By Yemi Olakitan
Students in Gombe State have been called upon by the state government to study and suggest solutions to the nation’s environmental problems, including climate change.
The call was given by Sani Adamu Jauro, the project coordinator (PC) for the state’s Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, during a send-forth of students who participated in the Industrial Training (IT) at his workplace.
He exhorted the pupils to research and create solutions to problems with the ecology and the land. Although the Gombe State Governor, His Excellency Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has made significant progress in combating land degradation in the state through well designed policy measures and initiatives like the Gombe Goes Green.
While calling on other leaders to emulate the Gombe State governor in combating environmental problems he challenged the students to use the knowledge gained from working with ACReSAL to embark on research to answer the basic environmental questions.
ACReSAL which was recently launched in Gombe was a replacement for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) in the state. According to an official of the state, the program is a world bank funded project meant to increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in targeted areas and watersheds in northern Nigeria.
Climate Change: “Research for solutions, Gombe tasks students.
The project also seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s long-term enabling environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management. The project comprises four components with the first component focusing on dryland management and implementation of integrated watershed management planning as well as addressing challenges of large-scale watershed degradation in northern Nigeria.
Also, speaking at the send-forth, the Internal Supervisor of the Gombe ACReSAL office Mr Richard James commended the students for conducting themselves and focusing on the training while contributing to the implementation of the NEWMAP and ACReSAL in the state.
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the IT students who were drawn from various higher institutions of learning, Abdulhamid Abdullahi of Bauchi State University Gadau (BASUG) and Aisha Mohammed Pindiga of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ABTU), Bauchi commended and thanked the staff and management of the office for assisting them during the training.
