From Student to Leader: My Transformation Through the Climate Responder Course

My friend forwarded an advert to me around the middle of 2023 when he realized I had enrolled for public health. The last time I had an encounter with academia was in 2021, which was a promotional examination I sat for and passed, thankfully. I was just about to conclude a semester examination in mid-September when I took up the challenge to enroll in the Africa Climate and Health Responder Course. I was already overwhelmed with the examination I was writing, and having to devote time for the climate course was a challenge that I hesitated about. I have always loved taking up challenges and, especially, engaging in activities that would better position me for a wealth of opportunities in the wider society.

The course was anchored by Columbia University, and it was open to all African countries. I was excited to take up the challenge of attending the course and looked forward to a certification in it. The course ran for six weeks and had two sessions each week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I shared the advert with a few like-minded people, hoping to have friends on a similar page. Some people keyed in, although just a fraction of them made it to the end.

I enjoyed the first lecture of the course, which was held on Zoom. My curiosity heightened, knowing Africa, and especially Nigeria, was faced with a dire climate condition, which was mostly exacerbated by our carelessness and globalization. I took a bold step, one of a kind, and that was to create a WhatsApp group for Nigerians participating in the course. It is noteworthy that many other African countries were taking the climate course. The main WhatsApp group created by Columbia University was locked. Immediately I shared the link to the Nigerian WhatsApp group in the chat section of the Zoom meeting, and I had quite a huge number of participants who joined. Of course, we know Nigerians do not like taking last.

I made it clear to the participants of the Nigerian WhatsApp group that I was equally a student like others, and I could only provide a guide and advice based on my keen observations of the course, but nothing more. The Nigerian WhatsApp group increased in number and went and stayed as high as 240 participants. The idea of creating the WhatsApp group was solely mine, and it was at that junction I knew I had dug for myself a great responsibility. A few other African participants were also present in the group and voluntarily chose to remain part of the group, sequel to how coordinated the group became.

I bore the responsibility of reminding the group members every time a lecture was to hold, and you could refer to me as an online self-appointed Nigerian class representative (though unknown to the organizers). I made deliberations with the Nigerian group participants, and after polls on WhatsApp, we agreed to hold group discussions every Saturday night, 8pm to 10pm. I called for volunteers, and only two people popped up in my DM yet, both eventually disappointed with excuses and ghosting.

I devoted myself to leading the group discussions and engaged others as much as I could. The discussions were interesting as well as the course materials, an eye-opener to the dangers of harder climate effects and global warming. We discussed adaptations and resilience, especially in the Nigerian context, and the discussion sessions were quite interesting to look forward to. My efforts didn't come easy, as it only meant I had to read ahead and get more clarifications so that I could be a step ahead of my peers. Little did I mention that there were participants of varying age, ethnicity, and gender in the group with varying personalities. I had to solve quarrels and fights several times, especially as regards posts related or unrelated to the course of study. In fact, I was tagged an enemy by a selected few but got encouraged when a significant number of people in the group both publicly and privately appreciated my efforts.

IMAGE CREDIT IS MINE

Our examination was scheduled for the end of October, and we had a recap revision. I shared my jottings with some people who requested them. The examination could be taken at any time over a period of five days, and I chose to do mine about 48 hours before closing. Some people shared questions with us, and I was asked to verify answers to most of them. We had a pass mark to attain in addition to attendance to be met.

The results of the examination were not released until much later; thus, many remained anxious when certificates began to roll out. Some panics resulted from a few who assumed the certificates were issued based on alphabetical order, and sad to say, a few people up till today didn't receive any certification (probably because of attendance requirements or not meeting up with the pass mark). At some point, anxiety crept into me when I didn't get my certificate, but I convinced myself that the experience, both to learn and lead, was worth it. Thankfully, I got my certificate at the end of the course, beautifully inscribed, and I have begun to look more into climate studies, especially as they relate to Africa and Nigeria.