State launches youth climate campaign, presents Taaooma as lead influencer

A senior Specialist, Chain Reactions Africa, Naomi Ndubueze, has said that carbon emissions in Lagos State is at an all-time high as the state is currently home to 22 million generators and generating 13 tonnes of waste daily.

The expert, who spoke at the launch of the state’s Lagos Youth Climate Campaign, in collaboration with C40 Cities and support from the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), said carbon emissions in Lagos State is high with energy contributing 53 per cent, transport 18 per cent and waste 29 per cent.

Ndubueze, who stressed the need for youth involvement in the climate change campaign, said the state had recorded $1 billion loss in property due to flood and is only capable of dealing with seven out of the 13 tonnes of waste being generated daily.

She, therefore, warned that the state might experience an upsurge of 25 per cent or more of prolonged heat waves in the next five years.

Also, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who spoke at the workshop, with the theme, “Lagos Youth United for Climate Action,” represented by General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Dr Babatunde Ajayi, praised the youths for championing the cause.

Wahab said: “Globally, youths are known to be very disruptive. The youths are champions of any revolution. Any idea that you intend to propagate, and you want to get traction, you must take it to the youths.”

The commissioner said that new media would be used more to drive the key messaging and awareness of the climate change campaign.

Besides, he stressed that the state would be inclined to making sure that messages are passed across by propagating inter-agency integration.

Special Adviser on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said the state’s ‘T.H.E.M.E.S Plus’ agenda is focused strategically on the youths, saying that the governor has realised the need to focus more on youths in his second term and that is why the ‘Plus’ was introduced into the agenda.

“With ‘Plus’ of course, we now have ‘social inclusion,’ ‘gender equality’ and ‘the Youth’ as priority. And so, Taaooma is very popular among the youths. She has good records and comes clean with her contents, with no scandals. She is a social media giant, and we trust her ability to carry the youths along. We considered she deserves to drive the policy for us,” Rotimi-Akoduemphasised.

On his part, Lagos City Adviser, C40 Cities, Maximus Ugwuoke, highlighted the significance of the partnership with Lagos State government, saying: “Lagos as part of our C40 Cities network is showing the light to other cities all across Nigeria on how to prioritise climate action and that essentially is part of the reasons we have continued to partner with Lagos.