Experts call for shift from fossil fuels to green skills for Nigerian youth

The Nigerian government has been advised to make concerted efforts to raise awareness and cultivate green skills among its teeming youths.

This was part of the discussion at this year’s International Youth Day celebration organised by the Peter Adejoh Foundation at Plush Hotel, Abuja, recently.

Speaking at the event, Dr Peter Adejoh, the founder of Peter Adejoh Foundation, emphasised the necessity for the Federal Government to shift its focus and reliance on oil.

According to him, the event aimed to recognise the significant contributions of young people to education, community development, and environmental initiatives.

He stressed that the global shift towards sustainable practices, driven by the rise of electric vehicles and solar energy, will inevitably reduce the demand for fossil fuels.

He said, “Specifically, we decided as a foundation to put this event together to showcase and to discuss what affects us as a demography and also to look at ways of doing business in the face of championing causes that will save our environment.”

Renowned climate change activist, Comrade Okpanachi Jacob, in a paper, reiterated the importance of embracing sustainable practices for a better and greener world, echoing the sentiments of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Highlighting the importance of this year’s theme, “Green Skills for Youths: Towards a Sustainable World,” Comrade Jacob emphasised the critical role that youth play in shaping a sustainable and environmentally-friendly future.

He stressed that the world’s ongoing shift towards a greener future makes adopting this theme particularly relevant.

He said: “Africa is full of peculiarities and low level of education thus talking about green skills to a mass of our unemployed youths will require double effort to provide desired solutions to sustainable a world, there must be actionable steps as adumbrated in the way forward to jumpstart a consciousness that will ignite the green revolution we must save the earth from ourselves.

“In achieving the set objectives of cultivating green skills amongst youth; it will require sets of impact chains that will define the direction of focus for participants to engage in civil actions which will precipitate the needed consciousness that will propel green skill ideas into fruition.”