By Ibrahim Yakubu
Kaduna (Nigeria) – In View of the serious threat posed to human health, economic growth and environment by the climate change, a community school in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, celebrated its 2017 Annual Cultural Day with a focus on Climate Change.
The threat to the long-term prosperity of many countries around the world, Africa not exceptional, as well as to the potential impacts on vulnerable sectors and human populations can not be overemphasized.
African countries are projected by experts to experience among others, the changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and higher temperatures that will affect food security, agricultural production, water availability, and public health.
It was against this backdrop that authorities of the community school and some Climate experts team-up to sensitize the students.
Mohammed Jamilu Abdullahi, Vice-principal of Abakwa Community Secondary school, is behind the one day sensitization campaign as part of the 7th Annual Çultural Day, whose sole aim was however to promote cultural values among the students.
Jamilu told journalists that the world is changing day-by-day due to so-many factors affecting the universe, hence the need to sensitize students to contribute their own quota in saving the environment, adding that educating them about climate change would help them to truly understand the root causes and consequences of climate change.
It would also, prepare them to live with the impacts of climate change and empowers others to take appropriate actions to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
Further more, Jamilu said, it is important to educate the young ones about climate change today, so as to plan for tomorrow, on various ways to protect their surroundings against all forms of threat such as desertification, deforestation, and environmental degradation, and also learn about the importance of tree planting.
According to him, Climate education would surely help young Nigerian students to understand and address the impact of global warming, and to encourage changes in the perspective view among little ones for the safety of their environment;
“They need to know all about Environmental degradation, climate change, species extinction, rising sea levels, resource depletion and lack of wellness in our world, which are local and global problems, they need to learn what is going on in their environment, so as to enable them plan for the future.
Climatologists from African Climate Reporters and some members of the community were invited to participate in the event.
Comrade Mohammed Zakariyya is the African Coordinator of African Climate Reporters who presented a paper on ”Climate change education and the importance of Trees planting.“
Mohammed drew the attention of both state and federal Governments and other educational stake holders in Nigeria towards the need to encourage climate change education in primary, ,secondary and Tertiary institutions so as to save the country from all forms of threat and diseases associated with climate change.
Mohammed noted that currently the education curriculum does not sufficiently acquaint students with the dangers of climate change, hence the need to introduce it in all Nigerian schools.
Mohammed also stressed that Basic knowledge about climate change, including both the science and its potentials, should be taught in an objective and evidenced based way in schools to ensure that all students understand the fundamentals.
He stated that climate change education should be considered with all seriousness and given the attention it deserved in our educational system, while calling on federal colleges of education, National teachers institutes NTI, and other related teachers institutions to find means of organizing annual national teachers conference on climate change, so as to train more teachers on Climate change.
Mohammed also appealed to the Association of private school owners to be organizing Annual climate change conference for teachers, in order to acquire more skills and techniques in teaching students signs and dangers of global warming and climate change in their communities.
Students interviewed expressed satisfaction with the sensitization and called for the introduction of the teaching of Climate Change in schools, or be taught at least once in a week,
The 2017 Cultural Day also featured local food exhibition, dresses and traditional dance competition.
