The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) on Monday organised the 2026 Inter-Tertiary Institutions Environmental Summit to engage students in discussions on environmental sustainability and transboundary pollution.
The summit brought together students from the University of Lagos and Lagos State University for debates and discussions on environmental issues.
The event, held under the Environmental Sustainability Summit 2.0, focused on combating transboundary pollution in Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Babatunde Ajayi, described young people as critical drivers of environmental change and effective advocacy.
“I’m a very strong believer in efficient advocacy. The best way to make change happen is through young people who are still able to change their minds,” he said.
Ajayi described universities as the bedrock for nurturing future environmental advocates and sustainability champions.
He said the summit focused on transboundary pollution and its impact on air, land and water resources across communities and countries.
According to him, pollution generated in one location can spread beyond borders and affect neighbouring regions.
“If you have intense air pollution in Lagos, acid rain can be experienced in Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and even Burkina Faso,” he said.
Ajayi also referenced the recent Ojodu pollution incident, saying discussions on such occurrences would help prevent a recurrence.
“We feel that bringing this situation again to the limelight and making it the subject of discussion is one way to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Earlier, the Director of Partnerships, Grants Management and Innovation at LASEPA, Mrs Shonibare Olabisi, said more than 300 entries were received from public and private tertiary institutions across the state.
She said 212 essays qualified after screening by lecturers from the University of Lagos, while 10 students were shortlisted for the preliminary debate stage.
Commending the participants, Olabisi quoted former South African President Nelson Mandela as saying: “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
She praised the students for emerging among the top entries within three weeks of submissions.
According to her, the preliminary stage will produce six finalists for the grand finale scheduled for June 9 at the LASEPA Auditorium.
The debate was centred on the topic: “Combating Transboundary Pollution in Lagos State: A City-Level Intervention or National Effort?”
The shortlisted students defended opposing positions before a panel of judges and environmental experts.
One group argued that stronger state-level environmental regulations offered the most effective response to transboundary pollution, while the other maintained that national-level interventions would yield better results.
Speaking during the session, Olabisi said effective pollution control within states would prevent environmental problems from spreading beyond their borders.
However, an environmental expert, Mr Olayinka Omotosho, argued that issues such as oil spills and water pollution required collaboration between states and the Federal Government.
According to him, many environmental challenges cut across jurisdictions and cannot be addressed through isolated state actions.
At the end of the contest, six students qualified for the grand finale scheduled for June 9.
By Uchechi Afonne / NAN
