In this blog, Lagos Hub Coordinator Waziri Mainasara Abubakar discusses the #Cityzens4CleanAir campaign. This event, held on June 8, 2024, at the University of Lagos, celebrated both World Environment Day and Global Running Day.
In one breath, we had the Senior Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Sports, two associate professors from the University of Lagos, lecturers from Yaba College of Technology, representatives from Lagos State Parks and Gardens (LASPARK), various prominent running clubs in Lagos, organisers of the Lagos City Marathon, students from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), and about 300 other participants, mostly youths supporting the #Cityzens4CleanAir campaign relay run and mass walk, which was held on 8 June 2024 at the University of Lagos.
The relay run featured teams of 5 runners, with at least 2 female members, from 7 different running communities across Lagos. Each team member ran 1km of the 5km course, passing the relay baton to the next runner until all five had completed their segments. After the relay, there was a mass run around the university campus, allowing those who couldn’t participate in the relay to join in the fun. The event was a huge success, as evidenced by the enthusiastic reactions and positive comments from participants. Of the 14 members of a run club that participated in the event, 85% said the event met their expectations, which was to create awareness about air pollution and environmental issues in a fun and exciting way. Every member rated their overall experience as good to excellent and would like their team to replicate such an event. Highlights cited include the relay nature of the race, the knowledge gained about air pollution, and meeting new people.
The aim of the run, which commemorated Global Running Day and World Environment Day, was to bring people together to learn and share knowledge about air pollution and environmental best practices in an exciting and fun way. It also aimed to reinforce the collaboration between civil society organisations, academia, government, and the youth as an effective way to drive environmental awareness. As an organisation that drives its youth-led movement through physical activity, we demonstrated this through the relay run and mass walk.
In one breath, we had these memorable quotes from some of the participants:
“The air quality where you run matters.”
— Rose Alani, Associate Professor and Head of the Air Quality Monitoring and Research Group (AQMRG), Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos
“Throughout the year, we will be doing at least one run per quarter to sustain this momentum, bringing stakeholders on board to drive home the message of clean air for citizens and our environment.”
— Afeez Odunoye, UrbanBetter Run Leader and Masters student of Mass Communication, University of Lagos
“The initiative for clean air is about collaboration. Sports and the environment can work together to ensure that our society is both sport-oriented and green-oriented.”
— Orimoloye Damilare, Senior Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Sports
“It is a welcome initiative in Lagos, especially given the rate of carbon emissions. The more we advocate for clean air, the cleaner Lagos becomes, the fresher the air we breathe, and the more sustainable and liveable Lagos is.”
— John Favour, UrbanBetter Run Leader and final-year student in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos
Rukayat Salau, one of our Run Leaders, measured the air quality and found the average PM2.5 air quality reading for the event was 31 µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic metre). According to World Health Organization standards, this is considered moderate air quality, meaning it is acceptable for the general public, though particularly sensitive individuals may experience some negative health effects.
The AirBeam3 sensor we used records measurements once per second. A careful look at the image below, displaying the results from the run, indicates that at some points we had PM2.5 readings as low as 5 µg/m³ (good air quality), while the highest reading on the day was 440 µg/m³ (hazardous air quality). This suggests that within the university campus, there are areas where certain activities significantly impact air quality.
Overall, most of the white line graph shown in the image below appeared in the regions colour-coded green (good air quality) and yellow (moderate air quality). This indicates that, to a large extent, the University of Lagos is a suitable place to engage in physical activities with minimal risk of exposure to unhealthy air. This may be connected to the large number of trees and green spaces around the campus, and the large body of water around the lagoon front (third mainland bridge end of the school) acting to filter the air. From our observations, it is rare to find air quality as low as 5 µg/m³ anywhere in Lagos. It is noteworthy that there are a lot of commercial activities, especially the use of charcoal for cooking that goes on at the main gate area just outside the school premises that may impact the air quality negatively around that side.
In the final breath, we are excited to have contributed to the global success of World Environment Day and Global Running Day. By bringing together people from various sectors and neighbourhoods across Lagos, we facilitated learning, knowledge sharing, and awareness about air pollution, land restoration, and other environmental and climate issues. Our June 8 Relay Run, themed “Running4TheEnvironment,” is proudly featured on the Global Running Day website.
We are also proud to share that the United Nations Environmental Programme has issued us a certificate of appreciation for our role in making World Environment Day 2024 a global success!
