The United Nations Children’s Fund Bauchi Field office on Monday commemorated World Children’s Day in Gombe State with quiz competition and tree planting exercises.
Adams planting trees alongside some stydents in Gombe
Our correspondent reports that the participating schools include Government Girls Mega School Doma (First place), Government Day Secondary School Gandu (Second place) and Government Day Secondary School Gombe (Third place).
Participants proceeded to Government Science Secondary School where trees were planted.
Organised by UNICEF Bauchi field office comprising Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba and Plateau states, alongside Ministry of Education and Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project.
Speaking before the launch of Climate landscape analysis for children in Nigeria and inter-school quiz competition, Officer-in-charge UNICEF Bauchi field office Clement Adams, said climate change has become a global concern, adding that it required collective measures by stakeholders.
Adams said, “It’s a day we are commemorating issues affecting our children and this is what we as stakeholders can do to make life better for the children this is on climate change because of the natural disasters. The idea is to make the environment a better place for them.”
On her part, “Gombe State Commissioner for Education, Aishatu Maigari, said that the state government is committed to not only education but to the improvement of environment.
She noted that following the need to ensure sustainability the ministry collaborated with other key stakeholders like ACReSAL adding, “I tell you that in the next 20 years we are not going to be here. You are going to be where we are today, that is what sustainability means if we are able to train you to give you a foresight into what we are doing you will be able to continue with the legacy of people like his His Excellency Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya.”
While lauding the various interventions of UNICEF, Maigari added, “UNICEF has been a worthy partner as I have earlier said Gombe is the jewel in the savannah and the number one state in Ease of Doing Business for two years running.”
On his part, Gombe State Coordinator Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes Dr Sani Jauro, lauded the choice of Gombe State for the commemoration of the World Children’s Day, saying the governor’s efforts earned him the accolade as ‘green governor’ by development partners.
Jauro said, “Environment has been the cornerstone of his administration, his cardinal objective. Only few months after his assumption of office in 2019 he launched climate change programme tagged Gombe Goes Green with the intention of planting atleast a million tree per annum and glory to Almighty we are counting alot of successes.
“The governor also succeeded in enlisting Gombe into list of states participating in ACReSAL. In the six year span of the project ACReSAL intends to reclaim not less than one million hectares of land through different kinds of afforestation. Gombe as a state we have already gone far before even receiving the approval of the World Bank to commence the programme the governor approved N503 million for the process.”
He disclosed that the state has the required political will to ensure changes, describing UNICEF’s effort as one that would help the state tackle desert encroachment, “So far Gombe has reclaimed 21 hectares of land through the support of His Excellency as we look forward to start implementing the 1800 hectares of land that World Bank approved for the first year of the project. I want assure you that this partnership you have unveiled is a partnership that will help us in addressing desert encroachment,” Jauro added.
Thanks to all mighty Allah