Students of various secondary and tertiary institutions in Anambra State have protested against the devastating effect of climate change on the environment.
The students, who were drawn from over 10 schools, took the protests to schools, carrying placards and calling on government at all levels to channel attention to what it described as threats to the environment.
The secondary school students were joined in the protest by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Medical Students and members of Nigeria Coalition of Eco-Social Research (NCEHR).
The protesters highlighted several practices that were detrimental to the environment, which according to them have become common practice in the society today.
They include: deforestation, poor waste management, use of fossil fuel that increase carbon footprint, among others.
They appealed to Nigerians to practice greener lifestyles to save the planet, while also beckoning on government to create and implement policies that will aid the fight against climate change.
Leader of the protest and member of the Nigerian Working Group of Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (NWG-CCGHR), an NGO, Dr Ngozi Joe-Ikechebelu spoke to journalists, highlighting the devastating effect of the climate change in the Eastern part of Nigeria.
She called on individuals, communities, civil society organizations and governments to implement approaches that can promote a low carbon, high growth, climate-resilient path for national sustainable development.
She said, “You have seen the protesting students today, they spoke out their present fears and future impacts of increasing carbon dioxide levels and the need for public collaboration with the government of Nigeria to minimize human action that trigger global warming and hence further change the climate pattern.
“There is an urgent need for them to be heard locally and globally for the necessary needed change to better our environment. They displayed their placards and angrily demonstrated within the school environment for about an hour, showing their dissatisfaction on the state of our environment. We call on government to do something, now that it is not too late.”
