A breath of Fresh Air as Coal Free Nigeria Campaigners meets Legislators
Coal Free Nigeria campaigners from Benue State, Kogi State, Kaduna State, Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory received a breath of fresh air in their bid to get the government of Nigeria to stop the issuance of coal mining licenses. This fresh air came with resounding hope as the activists met with legislators representing communities that are already grappling with the adverse effects of coal mining at the recently held National Climate Lobby Day.
The National Lobby Day commenced on Monday the 25th of October, 2021 with the training of coal campaigners on the act of lobbying by David Michael Terungwa. The campaigners were taken through the 5-levers of building political will and through a demonstration of a mock lobbying exercise the advocates shown the act of lobbying. Thereafter, campaigners practiced in different groups how they were going to engage the legislators on Coal Free Nigeria demands.
Consequently, On the bright and sparkling morning of Tuesday, 26th October, 2021, the team approached the National assembly complex with twisted feelings of excitement and trepidation with uncertainty of how events will pan out. After a few hitches at the entrance of the complex, the team proceeded to capture this historical moment in still pictures. Thereafter, one after the other, 5 different groups went in search of their designated Senator or House of Representative member.
After about 3 hours of scanning for the offices of their designated legislators, the group returned with bursting euphoria of the feat they just achieved. The community member from Benue State successfully got in touch with their representative, Honourable Patrick Ejeh. He welcomed the team with great enthusiasm and he expressed his oblivion of the coal mining activities taking place in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State. He requested for documentation of the team findings on the activities of coal miners in the area, unfortunately, the team from Benue did not have one at the time. They however, assured the Honourable of presenting him their findings by their next visit.
On the other hand, their counterparts from Kogi were unable to meet Honourable Zakari Alfa who represents Ankpa LGA, but were able to secure a rescheduled date for the meeting. Furthermore, other campaigners met the Senate Committee Chairman on Ecology and Climate Change, Senator Mohammad Gusau who received them warmly. He solicited that the campaigners engage the Nigerian team at the COP 26 in Glasgow.
In retrospect, the first National Climate Lobby Day presents light at the end of the tunnel for the Coal Free Nigeria campaign.
BY Joseph Ibrahim
Nigeria Joins the rest of the world to demand for a Just Recovery
On Friday the 19th of March, 2021 Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations and environmental enthusiasts across Nigeria performed various public actions reechoing their demands for the Government of Nigeria to stop issuing coal mining licenses. These actions took place in seven locations viz Abuja, Abia, Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.
Campaigners across the country visited different government offices (Federal Ministry of Environment, Abuja, State Ministry of Environment, Benue, and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Kaduna), with a clear message to the Nigerian Government to stop the issuance of coal mining licenses. The message was accompanied with a beautiful plant which reinforced the foundation of a non-violent approach to the Coal Free Nigeria Campaign.
The action was in solidarity with climate campaigners across the world who took to the street to demand for JUST RECOVERY on the Global Climate Strike day. Consequently, the action increased the impetus of the Coal Free Nigeria Campaign as more local communities joined to demand for climate justice.
On the other side, feedbacks and content generated from the local action were shared on social media in order to increase awareness and amplify the voices of the frontline communities.
Furthermore, the action was able to secure more signatories to the online petition that is asking the Nigerian Government to stop the issuance of coal mining licenses so as to make it easy for our country to usher in a just transition from fossil fuel dependence and more so, ensure we are playing a great role in minimising the rapidness of climate change.
By; Joseph Ibrahim, Ogho Udoko and Francis Ebhodaghe
People of Onupi and Nigeria do not need coal
“I want the Federal Government to intercede for us so our women won't experience miscarriage again". "If the government was providing social amenities to community members, then we would have never accepted the destructive coal mining activities". Those are words of respectively Mrs Agagwu Rachel and Mr Alfa Stephen, the chairman of Onupi Coal Committee when attending the civil society meeting organized by GIFSEP and partners like International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Heinrich Boll Foundation, Climate and Sustainable Development Network and Global Rights to mark World Social Justice Day.
The meeting was an opportunity for community leaders and civil society groups to strategize on the way forward in ensuring the voices of the community members in both Kogi and Gombe states are heard and to advocate for a coal-free society that keeps social justice and safety at the forefront.
The gathering was inspired by a research GIFSEP did last year to ascertain the status of coal mining and to identify the actors and financiers of coal mining in Nigeria. The research carried out by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) in Kogi and Gombe states with support from 350.org was a response to the shift in fossil fuel investment caused by Nigeria’s yawning gap in power generation and supply, which prompted many stakeholders including the members of the National Assembly to demand coal-powered stations.
This research revealed serious troubling impacts local communities are now confronted due to the activities of Dangote coal mine. These impacts include the destruction of water sources contamination of alternative borehole sources, health issues like high rates of miscarriage. More detailed information about the research’s findings can be viewed here.
Community members of Kogi and Gombe states alongside others in Nigeria intend to continue raising their voices to ensure their right to a clean and healthy environment filled with sustainable prosperity. According to participants, the meeting was just the beginning of the journey towards a coal-free Onupi and Nigeria.
Kenya and Nigeria joined divestEd!
Divestment from fossil fuels has been gaining quite the momentum globally in the last few years. This week two youth groups in Kenya and Nigeria took action, joining the Fossil Fuel Divestment Day.
On 12th February, students in the Chiromo campus of the University of Nairobi, Kenya engaged in a 1-hour sit-in session. The forum attracted over 40 participants and took the form of a participatory dialogue to exchange on the need to invest in renewable energy in the campus, its advantages, as well as reaching out to other campuses to follow suit. The students, mostly drawn from the Chiromo Environmental Awareness Club and environmental scientists in the making had strong contributions on how renewable energy on campuses could look like, citing the need for academia and researchers to take a lead in implementing solutions to the fight against the climate crisis.
It happened! We are likely the first across the world to host the #divestED event owing to our special circumstances that could not allow us a quorum tomorrow.
Thanks for all students in @ceackenya who hosted us, and keenly contributed to the dialogue. @divesteddotorg pic.twitter.com/jn4zNNShp6
— Y-CEARE (@YCeare) February 12, 2020
Among the emerging issues was the need to have a strong legal requirement that enables campuses and institutions to have renewable energy systems as a part of them going green in energy production and usage. The action was led by Y-CEARE (Youth Coalition for Environmental Advocacy and Renewable Energy), a team part of AfrikaVuka.
In Nigeria, GIFSEP (Global Initiative on Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation) held a workshop on reducing carbon footprint, followed by a mock protest within the university of Abuja, targeting students from the department of geography and environmental management. The team intended to encourage the department to join the ongoing efforts to transition from fossil fuels addiction to renewable energy. Students specifically asked the university administration to switch to renewable energy and install solar panels on top of administrative and campuses blocs.
When asked about what to expect after this divestEd initiative, Joseph Ibrahim of GIFSEP said “We are still having issues of unstable electricity supply. We believe this initiative will inspire the students and the university to take on renewable energy and create an example for other campuses and schools and hopefully Nigeria as a whole. ”
I was at University of Abuja today to make a climate change presentation and joined the students to demand for a greener campus #F2D2 #FossilFuelDivestmentDay #Afrikavuka pic.twitter.com/0J1CMcunDl
— Joseph Ibrahim (@joeibro) February 13, 2020
Both teams joined the Fossil Fuel Divestment Day or divestEd, a mobilisation moment led by US divestment students to demand specific institutions to divest from fossil-fueled destruction of land, air, and water and re-invest in renewable energy.
Author: Rukiya Khamis, 350Africa.org Anglophone Field Organizer.
We’re days away from rising up calling on our leaders to fight climate change.
We’ve seen throughout history that movements that promote progressive social change have been driven by ordinary people dedicated to leading when governments have failed. People power leading the way has become even more relevant as the effects of climate change have begun to unravel across Africa, as leaders across the length and breadth of the continent prop up the importation and exploitation of fossil fuels.
As part of Africa Day, on May 24-25 we will see the determination of people, in communities across Africa rise up against new fossil fuel exploration, and developments - showing leaders the way to fight climate change. So far there have been over 50 events registered across the continent calling on their leaders to commit to building a fossil free Africa that puts people and justice before profits.
The movement against new fossil fuel developments is global and extremely pertinent to the future of our planet. Here’s a snippet into what will be happening in Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa on the 25th:
- Nigeria: To mark the Afrika Day of Action, GIFSEP intends to mobilize at least 20 Senior Secondary Schools in Abuja to produce and deliver climate-conscious and justice messages on one parachute and other colourful paintings. This parachute and painting will be delivered through a march towards the parliament building asking the members of parliament to pass the climate bill and lead Nigeria on the road to climate justice.
- Senegal: A huge rally gathering at least 1500 citizens composed of youth, women, traditional chiefs, religious leaders, local authorities, CSOs and NGOs is planned in Bargny to denounce the Bargny coal plant project and to call the Senegalese President to demonstrate a stronger leadership role in fighting against climate change and promote renewables.
- South Africa: Communities affected by mining, and those in support of these communities, will be marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. A memorandum calling for a national ban on fracking in South Africa will be handed over to the President and to the Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources.
Our collective futures depends on us being able to seize this moment and work together to pushback against the fossil fuel industry fuelling the climate crisis and for long-lasting and meaningful change.