As climate impacts intensify across nations, the education system in Nigeria must take deliberate steps to build climate-literate generations capable of shaping a resilient future. This was the key message from Barrister Okoroafor Okechukwu, Director of Legal Services and Focal Person on Climate Change at the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), who spoke during an edition of Climate Fact File, a weekly program on People’s 105.5FM Abuja. The episode, themed “Building a Climate-Literate System,” focused on the role of education in addressing the climate crisis.
According to Barrister Okechukwu, climate change is a multidisciplinary issue that affects all sectors and subjects—from science to the arts—and must therefore be embedded across all levels of education. “The education system is the means through which the culture of a society is transmitted to younger generations,” he said. “It should deliberately raise learners who are sensitive to environmental changes and equipped to respond.” He suggested that the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) can take steps to implement a structured climate curriculum from pre-primary to tertiary institutions.
He also stressed the importance of teacher training as a foundation for climate literacy. “The quality of teachers we have today reflects the curriculum used in their training institutions,” he explained. “To produce environmentally aware students, we must infuse climate content into teacher education programs.”
Beyond curriculum reform, the NUT representative highlighted the practical example teachers must set. “A teacher should create an environmentally friendly classroom. Place disposal bins, teach composting with degradable waste—it’s part of leading by example,” he noted. He raised alarm over Nigeria’s plastic pollution crisis, warning that “if deliberate action is not taken, plastic will overrun us. We already consume it unknowingly through contaminated water.”
Barrister Okechukwu also spoke on systemic challenges to climate education, including poor electricity supply, limited internet access, and lack of funding. He advocated for policy reform to support clean energy. “Solar panels and devices should be duty-free to encourage wider adoption,” he said, recommending tariffs on fossil fuel-based imports instead.
On the broader climate governance landscape, he emphasised the importance of integrating workers’ voices into national climate commitments like the ongoing development of Nigeria’s NDC 3.0. “Without workers, there’s no production. And without production, the economy halts,” he said, calling for policies that protect workers’ livelihoods as a cornerstone of climate resilience.
He concluded with a call to action for all sectors—government, NGOs, individuals, and civil society—to collaborate. “Climate change is a worker-oriented problem. Everyone in the productive chain is affected. And yes, some causes of climate change are man-made. If you must cut a tree, plant one first and watch it grow.”
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