Meet Gbujie Daniel, the doctor driving the climate change conversations | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
5th July 2018
Gbujie Daniel is the EduCeleb of the Week. He is a Climate Reality Project fellow, and founder of Team 54 Project. This multiple international Award-winning Eco-Activist, writer, researchers, was a Representative Delegate to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences (COPs) and Pavarti.org global brand Ambassador for MAPS.
Gbujie Daniel is the Founder of Team 54 Project, a not-for-profit group of passionate climate change advocates from 169 nations that raises awareness about the impact of climate change and the need to take climate actions especially by ordinary citizens of nations from the continent of Africa, Small Island Development State (SIDS) in the Pacific and Asia that are greatly affected and are vulnerable.
He has been an exceptional student right from his days in school. This has led to him winning a lot of international education awards within and outside Nigeria. His renewed passion for the environment and all of Mother Nature’s resources on earth stands him out among many.
He is seen as one of the leading African advocates on climate action advocacy by an international environmental organization like Climate Reality Project owed by Nobel laureate winner, Mr. Al Gore, and Parvati.org.
The Climate Reality Project leadership has endorsed Gbujie’s tremendous efforts in the struggle for a better and safer Earth.
Parvati.org is a not-for-profit Canadian organization that fights to stop commercial exploitation and raise awareness about the impact of climate change in the Arctic region. He was recently appointed a brand Ambassador for Parvati.org and has been raising awareness about the international organization initiative called the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS), campaigns to declared the Arctic zone a marine protected area, that should be free from oil drilling, military seismic testing, and all other commercial exploitation.
Hence, his support and acceptance of the position as the organization MAPS- Ambassador making him an African face of the organization is not out of place.
Gbujie, who hails from Imo State, Southeast Nigeria believes in the proper education of Africans through identifying the causes of crises and proffering solutions to address the challenges.
Climate change plays a role in the conflict as the northern region is experiencing one of the worse drought periods with most of their livestock at the point of death. Northerners migrate southwards in due to search for food for the animals. In the process, these animals destroy farmlands in the south.
The livestock destroy years of farming done by the southern farmers, who watch as their farm produce are ravished by the arms invading herdsmen who purchase war-like weapons to protect their means of livelihood.
This has led to deaths of over 10,000 persons and has left about 2 million persons internally displaced in the country. These are few of the events that led him to join the climate movement.
“It is my belief, that I was born for something much bigger, it has always been my purpose to see that humans especially Africans can see the better picture which is the sustainable green future,” he said.
Subsequently, his wish came true by the first week of March 2017, Gbujie was part of the few Africans invited to participate in the prestigious Climate Reality Project Leadership Training program in Denver, Colorado.
“I believe strongly that the training catapulted my presence into the climate advocacy to the world,” he said.
“It is not a daily occurrence to see a young African meet and discuss privately with one of the greatest global environmental advocate, a one-time Nobel laureate Winner and Ex-Vice-President of United State of America,” he said.
“My purpose in the movement was validated when I met with His Excellency, Mr. Al Gore, the 8 minutes discussion positioned my thought process to take climate actions as a renewable resource to my people and to anyone who cares about the Earth,” he said. I knew I had to educate others and inspire young minds to live better.
The new friendship he forged with other climate reality project leaders led to great partnership and collaboration that allowed him to bring more people from Africa and another part of the world for the subsequent climate reality project training in the US.
Gbujie has carried out over “591 Acts of Leadership” across the globe with a target goal of 1000 before the end of the year.
Following, another training he attended in Seattle, Washington, he returned to Nigeria to form the first All-female farmers/gardeners Society in his ancestral home in Akabor Mbaise, Nigeria. A region constantly marginalized by the government with little development.
He established the group after he saw, the way his kinsmen practiced agriculture, which was done to the detriment of the environment and their health. He explained to the elders and women who were the regularly responsible for the farm work, that their current practice of agriculture like the burning of fields and trees plus the indiscriminate use of chemicals like pesticides are causing environmental problems.
This lead to the launch of his Rural Green Initiative in Mbaise, Imo state Nigeria which had in it, the campaign to stop bush and open field burning and the campaign to start planting flowers, fresh food in gardens, cash crops on every available land seen.
Following the launch of this project, Gbujie becomes a community and national leader, in the nation. He has been able to bring the message of climate change and how it affects the community disproportionately to the center stage in Nigeria.
His organization continues to tackle the challenges of climate change in the rural area through planting trees, shrubs, regular online recorded messages delivered in local languages in viewing center in the community and regular clean-up exercise to remove waste.
Since creating Team 54 Project 15 months ago, the organization has been raising awareness about the impact of climate change and the need to build resilient systems. The impact of his engagement has created jobs and opportunities. For two African fashion designers who are his members, there join new no bound when Team 54 Project was able to partner with a company in India that produces green eco-friendly clothing material, devoid of carbon emissions.
Owned by a fellow climate reality leader, the partnership has transformed lives and created a new opportunity for fashion designs.
Another example of the impact Gbujie is making across, is the introduction of the green painting artwork, which one of his member living in Switzerland does, using the can spraying technique, Carvart is able to raise awareness about climate change through his Artwork which depicts the impacts and the urgent need to act and creates job for him.
“I have been able to create a value-based content idea, through the fusion of the individual skills, talent, and passion, the passion we are talking about is the burning desire to do great things that can impact others and the environment positively through using one’s skills or talent.
He has delivered over 189 paper and powerpoint presentations across the globe, with over 30 climate change presentations waiting to be delivered before the end of the year.
“The climate crisis we are experiencing as humans was initially, a subtle warning from “Mother Nature” but because we refused to listen to her and sadly opted to continue our destructive ways, like a horrible dream “Mother Nature” pushed out her venom, which today is costing mankind a lot,” he said.
“Fortunately, we have a chance to make it right and leave prosperities for the generation coming behind, it’s the only moral thing to do and it can be a reality if we are serious and work together as global citizens can we address the crisis,” he said.
As the scientific doomsday clock ticks away, the planetary decision to save Earth from destruction is ours to make.
“The little chaos and confusion that climate change has cased in Nigeria and other West African nations, is enough for everyone in the world to come together to support green philosophy which is the only likely alternative to achieve sustainable development Goals.” He said.
“The decision to call my organization Team 54 Project was born from the fact that there were 54 African nations and the Intergovernmental Panel Report on climate change says that a large percentage of Africa will be inhabitable by the end of the century, hence the name Team 54 Project, its a Team effort if we are to get positive results,” he said.
“Africans are yet to realize that, it only will get worse and only nations that apply the adaptation and mitigation strategy together can survive and standing aside to look or to continue the blame game of who caused the crisis will only lead to a regrettable outcome,” he said.
In addition to his group activities across the globe, Gbujie is planning to organize an expedition to the Arctic region in a project that will incorporate a television component to raise awareness.
“I am also working tirelessly to see to it that the Nigeria Government stop gas flaring, working with other local groups in the country to achieve this, and to campaign for the nation to shift to clean green technologically driven economy,” he says.
Gbujie, concludes that the passion within youths that are properly educated is an important factor to help in achieving sustainable development goals.