Connected Development (CODE) has thrown its weight behind the Green Waka project to enhance the global green transition and sustainability in socio-economic development.
With this new agreement in place, CODE, a non-profit organisation dedicated to transparency and accountability, will work with other partners such as Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS) International, EnviroNews Nigeria, Connect Lab Africa, and West Africa Green Economic Development Institute (WAGIDI) on a variety of green initiatives, starting with the implementation of the green office model in Nigerian and African higher education institutions to prepare students to be green leaders.
“The world is in urgent need of innovative solutions that can tackle the challenges of sustainable development and justice transition,” Hamzat Lawal, CODE’s CEO, stated on Monday, January 29, 2024, in Abuja after his official recognition as one of the Green Waka campaign’s pioneering ambassadors.
According to him, Green Waka is one such creative instrument, which is why his organisation plans to use it as an advocacy strategy to propagate the concept of sustainable living around the world.
He promised that CODE would assist the campaign in meeting its goal of mobilising and empowering stakeholders to spread knowledge of sustainable lifestyles, particularly among the impoverished who live in rural and semi-urban areas.
Michael Mbaike, team lead of the Green Waka project, mentioned in his remarks that collaboration is one of the catalysts that is required to drive this noble initiative forward.
Given that climate change is threatening a smooth global transition to a greener future, Mbaike believes that Green Waka provides the potential for Nigeria and Africa to address this challenge while also achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
His faith, he went on to explain, is based on the fact that, with about 70% of its population under 30, Nigeria can translate this into actual actions that would usher in the much-anticipated green future if it takes purposeful, systemic, and strategic measures.
“Nigeria needs to be not only strategic but intentional,” according to the sustainability advocate, in order to fully realise the promise of the green economy.
In his submission, he specified that the goal of Green Waka is to “build green skills that encompass the knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to live in, develop, and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society.”
Green Waka, for Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS) International, one of the project’s global partners, is a well-thought-out programme that aligns with its fundamental purpose of empowering student and youth groups around the world to lead on sustainability and social justice.
As a result, SOS International will leverage the Green Waka campaign to connect, enhance, and scale up various effective green initiatives in the hopes of getting further and faster together.
Emily Swaddle, the Green Office Movement’s project manager, stated in an email that her organisation would be interested in collaborating to pursue further financing opportunities to aid with the implementation and success of the green waka plan.
“This would likely be in the form of grants, which we could work together to apply for,” Swaddle said.
By Etta Michael Bisong, Abuja
