Considering that developed countries in Europe, Asia, and America account for a significant proportion of world pollution because of their industrialization, they’re opting for green energy. However, their innovations must align with African nations to drive environmental sustainability. For that reason, states like Nigeria depend on their important assets (students) to champion policies and strategies for mitigating ecosystem degradation and responding to consequential effects. Even though environmentally conscious researchers began publishing threats attributable to climate change in the 1960s, they have never refuted how human civilizations have contributed to worldwide pollution since time immemorial. Due to this reason, Nigerian students have taken a front seat in speeding initiatives for environmental sustainability, of course with support from various local, regional, and international stakeholders.
For example, the unprecedented increment in the human population has contributed to innovations centered on food security. Multinational companies have developed chemicals to increase crop and animal production. In particular, the introduction of herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, and fertilizers into the food web has disrupted the ecosystem. A notable instance concerns the seepage of chemicals into water bodies, leading to uncontrolled growth of seaweed, reducing oxygen levels. Consequently, aquatic living things such as fish die, causing food shortages for people who depend on it entirely. Due to this reason, Nigerian students are pursuing programs like biotechnology to develop transgenic products that do not require chemical applications. However, to excel in these degrees, they would require academic support from customwritings when doing their assignments and dissertations. The good thing is that such professional services are available on the Internet 24/7.
Nigerian students’ roles in driving environmental sustainability
Pursue STEM course
Even with known negative implications related to substituting human muscle with machines in production, do you think changing that status quo is possible? Without a doubt, you can’t refute how mechanization has increased agricultural output since the 16th century after the genesis of the Industrial Revolution. However, many of these machines, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, rely on fossil fuels (natural gas, crude oil, and coal) to power their engines. The emission of greenhouse gasses and improper disposal of metals and some electronic components have led to environmental pollution. In some parts of Nigeria, many locals have opposed mechanization as it contributes to ecosystem degradation. However, their voices have yielded insignificant impacts. So, what roles do Nigerian students have?
Since change is investable in the contemporary world, Nigerians should learn to live with mechanization. At this point, scholars have a crucial role to play. For example, they can pursue STEM degrees, specifically engineering and technology, to learn how to make, operate, and repair machines with electric-powered engines. Nigeria might be willing to procure technologies that use solar or hydro energy, but they lack the required human capacity. These students can capitalize on available scholarships abroad to study.
Collaborate with other environmental activists
Almost every year, developed countries offer grants for combating climate change. In many cases, these funds require at least the collaboration of two or more scholars from developing countries. For example, funding for cleaning lakes (bioremediation) might require students from nations sharing a water body to apply. Nigerian scholars can get this opportunity by attending regional and global seminars. However, they will need to write a feasible proposal to get the funding. With the grants at their disposal, they can study and innovate sustainable ways of reducing environmental pollution.
Implement environmental sustainability campaigns
In Nigeria, the industrial revolution, which is attributable to various human activities, poses a significant threat to the quality of the environment. These unsustainable practices include uncontrolled logging, hunting premature games, relying on dynamite and formalin for fishing, burning weeds during land preparation, and frequent doing of land tillage. Improving the quality of life and satisfying human needs are leading reasons for an increase in these activities. Without a doubt, these unsustainable practices have met their objectives but at the expense of degrading the environment. Such a cause-effect creates a vicious cycle whereby humans thought their activities might increase food production, leading to new challenges such as drought and rising sea levels.
Although these problems persist, Nigerian students have a critical role in educating the masses. Human activities account for a large percentage of unsuitable activities. Today, traditional and social media contain a lot of information for preserving the environment. However, the language used might not resonate with the locals. Such a limitation presents an opportunity for Nigerian students to decode the information as they implement literacy campaigns. They can implement these education programs online or in person.
Even with developed infrastructure and amenities, the quality of life wouldn’t be attractive without the support of nature. In particular, humans require fresh and contaminated-free air, water, and soil. What’s more, regardless of the place, environmental degradation has a global impact. Therefore, Nigerian students’ responsibility to drive sustainable practices would benefit everyone.
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