February 17, 2025

Unilagsun

Serving the university community

Green Hub: Leading the Quest for Sustainable Environment in UNILAG 

By Ayomide Coker, Adesewafunmi Adeusi, Osaigbovo Beatrice, Daniel Nnam, and Azeezat Olatunde

The climate alarm bells are ringing louder than ever, and Nigeria is feeling the heat literally. Rising temperatures, heightened health risks, and air pollution are already taking a toll on us, and the University of Lagos is no exception.

The Green Hub staff members are passionate climate warriors who studied courses related to waste management and climate change. Their academic background fueled their vision to improve the University’s environmental sustainability.

Highlighting UNILAG’s Green Hub’s mission, Dr Abdulganiy Adelopo, the staff coordinator, said, 

“Green Hub aims to connect the community to the necessary change for a zero-waste and sustainable environment. The intent of the Green Hub is to be managed by students and staff, creating a socially inclusive model of environmental sustainability.”

Dr Adelopo identified a trio of pressing environmental concerns facing the University, including a lack of carbon sinks, rampant waste generation, and inadequate water and energy management. Research has consistently shown that these issues are interlinked and can have far-reaching environmental and public health consequences. 

Waste management has existed for years and has worsened as more packaged and bottled products are produced. Even now, it has become common for individuals to dump wrappers and bottles on the floor rather than in the designated waste bins, contributing to the generated waste.

“Students ignore recycling and material reuse. Therefore, a huge explosion of waste material is being chunked out,” Dr Adelopo explained.

However, the Green Hub has been rolling out programs and initiatives to address these environmental threats. To commemorate the launch of the Green Hub on June 20, 2023, the University of Lagos organised a 10-week sustainability challenge, recognising and awarding winning students, staff, and hostels. Students who participated in the subsequent challenges received free meal tickets and drinks to encourage their efforts toward achieving a safer environment. This demonstrates Green Hub’s passion for going the extra mile to ensure students are carried along in their programs.

Initially, UNILAG partnered with the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and Coca-Cola to establish the Green Eco Hub to promote an eco-friendly environment. This partnership led to the installation and operation of four drop-off centres for collecting PET bottles for recycling. They also established a sustainability learning centre to educate and create awareness about recycling.

In another impactful partnership between UNICEF and Green Hub, UNILAG executed a novel sporting initiative at the 11th Federation of Africa University Sports (FASU) event. This initiative engaged youths in climate action through sports, involving 3,587 participants, 30 universities, and eight countries, resulting in the recycling of 21,996 plastic bottles.

Dr Adelopo revealed that the University is currently developing a semi-automated recycling centre. However, he emphasises that education is crucial in this regard. 

“There is a lot of education that needs to be done to young students,” he noted.

It’s delightful to know that within the past year of Green Hub’s operation in UNILAG, they have received support from students who have shown up for events and expressed interest in being part of the initiative. Without much publicity, almost 300 students registered to become volunteers, and communities have been set up within the school to facilitate engagement. 

Dr Adelopo strongly believes creating a more sustainable environment requires everyone’s involvement.

“It’s not a case for a person. Students should be deliberate about being the vanguard of change to be sustainable so that the world can be more comfortable for people yet to come.”