The victorious members of the Kaduna Polytechnic’s Enactus Club who came third at the just concluded Enactus World Cup held in Mexico.
They exuded confidence as they disembarked from the Toyota Coaster bus that brought them to the venue of the reception organised in their honour at Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday.
Numbering about 14, the boys among them dressed in black suits with white shirts to match, while the ladies were draped in different but smart attire.
They are the students of Kaduna Polytechnic, who represented Nigeria in this year’s Enactus World Cup in Mexico. The victorious KADPOLY students had earlier beaten 38 other tertiary institutions in Nigeria to become Nigeria’s finalist in the global contest.
Beyond showing supremacy at the national level, the Nigerian team at the Cancun, Mexico event held last October came third in the competition, which attracted 34 other tertiary institutions from across the world.
For the accomplishment, the parent body of the organisation in the country, Enactus Nigeria, held a reception in honour of the members of the team, which before now had won the national finals four consecutive times – in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2013.
Welcoming the team, a member of the board, Enactus Nigeria, Mrs. Bernadine Okeke, commended them for making not only the polytechnic proud but also for making Nigeria and Africa proud.
According to her, the Nigerian contingent beat representatives from countries such as the United States of America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, among others to occupy the third position.
She said, “We are proud of your performance at the Enactus World Cup level. I want to encourage you that it is possible for the team to be world champion in the next one. This is a proof that youths can turn this country around. The future of this country is in their hands.”
According to the Acting Team Leader, Emmanuel Yashim, recording both national and international feats did not come easy. According to him, it is the product of a lot of hard work, perseverance and commitment.
The team came up with two programmes, which were peculiar to communities in the Northern region. First is the Evergreen, which is an intervention in the areas of addressing the problem of desertification in Katsina and Sokoto states, which were the pilots of the project.
The second one, Power in my Palms, is an empowerment programme targeted at the physically-challenged people in Kaduna.
Yashim said the team, having carried out their research, focused on addressing the indiscriminate felling of trees in two local government areas in Katsina, namely Mai-adua and Kaita.
He said, “We discovered that people in these areas, mostly women, were in the habit of felling trees and using them as firewood to do their cooking, because they could not afford to buy kerosene and use stove to cook. With the condition of the region, we identified the urgent need to stop this practice.
“We started by talking to them, and then printing flyers and putting jingles on the radio in their local languages, telling them about the consequences of their action.
With time, the team introduced them to other alternatives to firewood. “It was not easy to convince them, but we succeeded in introducing other alternatives to them. First was the ‘wonder box’ which is a kind of iron-made cooking stand, in which a minimal wood, and sawdust, paper, rice husk, among others, could be used.
“Besides, one of the sponsors, First City Monument Bank Plc, supported us by getting them briquette, which is used in matching waste like papers, rice husk, papers and other waste together, and producing materials for cooking. We also introduced the safe-80-stoves to them. It reduces carbon emission.”
To further reclaim part of the 350,000 hectares of land lost to desertification, the team introduced the Plant for the Planet Club in 10 secondary schools, in which 100,000 trees were planted through them. “We worked through their agriculture teachers to monitor them,” Yashim stated.
Yashim, who said the team later worked with the members of Enactus team in Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, in executing the Evergreen project, added, “The same project was enacted in Gunbi and Dundaye local government areas.”
Another member of the team, Olubunmi Olorunpomi, said the majority of the beneficiaries were women, and some of them are now economically independent, and their voices are being heard, unlike before when they were marginalized.
Another member of the team, Shakirah Alaga, who talked about Power in my Palms project, hinted that over 70 members of the Kaduna Home for the Physically Challenged benefitted from what she called ‘skill acquisition programme.’ This, she said, was aimed at taking the physically-challenged off the streets, and making them gainfully employed.
“We trained them in skill acquisition programme in order for them to earn a living. The blind were taught to use the Braille. Some were taught how to use local materials like corn wings to make bags, shoes and other souvenirs. Some were taught to make emulsion paint.
“We also gave them motivational talk, and now many of them are making money from these skills.”
The team that came third behind Germany and United Kingdom also got commendation from the rector of Kadpoly, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, who said the honour recorded was for the African continent. He announced a number of incentives for them.
“The entire continent is proud of you. The projects are highly commendable. The authorities of the school will honour all of you with the institution’s merit award, and your names and photographs will be on the honours scroll in the school. This honour may also include some financial inducements,” he said.
The Country Director, Enactus Nigeria, Mrs. Adesuwa Ifedi, also celebrated the team, saying they soared intellectually above their colleagues.
A representative of the FCMB Plc, Ms. Felicia Obozuwa, noted that the bank would continue to partner with Enactus Nigeria in all its lofty programmes to empower Nigerians.
SAMUEL AWOYINFA
