Summary of SEAN National summit Report

Students Environmental Assembly Nigeria organized a successful National Environmental summit with the theme “Movement Building and Youth Action for Environment” that ran for four days and the summit started from the 18^th -21^st of March, 2014. Participants were drawn from 19 tertiary institutions of higher learning from across the country and Resources persons were made up of collection of people from Civil Society Organization and Academics sector. The total participants that participated in the said four days summit amounted to about 100. Flowing from the theme of the programme, the topics discussed were carved from the concept of movement building, environmental protections and campaigns for environmental justice as well as examining the implication of colonialism on different sectors in Nigeria.

As part of the lined up activities for the summit that had its main agenda as movement building and youth action for environmental defense, election for the National body was held and the elected Officials have been saddled with the responsibility of expanding the network and empower others to further spread the campaign for environmental justice. As part of the aimed outcome from this project was to draw up an action plan that will cover a period of two years that will help the elected Officers to achieve the aim of the summit which is to build a movement of young people.

The elected Officers and other members of SEAN making a total number of 35 persons were taken to the field at Ogoniland (Bodo and Goi) to have practical experience of the environmental justice campaign. At the field in ogoniland some of the communities’ chief (s) in the two communities visited briefed the students about the sad experience of the extraction of black gold called crude oil in their immediate environment.

This project was successful because all the set goals were met. The number one goal was to renew the leadership structure of SEAN. The second goal was to produce a movement building handbook for the youth group and then produce this report. We highly recommend youth involvement in environmental advocacy and decision making and also the urgent implementation of the UNEP report. We also stand on the ground that oil should be left in the soil.