‘Climate change literacy declining among youths’

Climate change literacy is declining among youths in the country, a research fellow at the Centre for Climate Change and Development, at the Federal University Ebonyi State, Alex Ekwueme.

According to Ekwueme in a release on Monday, climate change has resulted in considerable environmental challenges in Nigeria, impacting every region and socioeconomic group.

He said, “Nigeria has a youthful population, with more than 70 per cent of the population below 30 years of age. The Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics had earlier stated that the youth population accounts for about 51 per cent of the total population with the age bracket 15 – 34 years old.

“Despite the growing onset of the climate emergency, it has been reported that climate change literacy and awareness remain poor among the Nigerian youth.

“In Nigeria, the catastrophic flooding in 2022 displaced more than 1.4 million individuals, resulted in over 603 fatalities, left approximately 2,400 people injured, and caused damage to around 82,035 homes.”

He asserted that the heatwaves of 2024, which affected all geopolitical zones, served as a stark illustration of those effects, placing immense pressure on commercial agriculture and jeopardising food security, among other immediate challenges.

He added, “As reported by statista.com, in 2020, over 60 per cent of Nigerians were unaware of climate change. Given that more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population consists of young people, it is imperative to effectively harness the potential of this youthful demographic bulge in the battle against climate change.

“Unfortunately, a significant portion of the Nigerian populace remains indifferent to discussions surrounding climate change. This indifference highlights the relatively small number of youths actively engaged in climate advocacy compared to those who lack awareness.

“Consequently, it is evident that the struggle against climate change in Nigeria is far from being resolved, as the majority of the workforce lacks essential knowledge regarding this critical issue.”

The PUNCH reports that the Alau Dam, located just over 10 miles south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, collapsed in the middle of the night last week Tuesday, displacing hundreds of thousands from their homes.

According to the United Nations, the impacts of extreme weather are being felt severely across the country.

Some 800,000 people in 29 states in Nigeria have been affected by floods as of September 2024, WFP said, and over 550,000 hectares of cropland have been flooded.

The agency added that as of March this year, about 32 million people in the country were already facing acute hunger.