Climate Literacy: A Young Advocate’s Mission to Arm Corps Members
By: Abudu Olalekan
It started with a pot. A simple, covered cooking pot. That’s what Tolulope Gbenro used to explain the complex crisis of greenhouse gases to a room of corp members in Abuja. A vivid, everyday analogy for an existential threat. That’s the heart of this story. Making the incomprehensible, well, comprehensible.
Reportersroom was there. We saw it happen. On a Wednesday in December 2025, this young climate advocate, teamed up with the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), to lead a train-the-trainers workshop. Fourteen corp members. Fourteen potential sparks. The mission? Equip them with climate literacy skills. For real.
Tolu’s drive is personal. Deeply so. It’s forged from her own service year in Ilorin. She saw the gaps in understanding, the disconnect between global chatter and local reality. “The goal is to help people get the fundamentals,” she told us, her passion palpable. She’s the founder of HONE NYSC, and this event was part of the broader Eco-champions programme backed by SOS Children’s Village Nigeria. But it felt less like a programme, more like a conversation.
Her session cut through the noise. She connected Nigeria’s specific plight—the weirding harmattan, the aggressive floods—to the food prices biting everyone’s budget. To health issues folks don’t even link to a changing climate. It was about drawing clear, frightening lines. And then, crucially, about how to redraw them. She handed the crew elementary tools to fight misinformation. To combat apathy. A survival kit for the 21st century.
Then the tone shifted. Got heavier, in a necessary way. David Gabriel, from SOS Children’s Village Nigeria, stepped up. He charged the corps members to be environmental custodians. For the kids. He wove a powerful, ethical thread linking a degraded environment directly to child rights. To displacement. To lost education. It was a stark reminder. Climate work isn’t just about science; it’s a humanitarian imperative. “This underscored the humanitarian core of climate literacy,” he stated. Absolutely.
We needed that fire. And then, we needed a plan. Facilitator Chima Okoli called the attendees “sparks.” Love that. His theme was “Mobilising Grassroots Action.” He pushed for local ownership. Told them to use stories, not lectures. To turn awareness into something. A community garden. A waste sorting point. Real, tangible projects that neighbors can touch. Other sessions got tactical—power mapping, cultural smarts, co-creating solutions with communities, not for them.
They even covered the “how-to” nitty-gritty. Starting an Eco-club? Check. Setting up labelled bins? Check. Planning a safe clean-up or an “Adopt-a-Tree” drive? All mapped out. This wasn’t just theory.
And get this—Chizoba Nzeakor mapped out climate careers. Policy, tech, finance. She showed how to turn this passion into a profession. Skill specialization. Portfolio building. It was a masterclass in making a life out of saving the planet.
The room buzzed. You could feel it. Michael Onoja, a beneficiary, said it simplified climate science for action. Kave Blessing called it “superlatively detailed,” vowing to impact her community. That’s the proof right there.
The workshop wrapped with certificates, flashcards, follow-up plans. The real work starts now. These 14 trainers are stepping out. The next phase? They’re aiming to empower over 400 more young Nigerians. A ripple effect, starting from a single, powerful drop in Abuja. That covered pot? The lid’s coming off.
