Discovery Sessions in Nigeria: Laying the Groundwork for Climate Equity

Between June and July 2025, Ushahidi, in collaboration with NetHope and the Youth in Agroecology and Restoration Network (YARN), held a series of discovery sessions across Oyo, Osun, and Ondo States in Nigeria. These sessions marked the beginning of a project focused on amplifying community voices on climate change and integrating those insights into locally owned adaptation strategies.

The discovery sessions were co-design spaces — grounded in dialogue, trust-building, and participatory validation. Each session engaged a cross-section of stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs), traditional leaders, youth groups, and media outlets.

 

Why Discovery Sessions?

In climate adaptation work, context matters. These sessions were part of our strategy to co-create a data collection framework that is not only technically sound but also socially grounded. Listening to communities' lived experiences ensures that what we build reflects their priorities, not assumptions from above.

The sessions brought together 126 stakeholders in total, each contributing insight into how climate change is reshaping life in their communities and what it will take to build resilience from the ground up.

 

Climate Change in the Eyes of the Community

Across the three states, participants consistently described the escalating impacts of climate change:

• Oyo reported rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, flooding, soil degradation, and drought.
• Osun raised concerns about declining agricultural productivity, increased pest activity, and land degradation linked to mining activities.
• Ondo, with its vulnerable coastline, highlighted sea surges, desertification, poor weather forecasting, and pressure from growing populations.
  

 

What’s Causing It? A Local Lens on Climate Drivers

Participants went beyond the symptoms and named the drivers of these changes, drawing from local knowledge:

Common causes across the three states included:

• Deforestation (largely from tree-cutting for charcoal and firewood)
• Improper waste disposal
• Poor drainage and blocked waterways
• Land-use change and urbanization
• Agrochemical use and fossil fuel burning
• Low public awareness and harmful attitudes toward the environment

State-specific drivers included:

• Osun: Gold mining and bush burning, compounded by weakened waste systems during COVID-19
• Ondo: Oil exploration and the clearing of forests for hemp cultivation
• Oyo: Real estate-driven deforestation and even spiritual interpretations, such as climate change being a punishment for societal sins
  

 

Community Efforts: Action Meets Limitation

Despite limited resources, communities are not passive. They are already taking steps:

• In Oyo, CSOs and residents are engaging in tree planting, drainage clearing, and climate education, though efforts are hampered by low awareness and weak institutional support.
• In Osun, disaster preparedness programs and NGO collaboration exist, but mistrust in government institutions remains a hurdle.
• In Ondo, CSOs are bringing climate education into schools, organizing community waste collection, and implementing flood alert systems. Still, a lack of centralized data and ineffective policy enforcement hinders progress.
  

 

Government Engagement: Promising Steps, Uneven Support

While participants voiced concerns about weak enforcement and political will, state-level governments shared ongoing efforts:

In Oyo:

• Dam rehabilitation and promotion of drought-resistant seeds
• Climate adaptation training and agricultural insurance programs

In Osun:

• Participation at COP29, where the state secured carbon credit support
• Tree-planting campaigns and school-based Green Clubs
• Distribution of solar lanterns to students and toll-free climate reporting lines

In Ondo:

• Inter-ministerial collaboration on flooding
• Expansion of climate information to farmers via NiMET
• Continued promotion of tree planting and school sensitization programs

These steps show potential, but community voices were clear: implementation and accountability remain a challenge.

 

Who’s Most at Risk?

The sessions underscored that while climate change affects everyone, its burden is not equally shared. Vulnerable groups include:

• Women, particularly those responsible for food and water
• Children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities
• Rural and last-mile populations, especially farmers and fishing communities

Participants called for inclusive strategies that prioritize these groups in policy and program design.

 

Communication and Trust: Who’s Listening?

Effective climate adaptation depends on reliable, trusted information. According to participants, the most credible channels are:

• Local radio stations and WhatsApp groups
• Community associations and youth clubs
• Training platforms like the All Farmers’ Association

Across all three states, there was greater trust in NGOs and CSOs than in government agencies, especially in rural areas. This insight is key to how data and findings should be shared back to communities.

 

What Communities Are Asking For

The sessions concluded with strong recommendations from participants:

• Early warning systems for flooding and drought
• Stronger policies and enforcement against illegal logging and mining
• Culturally relevant climate education and campaigns
• Protection of coastal communities (e.g., shoreline defense in Aiyetoro, Ondo)
• Increased support for adaptive farming, especially in rural zones
• Better inclusion of women, youth, and PWDs in climate action planning
  

 

In the News

The discovery sessions have also been featured in local media. Explore what others are saying:

• NetHope, Ushahidi & YARN Launch Climate Equity Project to Amplify Community Voices in Ondo – Just Ambitious to Serve Info
• Stakeholders Highlight Impact of Climate Change on Farming Activities, Communities in Oyo – Tribune Online Nigeria
• Stakeholders Urge Sharing of Community Experiences on Climate Change Impacts – Reporters At Large
• Adeleke's aide urges NOA, others to use local languages in climate change advocacy
• Stakeholders urge sharing of community experiences on climate change impacts - EnviroNews - latest environment news, climate change, renewable energy

These stories reflect growing public interest in how local voices and data can influence Nigeria’s climate adaptation pathways.

 

What’s Next?

The project now moves into the data collection phase, led by trained enumerators from YARN who are drawn from the same communities engaged in the sessions. Using the Ushahidi mobile app, they will document lived experiences and adaptation practices that will inform both local solutions and national conversations. In parallel, Ushahidi will also collect voices digitally through the Distant Voices technology, augmenting the stories from the ground with insights from online conversations to create a more comprehensive picture of climate realities across Oyo, Osun, and Ondo States.

The discovery sessions confirmed a simple truth: climate adaptation doesn’t start with a strategy. It starts with a conversation. And in Nigeria, that conversation is already underway.

Follow our journey at https://www.ushahidi.com/about/blog/ and connect with our partners, NetHope and YARN Nigeria to see how community voice is shaping climate action from the ground up.