The Federal Government has said that green economy, climate ambition, climate action and decarbonisation remained central to Nigeria’s energy transition plan, insisting that the country was committed to achieving its net zero target.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Climate Technology and Operations, Olamide Fagbuji, stated this in Abuja at the maiden edition of the African SDG Film Festival, organised by Chanja Datti Recycling Company Ltd to mark its 10th anniversary.
Fagbuji said the government recognises the scale of the challenges facing Nigeria in its climate journey, but stressed that strategic communication and advocacy were critical to mobilising public support and global partnership.
According to him, film and storytelling provide an important tool to shape narratives about Nigeria’s climate ambition from the perspective of its people.
“The green economy, the climate ambition, climate action and decarbonisation are key components of Nigeria’s climate change energy transition plan. And there’s a need for very, very strategic communication and advocacy to let people know both nationally and globally that Nigeria is actually ready for climate action,” he said.
He explained that the use of film would allow young people, grassroots communities and sub-national actors to tell their own stories about the pathway to net zero, adding that “a picture speaks a thousand words.”
The Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt, also stressed the importance of a just transition, noting that Nigeria’s dependence on fossil fuels made it imperative to use earnings from the sector to power the shift to renewables.
Leenknegt, who congratulated Chanja Datti on its 10 years of existence, praised the company for helping the Belgian Embassy in Abuja adopt circular economy practices, including sorting and recycling waste.
He said the film festival was timely, adding that it would help raise awareness about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are five years away from their 2030 deadline.
The Ambassador commended Chanja Datti for their efforts over the years.
“First of all, congratulations to Chanja Datti for their 10 years existence and they’ve not just been idling around, they’ve been doing extremely useful work. We got in touch with them over an EU organized event on circular economy. So we found out that they were actually able to guide us and accompany us in our journey to circular economy at our embassy ourselves here in Abuja.
“And in sorting trash and in recycling certain parts of that garbage. So this is how in 2024 we became the first EU member state embassy in Nigeria that was sorting the garbage. So it implied also a bit of a culture change for part of our workforce.
“Everybody literally from the deputy ambassador to the garbage man or woman had to be sensitized, made aware of those new procedures. And it’s Chanja Datti that made it possible for us. So we’re very happy, but that’s of course only the tip of the iceberg of what they are doing.
“And this first film festival on SDGs that they organized here today is also totally their initiative and something that we would really like to applaud. Because five years away from the deadline for Agenda 2030, it’s high time to keep raising awareness with population on the 17 SDGs, their targets and what we need to do together,” the envoy stated.
Head of Strategy and Innovation at Chanja Datti, Gabriel Onyebuolise, said the festival was the vision of the firm’s founder and CEO, Olufunto Boroffice, to use film as a tool for awareness and collaboration on climate action and the SDGs.
“We think about people, we think about the planet, we think about partnerships before we even look into profit. To drive action, we need awareness, we need conversations and we need people to drive change. That change can begin with us coming together and utilising storytelling and film as a tool,” Onyebuolise said.
The festival featured films, animations and documentaries that addressed climate change, sustainable practices and gender equality, with participants drawn from the creative sector, development partners and the diplomatic community.
