Kaduna State University (KASU) has trained 80 Islamic clergies on climate change and its effects on live and humanity, as well as how to manage breakout of old and new epidemics such as Covid-19.
KASU organised the dialogue with religious leaders on climate change and epidemics in Kaduna in collaboration with an Islamic organisation.
According to the organisers, the training became imperative to sensitise the clerics about climate change, its effects on people and how they can help to educate their followers and people at different mosques in their communities.
One of the resource persons of the training and a surgeon and senior lecturer from Bayero University, Kano, Dr Jamil Isma’ila Ahmad, said the clerics were trained on climate change, emerging and reemerging epidemics.
He said in the past, there were epidemics that are known to the people like meningitis, HIV AIDS and others but now new epidemics have emerged like Covid-19 that are new to the world.
“Apart from epidemics we felt the needs to educate the ulamas (Islamic scholars), about 80 of them, on climate change too which is responsible for global warming, flood, deforestation because they are closer to the ordinary people so we want them to understand the concept,” he said.
Professor Mohammed Amin Al’amin from Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in his remarks, said poor maintenance of drainages was one of the factors causing flood in cities like Kaduna and other parts of the Northern region.
He urged residents to take issues related to climate change seriously which was the reasons for the training of the clerics.
