From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra State has joined the league of institutions and organisations campaigning for global action against climate change.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha, unveiled a five-year grand climate action strategic plan during a summit on tree planting and climate action at the university.
The strategic plan includes planting at least one million trees at the university to combat global warming and earn carbon credit. The summit, which climaxed with a lecture by Dr Joseph Onoja, the keynote speaker, also received commendations and assurances of further collaboration from the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), and the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), among others.
Professor Omenugha expressed her appreciation to all their partners for keeping their goal of a better tomorrow alive – a liveable and prosperous Anambra State, which requires teamwork. She noted that in the last few months, they have aggressively pursued their desire for a better COOU, a better environment for future generations, and a legacy as an environmentally friendly institution.
She explained that the summit aimed to brainstorm on doing things differently, as it is possible to change their mindset and think globally. She added that the world will not wait for them to catch up, so they need to move quickly.
While revealing that the university will plant one million trees in five years, Professor Omenugha maintained that they are not just going to talk the talk but will also walk the walk. She explained that they have plans for sustainability, including a five-year road map for tree planting and climate action.
Read also: NiMet DG calls for urgent climate action as extreme weather threatens Nigeria
Governor Chukwuma Soludo, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Ernest Ezeajughi, said the Anambra State Environmental Protection and Administrative Law 2024 captures a lot of what the state is doing about climate change. He added that this was the right time to talk about climate change to save the environment. He said the government is committed to climate action by gradually transitioning to renewable energy sources.
The keynote speaker and Director-General of the NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, in his paper presentation titled, “Roles of Trees in Sustainable Nigeria Growth”, said biodiversity is vital for Nigeria’s ecological balance, economic development, and cultural heritage.
He stressed that trees are very important for human beings and that any climate action taken without trees is useless. He noted that trees are one of the major ways to fight climate change and charged everyone to take climate action by planting trees, so they can together have a Nigeria where everyone will prosper and live in harmony.
Dr Onoja emphasised that conversations about the environment are actually about human beings. “When we talk about environmental conservation, we are talking about human conservation. When we tamper with nature to develop economically, the profit we make is usually plunged back into the environment.”
He advocated that COOU should find a green area within the university and pledged that the NCF would donate between 5,000 and 10,000 trees to the university annually for the next five years.
The Chairman of the university’s climate action committee, Professor K. K. Nwozor, said the committee aligns with the Vice-Chancellor’s vision to address the university’s climate change challenge.
The Director-General of NiMET, Professor Charles Anosike, represented by Dr Uche Nworah, his Special Adviser on Special Duties, and Gloria Onyegbule, assured the audience that NiMET is already working with COOU to provide the institution with a weather station. “What Professor Kate Omenugha is doing today is preparing the community for the future,” Mrs Onyegbule said in her remarks.
The panel discussion, anchored by Ify Aronu-Okafor, included panellists Chiamaka Nnake, Anambra State Commissioner for Economic Planning; Dr Felix Odimegwu, Anambra State Commissioner for Environment; Professor Philip Eze, the Director of NEWMAP, Anambra State; Izuchukwu Mojekwu; Chinwe Okoli; and Chinedu Oguegbu of OMAA Motors. The university’s Climate Ambassadors and Climate Police for the campuses were also inaugurated.