Climate change has negatively impacted ecosystems and biodiversity, with its effects significantly affecting the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, especially women in Nigeria.
These impacts, such as environmental degradation, erratic rainfall patterns, dry spells, heat waves, erosion, flooding, deforestation, and desertification, are experienced yearly.
They greatly affect agriculture output and socio-economic activities of many, most especially women and children.
Investigations revealed that Nasarawa State is one among many states in Nigeria where climate change threatens the livelihoods, health, and well-being of its citizens.
This is common among small-scale women farmers, youths, and persons with disabilities.
Environmental experts have raised concerns about the rampant degradation of the environment in Nasarawa State by human activities.
Such activities include indiscriminate cutting of trees for logging and charcoal and bush burning, which hugely contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer.
Government at all levels have led in the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and raise awareness about it. One of such efforts is the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change.
The Council is the focal point in the Federal Government’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change in Nigeria.
It is tasked with the responsibility of providing a platform for collaboration and coordination among various government agencies, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in the country to combat and mitigate the impact of climate change.
The council is a product of the Climate Change Act of 2021, which was sponsored by Hon. Sam Onuigbo and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Conscious of the role in addressing the challenge posed by climate change, many civil society organisations have joined forces with the governments at various levels to stem the tide.
The African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, and implemented by Oxfam, Nigeria, in collaboration with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the Association of Small-Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), is one of such initiatives.
It is supporting climate-impacted communities in Nasarawa State.
Kenneth Akpan, Climate Justice Project Coordinator at Oxfam in Nigeria,
said the goal of the project was to amplify and unite the voices of Africans, demanding that most vulnerable groups—women, youths, and local Indigenous communities—in the target countries defend and realise their human rights.
It also strives to ensure that they live a decent and dignified life in a healthy and sustainable environment within the context of climate emergency.
He said the project in Nasarawa state aimed at building the resilience and capacity of climate-impacted communities and vulnerable persons to take locally-led actions to mitigate the effect of climate change.
Mrs Asaba Averson, Coordinator, Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative, Nasarawa State Chapter, who is a victim of a flood attributable to climate change, said the AACJ project has significantly impacted her life.
According to her, among the many benefits she got from the AACJ project are knowledge about tree planting, briquette production, nursery establishment and management and sack farming using compost manure.
Averson said she utilised the training and the knowledge she got from the AACJ project and started her sack farming, using compost manure in the backyard of her house, and also organised minni-training for her members.
She said she had planted yam, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, and vegetables, noting that the farm is thriving, all thanks to the AACJ training.
“When I was gathering the sand for my sack farming, some people in my community were asking if I was mad.
“When the AACJ team visited my farm, I was so excited; some of these people in my community who were laughing at me then realised that my sack farm was a reality.
“Before now, persons with disabilities are seen as only dependents who have nothing to contribute or offer to society, but it is a wrong impression,” she said.
Averson said that impressed by her farm, the AACJ team exclusively trained 50 women with disabilities in urban farming following.
“Before now, people in my community didn’t know the disadvantage of cutting down trees indiscriminately for firewood and charcoal making, but this has changed with the coming of AACJ.
Mrs. Jummai Yohanna, Chairperson of the Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria (SWOFON) in Nasarawa State, said that the AACJ project has greatly impacted her life and the lives of the members of her organization.
Yohanna said that through the AACJ project, she had learned briquette production and tree planting and noted that she is now using briquettes to cook as an alternative to charcoal.
She further said the AACJ project had strengthened her capacity in advocating for tree planting in her community as well as lending her voice to discourage indiscriminate cutting of trees.
“I use the knowledge gained to educate people, especially women in my community, to plant trees, and that has improved tree planting in my community; I also educate them on the need for income diversification.
Mrs. Janet Alanji, from Ntsakpe community, Akwanga Local Government Area, said the AACJ project had impacted her life, especially on tree planting and smart agriculture practices.
The AACJ project helped her diversify into other areas of agriculture, such as livestock rearing and crop processing of cassava, sweet potatoes, and groundnuts into different products.
Alanji said she had extended the knowledge gained from ACCJ capacity building on briquette production, nursery establishment, and management to women in her community, and they are now planting trees and using briquettes for cooking.
“I trained women on briquette production; I also encouraged them to go into urban farming and establish home gardens to produce vegetables and other crops such as sweet potatoes to combat hunger,” she said.
Daniel Alanji, a youth and one of the beneficiaries of the AACJ project, said they also learnt tree planting rather than felling.
He said he would use the knowledge gained from the programme to attract electricity transformer to his community, which has suffered from lack of power supply for years.
Eze Faith-Adaeze, another youth and beneficiary of the AACJ project, said it has provided her with an opportunity to know more about climate change as it affects the environment.
“The AACJ also offered me an opportunity to join other African youths in Nairobi to share knowledge and engage youths in games activities to dissuade them from breaking the law,” she said.
Hellen Jonathan, of Agunji community in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government, said she used the knowledge gained from oil palm nursery establishment and management to plant over 100 oil palm trees.
Ms Assalama Sidi, Executive Deputy Director, Oxfam in Africa, said during the distribution of 13,500 oil palm seedlings for transplanting in 9 communities in Akwanga that she was impressed with AACJ project implementing partners.
“This is just a great opportunity for me because I’m able to see a great project, a project on fighting a climate change effect with all the community members. And the project is great because the project idea came from the communities.
“So, seeing people who are already conscious about climate change means people are willing to fight against climate change. People have not only a short time but a long-time vision, so I’m impressed,” she said. (NANFeatures)
By Oboh Linus, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
