security and development expert, Lawrence Pepple has called for the restoration of Port Harcourt as Nigeria’s garden city that is devoid of political acrimony and environment challenges.

 

He made the case for reconciliation, shared love, planting of trees and nurturing of greenery with a view to restoring the legendary beauty and social harmony that was the hallmark of Rivers State.

 

Pepple, a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, stated this while being honoured alongside six other distinguished professionals by EveAfrique Business and News Digest during her Redball Event tagged ‘Going Greener – A Night of Arts & Contemporary Music’, held at Hago Heights Event Centre in Port Harcourt.

Read also: Bombshell! No Bonny Governor, No Elections, Campaigns in Bonny LGA in 2023 – APC Chieftain

 

The RedBall, an awareness creation event of EveAfrique in support of charity, aims at drawing attention to arising health issues and undertakes outreaches as a way of giving back to the society.

 

This year’s event tagged ‘Going Greener’ focuses on the environment and air pollution in collaboration with non-governmental organizations working on environmental issues such as the African Centre for Environmental Protection (ACEP), and Clean Cyclers, among others, to promote good environmental stewardship through knowledge dissemination.

Read also: Another Sea Pirates Attack: One Victim Recounts Ordeal

The former Technical Assistant on Reintegration in the Federal Government’s amnesty programme stated that now that elections have been won and lost “Let’s forgive, reconcile, love and reconstruct our dear state and bring back the old Port Harcourt Township spirit of being our brothers’ keeper”.

 

The Bonny Kingdom’s titled citizen urged all present to “support EveAfrique and her collaborators by planting trees in order to combat the menace of air pollution plaguing our dear city of Port Harcourt which original name was the Garden City”.

Read also: Bonny has one of the best beaches in the world – Girly’s Spice

Quoting author, Nelson Henderson’s line “True meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”, the post-conflict and community development expert used to opportunity to introduce the Rivers State Peace and Development Initiative (RPDI), a project put together by a collective of Rivers people with shared concerns of the present state of affairs in our dear state.

According to him, the aim of the group was primarily to seek and demand reconciliation and peaceful coexistence of all through constructive consultations and engagement, stressing that “peace and love are priceless. Absence of these cannot bring meaningful development”.

Read also: Bonny Island shuts down for Mina Pepple’s 50th Birthday

He praised EveAfrique for successfully organising this year’s event and “for reminding us, particularly residents of Port Harcourt, to the current air pollution cum ‘soot’”.

 

Pepple poured encomiums on EveAfrique’s Editor-in-Chief/Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Ivy Davies Etokakpan and her team for “attracting attention to issues challenging humanity such as threats to our environment” through the annual Charity Ball, noting that “she is doing things in this life that will benefit people far after she was long gone”.