The Visionaries
Academy, a Niger Delta-based not-for-profit organisation, says it has
concluded plans to host the inaugural edition of the ‘Warri Makeover
Project’, a community service initiative designed to rebrand the city.
According to the organisers, the project is aimed at changing the negative stereotype usually associated with the oil-rich city.
“The motivation
behind the Warri Makeover Project is towards changing the way people
view Warri,” said Taiwo Ogunyemi, founder of the organisation, and
coordinator of the project.
“Warri is seen as
one dangerous place to live in and that the youth are known for
violence without a sense of economic growth. The region is more viewed
as dirty and full of creeks; that is what motivated us towards
rebranding the image via this project,” Mr. Ogunyemi said.
Activities lined up
for the project, which holds March 25th and 26th, include a summit on
peace-keeping and conflict resolution, painting of public primary and
secondary school buildings, as well as tree planting.
“With painting of
schools, we are creating a pictorial makeover in the mind of the future
generation. And in planting of trees, you create a sustainable
environment that helps mitigate climate change and the influence of gas
emissions ejected by the flare seen around Warri, which makes the
environment unsafe,” he stated.
The project, which
has the support of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Warri south
local government, and the US Consulate, also enjoys the endorsement of
Uti Nwachukwu of Big Brother All Stars, environmentalist, Taiwo
Adewole, and singer, Sound Sultan, among others.
