By Umar Sani
Experts who participated in the Local Conference of Youth Nigeria 2024 have advocated for a multisectoral approach to climate action.
Discussing the theme of the conference ‘Building Bridges for Climate Action: Uniting Youth Voices Across Nigeria held at the Multi-purpose Hall of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, ATBUTH Bauchi on Saturday, speakers agreed that climate change impacts are multisectoral as such, demand multisectoral approach.
Speaking at the event, the head organizer of LCOY Nigeria 2024, Muhammad Shu’aibu, explained that the conference theme was carefully selected to bridge the existing gap in climate action among the youth.
He said awareness of climate action is very limited in the Nigeria context, and as such, more hands must be driven into the sector.
He explained “The conference was organized to bring the youth together to take action on climate change.
“There are many steps. The first one is to have one voice. There are youth who are aware that taking action on climate change is important, but they don’t know where to start, so this particular avenue is a gathering for the youth to unite in creating one working document.”
Muhammad expressed confidence that the participants who are mostly young minds were fed with the desired information.
He added that “we envision a world where the people, ecosystem, and agriculture thrive well in the face of climate change.”
On her part, the executive director of Community Advocate for Rural Development, Habiba Ajifa, who is among the lead organizers of the conference, emphasized that the impact of climate change in Nigeria’s context is numerous to mention.
She insisted that the impact is now bigger than talks and is visible in societies.
“Let me give a few examples of the recent impact of climate change. Recently, there was erratic rainfall in Taraba, Adamawa, and parts of Abuja, where, in the middle of the planting season, the rain stops. When people planted their crops and started growing, the rain stopped. That alone is an impact for many farmers that have planted as most of their crops died.”
She noted that the solution to climate change begins with behavioral change, “for every Nigeria, we need to start things differently. We need to start looking for alternatives to our cultural way of doing things.
“We need to start looking for alternatives for energy. Stop using firewood for cooking and ultimately stop cutting down trees.”
She insisted that clean energy is the way forward.
Also, speaking with journalists shortly after the occasion, one of the paper presenters, Aminu Mustapha Umar, disclosed that there are a lot of opportunities youth can leverage and earn through climate change action.
He explained that climate action is not just about changing the weather, “no there are opportunities that youth can actually harness to improve their own livelihood.
“In technology, youth can create applications to do with climate resilient, crop irrigation systems or automatic weather forecast systems.”
Aminu insisted that there are a lot of benefits available in the climate action struggles.
Commenting on the event, the Bauchi Commissioner Ministry of Housing and Environment Danlami Kawule, who was at the conference, underscored the Local Conference of Youth, LCOY Nigeria 2024, noting that the event marks a historic moment, as it is the first of its kind in Northern Nigeria.
He expressed “This is a momentous occasion, one that will be remembered as a turning point in our collective efforts to address the pressing issue of climate change.
“The theme of this conference, ‘Building Bridges for Climate Action,’ could not be more timely or relevant. In a world where climate change presents challenges that cross borders and generations, we must build strong bridges, bridges between communities, between the public and private sectors, and, most importantly, between generations.”
He stated that “The youth gathered here today are not just the future leaders; you are the current driving force behind the climate action movement.
“Your voices, your ideas, and your energy are crucial in shaping a sustainable future for all.”
Kawule extended the appreciation of the Bauchi state government to the organizers of the conference and their partners.
