A climate change enthusiast, Oluwaseyi Moejoh, is the co-founder and Executive Director of U-recycle Initiative Africa. She speaks to OGHENOVO EGODO-MICHAEL about her career, passion for preserving the environment and other issues
What schools did you attend?
I attended Queen’s College, Lagos, for my secondary school education, and I’m currently studying Law at the University of Lagos.
You were recently invited to the United States of America to receive the Young Superhero for Earth Award for the work you do through your NGO, U-recycle Initiative Africa. How and when did you start this initiative?
My journey into the environmental space began during my time in secondary school. I was 16 years old when I was appointed an ambassador for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. During that time, I revived the school’s environmental club and spearheaded SDG projects. I also enlightened over 2,000 girls at my school, and eventually became passionate about addressing environmental issues. Recognising my steadfast commitment at such a young age, I won a $100 grant to start any project of my choice. In 2018, I cofounded U-Recycle Initiative Africa at the age of 17 with a friend, after realising the lack of meaningful youth involvement in tackling environmental issues.
How did you develop your passion for sustainability and youth development?
I was concerned about the excessive levels of waste pollution in Lagos, and also distraught that at that time, there were only a few youth-led solutions to the crisis. There was a huge gap between young people and environmental solutions. Also, another reason I do the work I do is to bring an end to environmental injustices faced by vulnerable coastal communities. Seeing the extensive impact of issues such as plastic pollution on the livelihoods of fishermen and women motivated me to keep doing what I was doing.
I believe that young people have the power to drive real change and tackle complex problems if supported with the right opportunities.
What challenges have you faced in leading a sustainability-focused NGO?
Nigerians are generally not so interested in environmental issues but through storytelling, we’ve been able to ignite minds and hearts to love the environment and take action to protect it. Also, raising funding for our environmental projects was a significant challenge initially. However, I honed my grant writing skills and have been able to secure funding from international entities such as the Canadian government, National Geographic Society, and The Captain Planet Foundation. Balancing my NGO commitments with my studies has also been demanding, but with proper time management and support from my team, we have overcome obstacles together.
How were you able to secure funding for your projects?
I secured funding through grant writing. This involves submitting proposals of projects ideas and solutions to a funder who has a similar mission to that of one’s NGO. Through this process, one is able to convince the funder of what one has done in the past, and what one can do in the future if given more resources to scale one’s work further. Over the past five years, we have been able to receive funding to help strengthen the work we are doing and deepen our impact and expand to new regions. Our work is focused on empowering young people to create solutions.
In your role as the African Contributing Editor for OH-Wake Magazine, how do you spotlight climate stories from a youth perspective?
I do this by sharing firsthand stories of what it means to be Nigerian and experiencing climate change and other environmental issues such as plastic pollution. I tell candid stories that essentially open up our readers to new perspectives on climate change as a young African woman. It doesn’t end with the problem. I also talk about the solution— ways in which I started as a teenager to create climate solutions, and how that has evolved over time, including how I have gone on to empower other people in creating climate solutions, and encourage other young people to create climate solutions, starting from their schools and communities. We also learn from the past; from those that have gone ahead of us. In the magazine, I also get to interview other climate leaders and have gained a unique perspective on what it means to be an environmentalist.
One of the things I learnt during that time is how we must choose optimism over cynicism. If we focus on harnessing our collective power, both as individuals and communities to push action, it can help sustain the movement and rewrite the narrative for the future.
What motivated you to launch the Our African Climate Story project, and how has it empowered activists across Africa?
I launched it because for a long time, I realised that the climate news space is mostly populated by Western media, which means when climate crisis happen in Africa, it is not treated as mainstream.
Another reason for starting the project was because I saw a gap and realised that for a long time, African voices had been undermined and our stories of injustice and inspiration were sometimes swept under the carpet. Harnessing story-telling techniques to amplify my story got me more access to rooms to help create change on a large scale. I want that for other younger activists, who may be struggling with telling their stories. The more we tell our stories, the more we create room for solutions that actually solve the climate crisis. We also spotlight unique perspectives, because climate change here in Africa does not have the same contextual realities of climate change abroad. In that same vein, we must go beyond just talking about the polar bears, the melting ice sheets in the attic, and start talking about indigenous climate stories. This is not to say that those stories about the polar bears and melting ice sheets are not important, it only means that African climate stories should be amplified as well to the global audience to strike a balance in the development of more inclusive and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.
What are the impactful initiatives your organisation has undertaken to promote environmental sustainability?
With unwavering dedication since 2018, we have implemented over 50 youth-driven projects to combat plastic pollution, and advance climate action in Nigeria and Africa.
I have also spoken at the United Nations to increase more youth involvement in tackling plastic pollution worldwide, deploying ‘talking’ recycling bins across leading universities in Nigeria, developing a tech-enabled gamified learning platform about plastic pollution, and hosting climate education workshops in low-income schools across Nigeria. These are just a few of the projects we have worked on. My team and I are determined to find lasting solutions to plastic pollution. Our mission is clear— we are accelerating youth-led solutions to the plastic pollution and climate crisis in Nigeria and Africa.
What accolades and awards have you received for your contributions to environmental protection and youth development?
In 2023, I was named amongst 2023 SLA’s Top 50 Rising Motherland Moguls, WeforGood’s 100 Women Creating A Better Africa, Future-Forward Female 25 Under 25 Awardee, the Future Award Africa’s 2023 prize for Young Person of the Year, among others.
I was also a recipient of The Princess Diana Award 2022, Fall 2020 National Geographic Young Explorer, 2021 Global Teen Leader Award by We Are Family Foundation, 2020 Recycling Hero Award, Global Recycling Foundation, and many others.
How do you engage the next generation of young leaders on climate action?
We engage and educate young Africans by inspiring them to innovate and take proactive steps to address prevalent environmental issues such as plastic pollution and climate change. Our programmes focus on raising awareness, providing green skills training, and empowering youth to create sustainable innovations. By nurturing the next generation of young environmental leaders, we know that we can create a more sustainable future.
What values or principles guide your leadership style?
One of the values and principles that guide my leadership style is growth. I am passionate about growing my people. I want them to constantly look back to when they joined the organisation and where they are now, and see how the organisation has intentionally added value to their lives and helped them become better versions of themselves. As a leader, I have the responsibility to constantly reinvest into adding more value, supporting and pushing my team members towards being more confident, having more skills that can make them more valuable even beyond what they can do for the organisation, making them become value creators and solution providers. I want them to leave a life of impact and to do that, one has to make sure they are constantly growing.
Another value that guides my leadership style is empathy. I ensure that the rules and policies put in place for my team members stem from putting myself in their shoes.
