The Association of Environmental Lawyers of Nigeria (AELN), has called on relevant agencies in the education sector in Rivers State as well as teachers and students of Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, Port Harcourt to join hands with the state government in keeping the premises of the school clean.
The association, which made the call through its National President, Dr Samuel Chisa Dike, during an advocacy and awareness campaign on the environment, organised by the group in the school last Friday in Port Harcourt, said there was need for the relevant agencies including teachers and students to keep the school’s environment clean, as government alone cannot do everything.
According to him, there is need for all hands to be on deck to keep the school’s environment clean. Dike said as part of their sensitisation campaign, the environmental lawyers visited the school in order to catch them young and to inculcate in the students the need to protect and preserve nature, saying that he was satisfied that the students had shown their readiness to work with the association as environmental advocates.
According to him, the exercise was also aimed at creating the necessary awareness and environmental consciousness among the students.
He emphasised that the issues of the environment cut across ages and sexes, as they are for both the young and old; males and females.
Dike, who took time to lecture the students on what constitutes the environment side by side some of the environmental challenges facing the society and how best to tackle them, at the end of it all, asked them thought-provoking questions, which they answered.
Incidentally, the students, who answered the questions correctly, were rewarded with customised exercise books to assist them in their studies.
The highpoint of the event was the inauguration of some of the students as environmental advocates by the association with the Sanitary Prefect, Miss Blessing Okon and Miss Greatest Godknows emerging as coordinators for the school.
Mrs Chizoba Ugboma, the Head of the Department of Health Education in the school, who stood in for the Principal of the school, expressed delight over the event, and thanked the organisers for the gesture while admonishing them to keep up the good works.
She advised the students to take the opportunity offered them by the association seriously, so as to be great ambassadors of the environment both in the school and beyond, describing them as smart and bright kids.
On their part, the student coordinators expressed joy for their selection, and assured that they would help in keeping the school’s environment clean and also creating the necessary awareness on the environment.
Miss Believe Chima Wekere, an SS 2 student of the school, said she was happy to participate in the programme, which she described as wonderful.

By: Donatus Ebi