By Iliya Kure
Two leading climate organisations in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria, African Climate Reporters and Climate Action Group have commence plans to sensitise Nigerians on health implications of environmental pollution, climate change, and ways to avert flooding.
Briefing journalists Monday in Kaduna, Director of African Climate Reporters, Nuruddeen Bello, said, all hands must be on deck to save lives, aquatic animals and living organisms against the threat of air and water pollution due to irrational human activities.
According to him, problems of climate change needed to be addressed to save mankind and other living organisms from increasing threat caused by high temperature, new diseases, and ecological challenges.
“The amount of trash in Nigeria is astonishingly increasing. The Federal and State Governments must support recycling companies with innovative technology to combat wastes that are causing flood and other environmental challenges to the environments.
“All environmental NGOs and CSOs including volunteers should carry out more campaigns in rural areas to save them from hazardous chemicals they inhale daily,” he stressed.
Bello noted that desertification, deforestation and soil erosion are on the increase particularly in the northern part of the country due to high demands on firewood, charcoal and the extraction of rocks for buildings.
He announced that his organisation usually organise annual scientific and climate change conference for West African Journalists and scientists, where participants are trained on reporting climate change, sciences and general ecology.
He said this year’s edition will take place in August in Kaduna, but only Journalists and scientists from Nigeria would attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also speaking, the Public Relations Officer of Climate Action Group, Kaduna office, Ismail Sani, expressed happiness with the development said, his organisation has been involved in activities like educating, enlightening and informing the public on issues related to climate change and tree planting in the country.
Sani also said, Climate Action Group has carried out advocacy visits to agencies for support to raise more awareness in both rural and urban areas.
He urged women to embraced renewable energy for cooking to reduce the number of deaths due to smoke from firewood and charcoal.
