According to a press release from UNICEF, floods have forced 650,000 Nigerian children to leave their homes, making Nigeria the second most affected country in terms of climate change impacts on children. This displacement has occurred between 2016 and 2023.
The press release was issued on Monday, which also happened to be World Children’s Day in 2023.
UNICEF highlighted that more than 110 million Nigerian children are in danger because of increasing temperatures, floods, droughts, and intense storms.
Dr. Salisu Dahiru, Director General of the National Council on Climate Change, emphasized the importance of a quick and inclusive response, with a focus on vulnerable populations such as children and women in decision-making and implementation.
Similarly, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria Christian Munduate emphasized the importance of providing a platform for children to express their worries about climate change in order to shape a communal path toward a sustainable future.
Meanwhile, stakeholders from education, the environment, the media, and related organizations gathered at the Evolution Hotel in Gombe to honor the 2023 World Children’s Day by launching the Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC) in Nigeria.
The UNICEF Bauchi Field Office livestreamed the event, which highlighted important climate threats to children and outlined multi-sectoral climate initiatives planned for Nigeria from 2023 to 2027.
UNICEF officials, Gombe‘s Commissioner for Education, Professor Aishatu Umar Maigari, Project Coordinator of Agro-Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL), and other stakeholders, including media and peace advocates, attended the event.
Veteran journalists Farida Muhammad Dunemia, Alhaji Usman Shehu, Alhaji Aliyu Ardo, and others from Pathway to Peace DW Academia were among those who attended the Gombe launch.
Following the inauguration, UNICEF hosted an inter-school quiz tournament on climate change in conjunction with the Gombe State Ministry of Education, ACReSAL, and Pathway to Peace DW Academia.
The Commissioner declared the competition open and charged the kids to use the inter-school quiz competition to learn about climate.
She praised UNICEF for launching CLAC and for coming up with the idea of an inter-school climate change competition.
Maigari emphasized the importance of continuing CLAC and other child-centered interventions in order to leave a lasting legacy.
According to the Daily Post, Government Girls Mega College, Gombe won the inter-school tournament, followed by Government Day Secondary School, Gandu and Government Day Secondary School, Gombe.
