In 2021, as the build up to COP26 picked up, GLOBE International carried out a citywide engagement between students and Members of Parliament. This event tagged the Student-MP Climate Surgery held across London and in Scotland as “The Moment”.

This created a great opportunity for students— owners of the future— to ask their MPs critical questions on what they are doing to address the climate crisis. The programme was a resounding success such that it was decided to replicate this in Africa as the build up to COP27 commences. Subsequently, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Kenya/Uganda, and Ghana were earmarked as the African countries where the Student-MP Climate Surgery would be held in Africa.

Africa’s Student-MP Climate Surgery began in Nigeria— Africa’s biggest economy. The surgeries were timed to coincide with the weeks leading to and culminating in the London Climate Action week with students from Osun, through Abuja to Abia State and Rivers State coming together to have conversations on the climate crisis and write to their MPs to know what they are doing about it.

The Osun and Abia State events were held on June 9th, 2022, with sixty students from different schools writing to both their State and Federal MPs to hold them accountable and call them to action on handling the climate crisis. On June 20, 2022, 40 students from schools all over Rivers State met in Port Harcourt with some of their State MPs and also wrote to their national MPs.

The Rivers State surgery aptly captures the principle of multilevel action as even the Mayor of Port Harcourt (capital city of Rivers State and one of the Local Government Areas in the state) sent a representative to be part of the event and report to him.

On the 27th, 29th, and 30th of June 2022, the surgery was held in different schools at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. From Gwagwalada to Lugbe, Asokoro, and Guzape, through highbrow schools to schools for the gifted, students and their teachers converged at different locations under the supervision of staff of GLOBE Nigeria to hold conversations on the climate challenge, record video messages for their MPs, and write to them, asking them to take action to help Nigeria meet her climate change mitigation and adaptation obligations.

The central themes that ran through the surgeries are a call for the implementation of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021 by the Federal Government, request for the domestication of the Act at the state levels, call for action on land degradation and deforestation, request for climate education, call for a sustained reduction in GHG emissions, and prompt transition to clean and renewable energy as a means of addressing Nigeria’s energy problems. Letters/video messages were sent to 60 national MPs and 7 state MPs. 145 students (Abia— 30; Osun— 30; Rivers State—40; Abuja—45) participated in the surgeries.

Important attainments: 

• Reactivation of the Schools Climate Clubs recognized by the Federal Ministry of Environment in Abuja and leveraging them to carry out the surgeries in some parts of Abuja.
• Establishment of Schools Climate Clubs in Osun and Abia State to be leveraged on for future climate change education as stipulated by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021.
• Going into the 2023 general elections, positioning conversations on climate change mitigation and adaptation as a critical aspect of political responsibilities.
• Creation of awareness on climate action among the students and MPs thus reawakening a sense of civic responsibility.
• Creation of a platform for collaboration between GLOBE and the YOUNGO constituency. • Advancing conversation on the domestication of the Climate change Act in Rivers State.

MPs written to All the MPs representing Osun, Abia, Rivers States, and Abuja at the National Assembly (Senators and House of Representatives members). Three State MPs from Rivers State and four State MPs from Abia State. This number could increase with more MPs from Rivers State showing interest and wanting to be part of the global push for climate action.

Recommendations: 

This was the first of such intervention in Nigeria and it was a success. There is, however, great room for improvement in the coming years. It is therefore recommended that the following be considered:

• Keeping the Schools Climate Clubs functional as a medium for the provision of sustained climate change education for young people. Nigeria’s adult population is tragically unaware of what climate change is about as they grapple with what they consider more pressing issues of insecurity, poverty, energy poverty, etc., without being aware of the role that climate change has played in exacerbating these challenges. While educating the adult population is important, raising a new generation that is fully aware is a more sustainable way of addressing the issue. The Schools Climate Clubs can serve as an important medium.
• To sustain the education of the young students, there is a need to develop a Climate Change curriculum steeped in the peculiar challenges of the country.
• There is a need to expand the surgeries to more states in the country.
• Continuous engagement of the MPs by the students is a great way of awakening and sustaining awareness and a sense of responsibility on the part of the MPs.

Conclusion

Even though this was the first time this type of engagement between students and Members of Parliament was holding in Nigeria, it was for all intents and purposes a success. This success is tripartite: Creation of climate change awareness on the part of the MPs; Provision of climate change education for students; Setting up of a platform of engagement between students (owners of the future) and their representatives; and Considering the peculiar nature of Nigeria, we largely chose the process of the students engaging the MPs through letters and video messages. For Rivers State however, we had to bring in some of the MPs to directly engage with the students.

We envisage that the sustainability of this project will play a critical role in shaping future conversations and indeed the implementation of commitments to addressing climate change by Nigeria.

MP Climate Surgery Nigeria Brochure

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