By Francis Ogbuagu Benin City
A total of 6,000 youths in the Niger- Delta region had been trained in various skills by the Environmental Rights Action and Friends of the Earth,Nigeria(ERA)
The Executive Director of ERA,Dr Goodwin Uyi Ojo made this revelation, Wednesday in Benin City at the 3rd edition of the “Sustainability School Youth Environmental Camp Meeting,2020″ with a theme:”From Extraction to Education.”
He said the 6,000 youths, drawn from Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and River States were trained in skills like- renewable energy entrepreneurship, repair and installation of solar gadgets and fabrication of clean energy saving cookstoves.Uyi Ojo also stated that the organization has trained 300 Secondary School teachers and produced Environmental Education and renewable energy manual that is being deployed for training in the over 60 renewable energy school clubs set up across the four state.
According to him, “I am glad to announce that since 2018,we have successfully trained over 6000 youths on developing their business model, renewable energy entrepreneurship, repair and installation of solar and the fabrication of clean energy saving cookstoves.We have trained 300 Secondary School teachers and produced Environmental Education and renewable energy manual that is being deployed for training in the over 60 renewable energy school clubs set up across the four state. Some of our trained youths are now solar energy innovators and have produced 3 in one solar energy luminous lighting system,power bank with charger ports.”
He maintained that the theme was made to focus on how to transit from the present carbonized economy to a decarbonized one.”This Camp Meeting is unique,in that it provides variety of activities including the subject of a post petroleum economy for Nigeria and transition from oil dependence to a renewable energy source.The Nigeria challenge is,can Nigeria survive without oil? The externalizing of production cost and the unmitigated environmental and social consequences of extraction makes the extraction of oil unenviable
as the Niger-Delta pollution shows.“Therefore,We urge the Nigerian Government to take more ambitions steps towards moving from fossil fuels, such as oil,gas and coal to renewable energy source,such as solar, wind and mini hydros.”He called the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to embrace the agenda of ” “leave oil in the soil”, make commitment and set an agenda towards an end to fossil fuel dependence by diverting investments from oil and gas to research and development of the renewable energy sector.”
In his goodwill message,the Director General of National Power Training Institute of Nigeria(NAPTIN),Mr Ahmed Bolaji Nagode thanked Dr Goodwin Uyi Ojo for organizing the two days camp meeting for youths in the Niger-Delta and said, NAPTIN, an agency of the Federal Ministry of Power has a Mandate to develop skills needed for the growth of the power sector in Nigeria, He said that,in order to fulfill this mandate,the agency has put in place some training programmes including a 6-9 months programme made to develop skills for technicians,craftmen and artisans who wants to pursue career in the power sector and also another one year graduate programme made to train technicians and engineers in the power or renewable energy sectors
Also the Director/Clerk, Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, National Assembly, Abuja, Mr Anthony Azubike, commended ERA for organizing the camp meeting and asked the youths to take advantage of the programme.He said, if Nigeria wishes to make progress,She has to learn from India,who sent their youths to the Western world to learn sciences in the 1970s, and today India is number one in ICT and genetical modified Organisms (GMO)
The high point of the event was the presentation of two young school leavers, Daniel and Jab(DANJAB Enterprises)trained by ERA,who produced solar energy luminous light with power bank and charging port.
