EMPOWERING NIGERIAN YOUTHS TO THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT ENERGY PROJECT
The Head of Centre, Dr. Caroline Emeka-Ogbonna, in collaboration with 2 US energy experts, Miss Mary Presley and Dr Maria Guimaraes executed a public service project on Empowering Nigerian Youths to Think Critically about Energy between May and December 2022. The project was funded by the US Department of State, through the Citizenship Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF); and received further support from Nigerian Defence Academy, Electricity Power Research Institute (EPRI) USA, Energy Council of Nigeria, and Nigerian Army Resource Center Abuja. The project organized a 2-day Workshop from 16th – 17th August, 2022, which was held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, (NARC), Abuja.
A total of 58 teachers drawn from 18 schools in Kaduna State, FCT Abuja and the Federal Ministry of Education participated in the workshop. The workshop was informed by the background of an existing dwindling energy supply to about 217 million Nigerians, out of whom about 43 percent ‘lack access to grid electricity’, according to a World Bank Report. The need to direct the attention of the Nigerian youths, in the educational sector, towards thinking critically about energy for the future, therefore, became an imperative. The workshop was adopted as train-the-trainers medium through which secondary school science and civic education teachers were provided with specific activity-based energy literacy lesson plans, a basic understanding of the energy generation concepts and a chance to practice teaching the materials. The teachers in turn were charged to train the youths in their home Senior Secondary Schools on how to apply critical thinking skills and a grasp of energy generation concepts for examining energy solutions for Nigeria’s future.
Finally, a competition was organized for the pupils of the 18 participating schools, in line with the decision making tools presented by the Resource Persons during the workshop, to design an energy mix for a particular Nigerian city for the year 2050. In the end, Therbow Schools, Zaria came 1st, followed by Federal Government Girls College Bwari in 2nd position. and the 3rd position went to Government Secondary School, Lugbe Abuja. The NDA Staff Secondary School came 4th Position. Cash prizes were awarded to the deserving schools.
