By Odimegwu Onwumere
Following the unfolding events in the present-days there is a daily expression of concern on the people?s face. It is of disappointment, water shortages, sicknesses, lack, air and noise pollutions, name them. It is fearsome. The time is of sword, thirst and famine. These buttress a prejudice that the developing world is dangling on a threshold of tragedies. The area has been much confounded with the effect of global warming, economic downward spiraling and nuclear wars since the year 2000 the word?Millennium?was characterized. Things have downturned drastically. Much dreadful is the effect of these in 2050. With the astronomical populations given at above 10 billion, everything is transcending and inflation has climbed through the ceiling.
Because of the snail speed in taking hold of the resourcefulness of technology, distance learning and media sensitization, which are used to instruct great assemblages of people, have continued to remain a tall dream in the developing world. And renewable forms of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, etcetera are still farfetched. It is ?more exercise, less eating? in the developed world. But it is saddening that malnutrition has taken a toll on the majority of the people in the developing world. These were caused by poor medical facilities and dim-witted projections, whereas the developed world has gone digital in all its facets of endeavours. The consequences of the economic recession and climate alteration have caused an untold inflation in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. These areas are taking less or no measure to gauge climate revolution. The end product this has yielded is more disastrous. People from the developing world are still facing far-end to food crisis.
While this clime is facing unwanted plagues, foreign institutions concerned with fostering of the farmers have become less committed with crop research and insurance of food security in the developing countries. The crisis in the food system has changed the stability in the prices of food, because there are hardly any set aside stockpiles. The developing countries are also having crisis in populations rise due to their non-challant attitude towards checkmating birth rate. But the developed world has been acting on this many years ago: checkmating the birth rate of its people, as if it has had the premonition of what was to come by 2050 ? famine. To this extent, many a couple in the developed world hardly give birth to more than three children, as against more than six children a couple in the developing world gives. Polygamy is also fad in the developing countries, whereas monogamy constitutes 95 percent of the marriages in the developed world.
With the increased sea level in most countries in Asia, they have lost lands for farming to climate change. In other regions, rains have refused to fall spontaneously. A huge challenge. But even without climate change, urbanization of most farmlands has added to the appalling features of the uproarious threats. The populations continue to escalate in the developing world and people are no longer comfortable with each other. Ethno-religious crises have become a way of life. This has resulted to tremendous wars, which have given the developed world the leeway to sell their nuclear weapons and other form of munitions, and make money.
Africa, for example, has become a jam-packed place for the West to dump its dangerous ammunitions. The West has also found an ugly trade in toxic wastes to merchant in Africa. The case in Koko, Delta State, Nigeria, in 1986, was horrendous. Scores of people in this village died of toxic wastes that were dumped by an Italian, depicting more negative issues to befall the developing countries if they do not walk the talk. HIV/AIDS are also ravaging. But as industrialized as the developed countries are, they?re however facing their own ill-fated foresight.
Those who reflect additionally ahead and bring their plan to accomplishment seem to have a superhuman influence. It is practical conversely that the developing countries should awaken from siesta and work alongside each other with the realities of the time. They should no longer be hoping on the development aid given to them by the developed world, which has incessantly brought disrepute to them. If they continue to hope on the aid, it is worth mentioning that in more years to come there will be a total diversion of any form of aid away from the developing countries. The developed countries will see the continuity of this aid to the developing countries as catastrophic, because the former have not been able to fully adjust to climate change.
Since there have been water shortages, the developing countries should be building drainages for irrigations, and take food security seriously. Without food each person?s calories will continue to fall, engendering sickness. Hence, there should be sustainability in the business of things such as agriculture, healthcare, education and research. The amplification of environmental degradation should be addressed, likewise the rising standards of living. Without a drastic approach towards the impending woes that have befallen the developing world, it will be hard it makes policy changes and has an autonomous political will power. Especially, Africa must buckle up. It has already been facing exceptional confrontations. Beijing must look for ways to curtail her air pollution, which is nastiest in the globe. If she does not do this, acid rain and fog produced by Sulphur dioxide from coal-fired plants in China will continue to be rife. This will increase her cases of respiratory illnesses and records of more deaths.
Moreover, the developing countries should be working against becoming environmental refugees. Corruption and sit-tight rule should be sent on exile. The developed countries should loan a serving hand, striking an international prevalence tax. This tax will help the developing countries to have electricity among the billions of their people who at present exist lacking it. The Developing World must dissect the issues raised in this report of 2050 with apt prognosis and diagnosis for years ahead. ?A stitch in time,? they say, ?saves nine.?
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Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, Media/Writing Consultant and Motivator, is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV);?and Founder, Poet Against Child Abuse (PACA), Rivers State, Nigeria
Phone: +2348032552855 (OR) +2348057778358
Email:?[email protected],?[email protected]
Website:?www.odimegwuonwumere.com
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