By Sani Idris Abdulrahman

A UK funded project, the Women Empowerment and Climate Resilience Initiative (WECRI), is set to empower Kaduna communities on climate change through the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement (PACE) Programme.

The implementation of the project activities is being led by Bridge That Gap (BTG) Initiative, a Consortium partner of the 4-year PACE programme, aimed at strengthening climate governance through a wide range of activities including building capacity and policy influence in Nigeria.

During an advocacy visit to the Agwam Bajju, Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna state, Gloria Bulus, Executive Director, BTG initiative, said the purpose was to seek the royal blessings and to gain the acceptance of the people towards implementation of the project.

She explained that BTG initiative, would be leading a 6-month pilot project across three LGAs; Chikun, Zango Kataf, and Zaria, focusing on awareness creation and deforestation.

She noted that the project would include training journalists on effective reporting on issues of desertification, deforestation, and climate change, as well as radio call-in programs.

Bulus said that the project would distribute energy-efficient cookstoves to 50 women in the LGA, conduct a baseline assessment, and monitor the usage of the stoves in Zonkwa community in the Zangon Kataf LGA.

“We will monitor the usage of the stove to know if our people are ready for this intervention, which aims to reduce the pressure women face in terms of using firewood.”

“We will also train selected women and build their capacity in governance and advocacy, because they will lead on the advocacy of this project,”she said.

Bulus equally said that the project would include planting of 2,000 trees in the community.

The Royal Father, the Agwam Bajju, Mr Luka Kogi-Yabwat, said the project is lofty and would outlive them, promising to support the initiative and instruct his people to give all necessary support.

Also, Philip Jatau, the Sarkin Daji of Zonkwa, expressed excitement about the project, saying it would benefit future generations and reduce the pressure on women in accessing firewood.

“We are happy because even when we are no more, our children can look at the result of this project and appreciate us. In this community, we do not have any forest, as a result access to firewood is a major challenge.”

“Our people have to travel to other communities to get wood, but with this project, even if we don’t benefit, the coming generation will. We have a lot of open fields where we can plant these trees for our people to benefit,”he said.

Ayuba Diem, the Council Secretary, said the intervention would bring growth and development to their land, thereby reducing felling of trees and promoting awareness on climate change.

“The importance of this intervention cannot be measured. For lack of awareness, we cut trees without knowing that we are exposing the vegetation to various dangers.

“In the past we don’t experience exposure to sun, but now we are exposed to sun even inside our rooms. We see that this project will reduce felling of trees in the community.

“We are very happy and wish that the support that will be provided will be scaled-up because this community is really big,”Diem said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the team had earlier paid an advocacy visit to the Esu Chikun, Ishaku Yari (Sa Gbagyi II), who promised to give his full support and admonished the team to ensure inclusion of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as part of project beneficiaries.

The team visited the Esu Chikun to intimate on the project objectives and why Chikun LGA was selected as one of the project locations.

“Maraba Rido community has a lot of people who have been displaced from their communities, those people really need to be prioritised, to alleviate their sufferings”, Yari said.(NAN)