The Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA) has officially flagged off the first-ever Green Border Day at Seme Border, Lagos State, marking a major milestone in its nationwide environmental sustainability campaign — the COWA Green Borders Sustainability Initiative (CGBSI).
Held under the theme “Our Borders, Our People — Greening Communities for a Sustainable Future,” the event brought together senior officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), representatives of Climate stakeholders, community leaders, and hundreds of women and youth volunteers.
In her opening address, the National President of COWA, Mrs. Kikelomo Adeniyi, described the flag-off as “a movement of hope, responsibility, and transformation that connects our homes, our borders, and our planet.”
She reflected on the success of the COWA Green Borders and Sustainability Summit, held recently in Abuja, which laid the foundation for the Green Borders campaign and unveiled the COWA Sustainability & Innovation Centre — positioned to be a national hub for climate education, women’s empowerment, and green innovation.
“The Abuja Summit gave birth to this action. What we launched as an idea in the capital has now become visible reality in Seme,” Mrs. Adeniyi said. “Through the CGBSI, COWA is planting over 5,000 trees, training more than 1,000 women and youths in recycling and green enterprise, and establishing solar-powered eco-hubs across Nigeria’s border regions.”
She explained that the CGBSI will run as a 12-month national program, scaling from Seme and Idiroko to other major border towns such as Jibia, Illela, Maigatari, Mfum, and Calabar — transforming Customs communities into clean, climate-smart environments.
The event featured tree planting, community clean-ups, waste segregation demonstrations, and recycling hub training. Youths and market women participated actively, pledging to sustain the initiative through monthly “Clean Border Days.”
Adeniyi expressed appreciation to the Nigeria Customs Service, NCCC, and other partners for their unwavering collaboration, stressing that “sustainability begins at home and grows through partnership and shared vision.”
Looking ahead, she announced that COWA will be hosting a special Side Event at the Nigerian Pavilion during COP 30 — the United Nations Climate Change Conference holding in Belém, Brazil — on 17 November 2025.
“We are taking the story of the COWA Green Borders Sustainability Initiative to the world,” she declared. “At Nigeria’s borders, women are not only supporting trade — we are protecting the environment and securing the future.”
She invited all Nigerian delegates, development partners, and stakeholders attending COP 30 to join COWA at the Nigerian Pavilion on 17 November to witness firsthand how Nigerian women are leading climate action from the grassroots to the global stage.
The COWA Green Border Day will continue with similar events nationwide over the next year, culminating in the presentation of a National Green Borders Impact Report and commissioning of the Centre at the next COWA Green Borders and Sustainability Summit.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.