Nigeria: European Union- backed NGO, Club 17 African Initiative is engaging the help of Secondary School Children to combat the menace of soot in the Niger Delta.
Mina Ogbanga, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Network of NGOs in Rivers State, who is the Creative Director of Club 17 Africa Initiative, stated that better air is a result of several actions being taken at different fronts, from policy to forest invasion by security agents and support by local administrators.
She explained that the project is about addressing soot in Rivers State. “We are working with different arms of government; executive (all the commissioners agreed to be part of the solution), while Ministry of Education will ensure that Climate Action is part of school curriculum in Civic Education.
“The Ministry of Education will mass produce the manual. Ministry of Environment is part of the people that brought a huge reduction in soot. They are the policy drivers. So many bills were brought about in the Parliament.”
Ms. Ogbanga stated that the students have been drafted into the ‘War Against Soot’. She reiterated that even though a lay man admits that the air is cleaner, it is because several groups are taking action.
“Young people are saying ‘no’ to be being used as agents for soot and illegal bunkering. That is what is happening at the background. Change is what people are seeing, but it comes from different action-points, a business approach to the sustainability issue.
“I want to say that Rivers Network of NGOs is an NGO that is managing this process. It is a conglomeration of all NGOs in Rivers State. Any NGO not yet a member is welcome to join. Our work is social justice, environment protection and human rights.”
Tags: Niger Delta, War Against Soot, NGO, Rivers State, Mina Ogbanga
