Students drawn from 41 secondary schools across Nigeria yesterday at a special event at the Model United Nations (MUN), 2022 tackled the threats of climate change in the global environment.
They featured at the 18th edition of the Nigerian International Secondary Schools Model United Nations (NISSMUN) with theme: “Climate Crisis as the Most Urgent Threat of Our Time”.
The participants discussed the threat of climate change and proffered solutions to them.
Speaking to our correspondent at the event, the chairman of NISSMUN Governing Council, Chika Nwaozuzu, said the platform aimed not just to build the capacity of young people on climate change but enable them engage in climate activities in their schools, homes and communities.
He said, “It (NISSMUN) helps them begin to take ownership of the environment. If you engage them at this young age, then you have started a fantastic strategy of building their capacity on climate change. At NISSMUN, we don’t just talk about MUN, though MUN is our flagship programme but we also engage ourselves in community development works. We started with the Millennium Development, then the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and we are rebuilding schools in rural communities.”
Conspicuous at the event was the presence of public schools, as they made up just four of the 41 schools present. They included Federal Government Girls’ College, Owerri, Imo State; Federal Government Girls’ College, Umuahia, Abia State; Federal Science and Technology College, Yaba, Lagos, and Federal Government College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Addressing the low representation of public schools, Nwaozuzu said it was a matter of expression of interest. He also noted that rather than students of public schools, private school students engaged in more climate hazardous activities such as use of air conditions, frequent flights among others.
“We are open to having both public and private schools. I think they must show interest. If they don’t show interest, we won’t invite you. We also write letters to as many schools as possible,” he said.
But NISSMUN co-secretary-general and graduate of Federal Government Girls’ College, Owerri, Afoma Egwuatu, said more awareness should be created amongst schools about NISSMUN. She, however, noted that MUN though of an international scope, is not the sole NISSMUN platform.
