It was all fun and fanfare yesterday, Sunday 31 July 2016 at the densely populated Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State when movie stars under the aegis of The Golden Movie Ambassadors of Nigeria (TGMAN) in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, embarked on a public awareness campaign on climate change.

Led by the President of TGMAN, the veteran actor, Ambassador Saidi Balogun, and the National Information Officer of UNIC Lagos, Mr Oluseyi Soremekun, the awareness campaign attracted the attention of motorists and pedestrians who were obviously excited to see and engage with their movie idols.

The campaign which was anchored on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’, informed and educated members of the public about climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. From LASU-Isheri Road through Idimu to Egbeda area, the movie stars including Actors, Actresses, Producers and Directors engaged members of the public in Yoruba, pidgin-English and occasionally in Hausa language.

With mounted sound system on a small truck, the procession stopped intermittently at major bus stops to address the public. As the campaign procession meandered through the streets, information and education materials were shared with the public.

Speaking at the Egbeda terminus of the campaign trail, Mr Soremekun noted that climate change remained a threat to all. He explained that the economy and people’s livelihoods were suffering due to unpredictable weather as lakes were drying up and dry lands were getting drier while flooded plains were increasing. This, according to him, had serious health implications. He therefore urged the public be vigilant as flash floods have been predicted in some States of the Federation.

In his message, Amb Balogun, urged the public to take tree planting as a way of life. Tree planting, he continued, was the best gift anyone could give to himself. ‘Trees break the devastating effect of storms; reduce erosion and flood; and provide cleaner and healthier air for the well-being of the people,’ he added.

The SDGs awareness campaign was an outcome of a partnership meeting held between TGMAN and UNIC Lagos a few months ago and it is the first in the series of collaborative activities to leverage on creative arts and the movie industry for the promotion of sustainable development in Nigeria.