If you love this country, then you should be worried-sick about the kind of reaponse we are getting from frontline contestants about climate change. They don’t know sh*t about the dimension of the crisis and the times we live in.
Listening to Tinubu talk about firewood, free cash from the west and that “church rat and holy communion” crap make me cring. The laxity with which he discarded the question create the sense that, “woo, winning the election is what is important, this one is small matter.”
For the record, Peter Obi also displayed a very shallow and less than impressive understanding of the issues when he was confronted with same question in his America trips. He just rigmaroled around it and discarded the question.
I have not listened to Atiku talk on Climate change but I bet he will not sound any better. I wish he proves me wrong though.
What do we know so far
The rising levels of the ocean and the irregular rainfalls we have seen is largely responsible for why so many states; Kogi, Taraba, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, etc have gone under the water.
By Government account, the disaster has so far killed over 603 persons, displaced 1,302,589 persons and destroyed over 108,393 hectares of farmlands across the country.
It is the principal reason for the farmer headers clash in Nigeria and the massive distrust, killings and distractions we have seen between the normadic fulani and famers from the middle belt to the south of Nigeria. We cannot quantify the lost from these clashes.
Nimeth says we should expect more rainfall, which simply means expect more distruction. Thousands of hecters of farmlands have been washed off from Katsina to Taraba. The direct implication is more severe food crisis comes next year with food inflation already above 20%.
The world is moving towards zero carbon emission. It means even if you want to continue to carbonize (using what is now called unclean energy to industrialize), finding the resources (funding from multilateral organizatuons) is nearly impossible. That is why multinational are divesting from our offshore assets. So in no distant time, the crude oil we have today will be completely useless just like our coal.
Its like saying because we have oil as competitive advantage, we will continue to use fuel powered vehicles. But, those producing the cars and the parts have said in 10 years, they would have completely modified to electric , so how do you sustain. The stone age did not end because we ran out of stone.
Solutions:
So beyond pushing for carbon credit from the west which is not forth coming, we have a duty to
1.Raise urgent funding to construct the dam we need on the Nigerian side to contain the disaster from lado dam in cameroon.
2.Our research institute most be looking at draught resistant varieties for our staple crops
3.We must begin funding for the lake chad project. It is critical to livelihood around the Northeast.
4.The recent expireince from Lokoja implies that we must work on alternative routes. ( Lagos-jebba-Abuja or North.)
5.Our urban development board must remap our cities and community to clearly stipulate flood plains. And put emergency evacuation systems in place not just collect money for building approvals.
6.We must now seriously address funding our ecological savings. The last time was 2012. Now 2022. It will not take 10 years to happen again.
Just look at this years’ flood, the state and federal government are overwhelmed. No relief material, no resettlement, nothing. We are all looking helplessly and waiting for the flood to receed. See the share hardship it has caused Abuja and the North in terms of supply chain disruptions.
So these conversation is central to our survival as a people. It is beyond moving from ‘consumption to production’ or ‘Ewa, Agbado, garri’ rhetorics!
This ignorance that we joyfully celebrate today when we clap for or at the nonsense these politicians spew, we are ripping the reward already and there is no hidding place for anyone, partymen or bystanders.
May God bless Nigeria!
