environmental sustainability

Brighton Chama, GCI Campus Representative For Copperbelt University, Zambia Meets Konkola Trust School Environmental Club.

On March 20, 2018, our Zambian representative was invited to speak on Environmental Sustainability to the students of Konkola Secondary Trust School, Zambia. He spoke extensively about the work of the Green Campus Initiative in ensuring that Eco-conscious children are raised all over the world.

 

The training is in resonance with the vision of the school which made the School authority propose collaboration between the Green Campus Initiative, Copperbelt Chapter and Konkola Trust School, Zambia. This is to actively drive their school to becoming a Green School by adopting the Green Practices designed by the Green Campus Initiative.

Minister of Education Educate Green Kids on Environmental Sustainability

Children are the future leaders, train up a child in the right way, and he/she will not depart from it. Ambassadors and Ministers of the Green Campus Initiative (GCI) are making sure the foundation in sustaining the environment is made solid for the next generation. The Honourable Minister of Education and Advocacy Odunayo Ayodeji Aliu addressed the Homaj School Green Kids Club on Environmental Sustainability. She also presented waste bins to the cleanest classrooms in the school. The kids are taught on how to; recycle waste, make the environment clean and also plant trees in their school compounds. The GKC has extended its tentacles to various schools in Ondo city.

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The club aims at creating awareness and teaching the younger generation ways of preserving and conserving our natural resources. In GKC, elections are conducted by members to elect the Prime Minister and Green Police to ensure the proper activities of the members and check improper waste disposal and management amongst students and pupils of the school. Green Kids Club, making the world a better place to live in.

Diverse Opinions: Is Nigeria Really Green?

Before finally putting the threads of this article together, I wondered for a while on how the Nigerian public might respond if they were asked ‘is Nigeria really green’? 

Since, I cannot conduct a poll to answer this question, let us look at some narratives on Nigeria's eco sustainability as it relates to air, land, and water 

First, is the issue of gas flaring. Gas, a major cause of human and environmental health issues in the Niger Delta, has been flared in Nigeria since the 1950's.

When crude oil is extracted from onshore and offshore oil wells, it brings with it raw natural gas (eg CO2) to the surface. In Nigeria, a vast amount of this is burned directly into the atmosphere, resulting in the acidification of waterways and rainfall. This in turn damages vegetation, insect and animal life. Its effects are also associated with cancer, neurological defects, deformities in children, lung damage and skin problems. 

Many oil and gas companies argue that as transportation, pipelines and infrastructure are lacking, flaring gas as a waste product is the cheapest option. I see this argument as both uncivil and inhumane! What possible justification can be given for directly or indirectly causing life-threatening hazards? Financial implications? 

The best the federal government and Minister of Petroleum Resources have been doing since 1984 is to grant written permission to these companies to slowly kill our air, and   penalize with a fine, other companies that destroy our waterways, without giving them prior notice. Financial implications again! Over the years, they have forgotten that alternative options exist, for example, using this so called waste products as materials for the synthesis and production of plastics.

To be considered also are the present plights of the people of  Oloibiri (Bayelsa State) and Ogoni Kingdom (Rivers State) - I do remember them most solemnly. These are areas that have undergone devastating environmental degradation: presence of oil blowouts, spillages, oil slicks, and general pollution. Once rich rivers have become empty; fish, if any remain, die in their waters. Same is the case on the already infertile lands; rabbits  now hide in their burrows. Yet many cry, 'there is black gold, oil enriches'. How sad! Is it the oil that cannot be used by the Ogonis to anoint their foreheads, or the oil that the people of Oloibiri cannot use to fry their stew?

Do not get me wrong at this stage, I am not out for the oil companies, or negatively inclined. I just think that the above narratives have a voice- and this matters.

Of course, Nigeria and her federal government had taken some quite remarkable steps in promoting Climate Action and environmental sustainability, over the last few years. Key examples are the Great Green Wall Project, Nigeria Erosion Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), Climate Change Department, and the proposed Global Climate Change Commission.

At the end, the answer to the question lies with us. 

Is Nigeria really green?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christopher Oghenekevwe Oghenechovwen , a B.Tech student of Meteorology and Climate Science (FUTA), is a decolonized African, environmentalist and ready volunteer. He is 2013 Citizenship and Leadership Certified by CLTC, Nigerian Federal Ministry of Youth Development, a 2015 UNESCO & Athabasca University student on Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue, 2015 Senior Category Gold Winner of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, and youth correspondent at yourcommonwealth.org . His growing passions lie within the circle of Climate Action, Media and Information, IT, Youth Education and Leadership. Apart from volunteering with Earthplus, The Green Campus Initiative, and doing creative writing, Oghenekevwe loves to connect with people. Invite him for a healthy conversation via chrischovwen@gmail.com