Over 100 Niger-Delta Youths Undergoes Environmental training

By Honours Akhigbe

Nigerian youths have been called upon to engage actively in Environmental Field Monitoring (EFM) in order to contribute their quota to the protection of the environment.

Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, gave the charge during a two day youth training on right, environmental law and convention in Benin City.

Dr. Ojo declared that Nigerians have rights to development, clean environment and information, noting that there was need for Nigerian youths to engage in field monitoring and have background knowledge of the environment.
He said, there is the need for Nigerians; particularly the youths to take up the challenge to discover knowledge abut their environment.

The training programme which was attended by over 100 youths drawn from secondary and tertiary institution across the Niger-Delta geo-political zone, attracted several stakeholder comprising rights activists, community leaders, etc.
But in a paper titled: “Participatory Environmental Field Monitoring: the Role of Youthism Environmental Reporting,” Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, disclosed that most of the devastations in the environment were man-made and could be addressed and redeemed.

He said some of the environmental problems caused by man included oil spillages; gas flaring, erosion, desertification and deforestation, among others, which he noted had adversely contributed to climate change.

Ojo disclosed that the aim of the training was to, among others, expose the challenges of environmental degradation, draw government’s attention on the need to take action and what actions to be taken, as well as put pressure on multinational companies to be responsive to environmental issues.

“We have not covered up to one tenth of the environmental problems in Nigeria. These problems are essentially caused by man and they are the result of negligence by individuals or companies. We must save our environment by participating constantly in field monitoring”, he added.

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