Outgoing DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Dr. Anthony Anuforom, says his 10- year tenure has recorded many milestones including infrastructure and equipment upgrade, accurate weather reporting system and partnerships with local and international organisations. IME AKPAN reports Anuforom My scorecard in 10 years It was in 2007 that I got appointed as the Director-General for a fi rst term of fi ve years and got reappointed for a second tenure in 2012.
I was part of the setting up of the agency after we metamorphosized from a department to a parastatal. So the problems were a bit familiar. What were the problems? To observe weather we need our observatories, our synoptic stations. At that time I inherited 36 synoptic stations. So the very fi rst thing I did was assessment of their capacities to do that fundamental job of observing the weather and recording data. When I did the assessment that is in terms of instrument availability, in order words, we measure certain variables. What are the instruments for measuring them? Are they available in all the 36 stations? If they are available, are they functional? So when I conducted that survey, I found out something that was really shocking. And that is out of the 36 synoptic stations or weather observatories across the country, only four of them scored above 50 per cent, the highest score was 64 per cent and that was very, very worrisome.
So, we set out to address that issue, get the synoptic stations working so that we can measure weather variables. Of course it may interest you to know that in each synoptic station, there are 13 weather variables measured, each one is measured every hour of the day and in some cases every hour of the day at night.
So we got to work, we started to build, make instruments available for weather observation. And so having done that, we went out to expand the number of stations.
Today, we are leaving behind 54 weather observatories across the country. We not only re-enforce them in terms of making instruments available we also re-instrumented them as it were. We had challenges of manpower and personnel.
To increase staff morale and confi dence, we had to re-train them. So we gave emphasis to training and re-training with the result that within a short time, we were able to train and retrain many of them. Having conquered that, we also moved on to the issue of more hi-tech equipment like weather radar. We were able to procure six weather radars although we were able to complete the installation of two; one in Port Harcourt and one in Abuja. We were working seriously to complete Yola and Maiduguri before the insurgency disturbed us and the Americans refused to come back for safety reasons. Although we are going back to that; we are travelling to the US to restart the process of getting them back to work. How meteorological information can grow the economy Th e World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has done an assessment and that assessment was done over 10 years ago. For every one dollar we invest in building capacity for weather, climate services, the benefi t is seven dollars.
Th at is there are sevenfold benefi ts and I will tell you how. Th at assessment was done 10 years ago, now the issue of climate change with the attendant climate weather that is destructive is worse today than what it was 10 or 20 years ago. If that assessment is done now the money you invest, if you invest some money in developing weather information to enable weather services provide early warning, such as the seasonal rainfall prediction (SRP), the benefi ts you will reap is huge. Imagine that using our SRP, farmers are advised better on when to farm, imagine the huge losses in terms of crop failure, if you plant at the wrong time. So by investing money, we are now able to advise the farmer better and they make informed decisions as to when to plant. Th ey also make informed decision as to when to apply fertilizer, informed decision on how to avoid crop failure.
So these are the benefi ts that we derive. Coming to the aviation sector, for the fi rst 10 years, there is no single aviation accident or incident where weather is seen to be responsible, where lack of weather information, or because we didn’t know there will be storm and we fl ew into storm, there is none.
24-hour weather forecast for airline pilots Now, the weather forecast we give to the aviation sector, don’t forget that aviation is probably one of the most regulated activities in the world. Our operations are as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO); we do our job in conformity with ICAO standard and recommended Practices. So whatever ICAO says we should do that is what we are doing. Th at is why we are able to earn our ISO 9001. In order words, you are doing it the way they (ICAO) say it should be done. Now on the issue of whether we can give weather information ahead, yes of course.
In addition to those forecasts when there is impending adverse weather we give out the information with suffi cient insight, at times up to 24 hours or 12 hours. During the Christmas period for instance, whenever I was on duty, that time there were some days when the dust haze was really bad, it aff ected me.
Because there are facilities for instance, the dust aff ecting us is generated in Niger and Chad, mainly from Niger and the air blows it southward to us. We have facilities, satellite receiving stations to tell us when there is dust uptake from Niger. Now when there is that uptake from the wind trajectory and speed, you can estimate when it will hit Maiduguri, Kano, or Katsina, Abuja. So at times this gives up to 12 times and we issue such alert. So apart from the forecast we issue weather alert as well. Utilization of weather information by other sectors One of the things we have learnt over the years is how to make people believe us. How does the farmer begin to believe that you can tell him when the rains will start? How does the farmer believe that you can tell him if you plant now, your crops will die? We have been singing that for a number of years. Gradually, of course for us to make them believe us, we have to show them that it is correct. So now we’ve been able to achieve that level of accuracy, so people have that confi dence.
So you see that we develop gradually in that direction. In Europe and America, the level of education is very high, their attitude to science is better. Th ey have better science culture than we do, so for them it is given, in fact they spend money to get weather forecast. But this one we are begging people to come and take, over there people pay huge sums of money.
Now, we therefore have to generate that confi dence and as today I can tell you that it is getting better and better. If you go and check our previous SRP presentations and my speeches, I keep calling people to come and partner us. We are ready to partner with states. In every SRP we have presented, we invite commissioners responsible for agriculture, environment, health, water resources, we invite them over time. Many of them do attend; others may not respond, but those who started responding, they can see the result. After 2006 prediction, Katsina State said okay let us try this people. Th ey invited us to present it to them in Katsina.
When we went there the presentation we made was that our predictions are 75 per cent accurate. We are working with some international organizations like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID; we are working with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), we signed a memorandum of understanding with the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF).
