The Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA) has launched a transformative initiative promoting environmental sustainability, women's empowerment, and youth empowerment, as well as economic inclusion, across Nigeria’s border communities.
The COWA Sustainability and Green Borders Summit, themed “Greening Borders, Empowering Lives: Women and Youth as Champions of Sustainable Trade,” was held on Thursday, 16 October 2025, at the Ladi Kwali Event Centre, Abuja Continental Hotel.
The event drew a distinguished audience, including the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi; directors from the Ministries of Youth Development and Women Affairs; and representatives from collaborating agencies, such as the Border Communities Development Agency, whose Executive Secretary, Mallam Sadiq Abdullahi, Esq., was in attendance.
In her keynote address, COWA National President, Mrs Kikelomo Adeniyi, described the summit as a call to action and a “movement for transformation,” reflecting Nigeria’s commitment to a cleaner, more inclusive, and equitable future.
She unveiled plans for the COWA Sustainability and Innovation Centre, to be established in Abuja, which will serve as a hub for training and empowering women and youth from the border in areas such as solar energy, waste recycling, and green enterprise.
“This is not just about planting trees,” she said. “It’s about planting hope, growing opportunities, and cultivating responsibility.”
Mrs Adeniyi explained that the centre will house a Green Skills Academy, an Innovation and Research Lab, a Policy and Leadership Institute, and a Green Enterprise Hub focused on eco-fashion, recycling, and renewable energy projects.
She also highlighted findings from a recent Green Barrack Audit, which revealed that seven in ten border communities lack access to clean water and electricity. At the same time, deforestation and illegal trade continue to threaten the livelihoods of many.
Addressing the gathering, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, called for a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s border management strategy, urging government and stakeholders to invest in border communities rather than view them as security liabilities.
“We need to stop treating border communities like problems to be managed and start treating them like partners to be invested in,” he said. “Prevention is cheaper than enforcement, and it is more humane.”
He stressed that genuine empowerment through eco-enterprises, youth employment, and sustainable infrastructure offers a lasting solution to the cycle of poverty, smuggling, and insecurity in frontier regions.
“Let’s move from talking about green borders to actually building them,” he added. “That means funding; real funding, that reaches women and young people doing the actual work on the ground.”
The CGC reaffirmed that the Nigeria Customs Service will align its modernisation agenda with global sustainability goals to ensure trade facilitation contributes to environmental protection and community empowerment.
A robust panel session followed, featuring experts in climate change and sustainability, including Dr Ameh Zion Abba, Prof. Magnus Onuoha, Dr Chimere Ohajinwa, and Rifkaku Joseph Odeyemi, moderated by Joy Onyekwere. Discussions centred on how women and youth can drive green livelihood opportunities in border areas.
Participants commended COWA for its foresight in linking trade, sustainability, and border development.
In closing her remarks, Mrs Kikelomo Adeniyi reaffirmed COWA’s long-term commitment to advancing environmental awareness and socio-economic empowerment through actionable programmes, urging all stakeholders to work collaboratively towards a greener, fairer, and more secure Nigeria.
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