Beyond the Plateau Climate Assembly

Picture source: seaart.ai

The Plateau State Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development hosted the Plateau Climate Assembly. It was a gathering of Plateau people from across the country to study the Plateau State policy on the climate agenda, a policy document that is praised for being the only one of its kind across Africa. There was the need to study the document to identify possible loopholes that would need to be sealed before it is passed into law.  That was the aim of the assembly.

 

For many, it is something that aims to re-energize the pride they have always had for Plateau State. Plateau State built for itself the reputation of being a forerunner throughout the forty-nine years of its history. We see this in its iconic schools, its role in the development of the media in northern Nigeria, its role in its contribution to sports development in Nigeria, not forgetting its vibrant urban culture that others wished they had.  

 

So, how did Plateau end up with a document that is the onliest across Africa? It surely comes from the calibre of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development, Peter Kanang Gwom. He is a man who understands that politics is a power struggle, but that power is a means to an end, rather than the end itself. He is known to be restless when there is inactivity in the ministry, contrary to what is obtainable in other places, where people are paid and expected to be thankful for not doing anything, while they get paid.  

 

The desire to get things done saw Honourable Gwom travelling around the world, attending meetings with hues of environmental discussion. These global interactions and connections surely paved the way for the idea of the Plateau Policy on Climate Change, something that is sure to radiate across the country and Africa at large.

 

When the Plateau Policy on Climate Change is eventually passed into law, the action of plugging into the fight against climate change and mitigating its impact is expected to begin.

 

Across Nigeria, the World Bank is currently training people on social and environmental standards. This is a training that had been conducted in the past, but the World Bank is repeating it because it observes that Nigerians are not ploughing into the global climate efforts. Thus, passing the Plateau policy document into law is only the first hurdle.

 

What has been responsible for the inability of Nigerians to join the war against climate change, despite the agonizing experience of the impact of climate change? We have seen it in the desperation of herders trying to find fresh grazing lands, having been driven by desertification in the north of the country. We have seen it in alien crop diseases and irregular rainfall patterns that are frustrating agricultural yields. We have seen it in the floods that buried our towns and cities in the past couple of years. Thus, it is shocking why Nigerians continue to dawdle over the climate issue.

 

Educated people blame the uneducated for not believing the reality of climate change. It is a case of the kettle describing the pot as grimy. It is the duty of the educated to enlighten the uneducated to believe the reality of climate change, even if it means doing so in their native languages –not having formal education is not an implication of dysfunctional mental faculties.

 

The onus rests solely on us, the educated. The educated demography in the private domain must support the government to shape policies that accelerate our efforts towards mitigating the impact of climate change. The educated private sector must support government efforts to end cutting down trees for firewood and charcoal, activities that exacerbate the damage to our environment. The private sector must support governments in the area of setting up environmetal grant makers in the country to encourage innovators working to bring green alternatives that replace technologies that impair our environment.

 

While nations are setting dates for bidding farewell to the use of fossil fuels, governments across the country request support to not just key in but also find alternative sources of income when the transition is finally actualized. Geological explorations must aim to find safer mineral alternatives, which will be exploited and used responsibly.

 

We are already late on the climate issue.

We Are Often Cut Out of the Ahmed Musa Story

Ahmed Musa. Source: Inside J-Town Magazine

No one falls from the sky. There is no heaven without the earth. Every individual has a beginning. It may be a humble beginning, but it is always there. It shocks me that our town of Bukuru and Aminci Football Club are often missing in the Musa story.

Ahmed Musa was born and raised in Bukuru, Jos South of Plateau State. He played for Aminci Football Club, a club that metamorphosed into a football academy. In addition to developing young players, the club also serves Europe-based players wishing to stay fit during the off-season. It also serves players who couldn't secure new contracts with their teams but want to remain fit while struggling to find new clubs.  

Aminci practised at the St Peter Primary School’s pitch in Bukuru, nestled by the police ‘B’ Division and the railway station. He sometimes played at the Bukuru Mini Stadium (nearly every star from Jos played at the Bukuru mini stadium at one point or the other).

In 2007, I started the magazine, Inside J-Town (which evolved to this very publication). In the magazine’s design, I created a column to feature young footballers who are good enough to play at the professional level but who haven’t found a club yet. That was how coach Akwash introduced me to Ahmed Musa. He told me that Musa’s strengths were in speed and good ball control. It was how I met with the young player who told me that his ultimate ambition was to play for Arsenal of England, as it was his favourite club, but that he was ready to play for any club that came his way at the time. 

I moved on with my affair but later learned, in 2010, of a player from Bukuru, specifically, who played for Kano Pillars at the time and had broken a record for the highest goals ever scored in the Nigerian Professional League, since Ishaya Jatau 1990’s record. I never knew it was the boy from my town because, at the time he granted me an interview, he referred to himself as Ahmadu Musa. But I longed to see if the guy was a familiar face since he came from my town. I waited until the friendly match between Nigeria and Argentina when he was to be introduced as a substitute. Lo and behold, it was the boy I interviewed while he was still in the amateur category. It made me realize that what I was doing was more important than I thought.

So, it pains us when his story is told and the humble beginning is brushed aside. The problem is complicated by coach Bros who runs the Golden Boot Soccer Academy. He is not educated and, hence, refuses to trust educated people around him. These are the people who will ensure whatever he does is properly documented