A former two-time member of the House of Representatives and Sponsor of Nigeria’s climate change Act 2021, Chief Sam Onuigbo has said, Climate Change has become a reality affecting communities across Nigeria and beyond with evidences such devastating floods and desertification to food insecurity, displacement, shrinking water bodies and rising temperatures.
Chief Onuigbo who made the revelation while delivering a paper titled ” FROM PERSONAL EFFORT TO NATIONAL ACTION: REIMAGINING CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA”, at the ENVIRONEWS media literacy training on climate change governance, gender mainstreaming ON and the UNFCCC & MINAMATA convention which was held on Wednesday at HAPPAG LLOYD HOUSE in Abuja, revealed that the phenomenon is no longer a distant theory discussed only at conferences or within scientific circles, as climate disruptions are already altering livelihoods and threatening national stability.
The former House of Reps member, currently aspiring for Abia central senatorial ticket of the ruling APC, noted that for many years, climate change remained peripheral within Nigeria’s political and economic discourse as the environmental concerns were often overshadowed by insecurity, unemployment, infrastructure deficits, and political instability.
“Today, the effects of climate change are visible across virtually every region of the country. The alarming shrinkage of the Lake Chad Basin remains one of the clearest indicators of ecological degradation in West Africa. Once a vital source of livelihood for millions engaged in farming, fishing, and pastoral activities, the lake has drastically diminished due to changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and environmental mismanagement. The consequences have been severe”, he maintained.
According to Chief Onuigbo, the theme of the convention, captures one of the greatest failures of modern governance and human behaviour, pointing out that Climate catastrophe did not emerge from a single catastrophic act but from millions of small and gradual decisions, delayed policies, unchecked emissions, neglected warnings, unsustainable consumption patterns, deforestation, poor waste management, and institutional complacency.
He went on to challenge the gathering to demands a multistakeholder response involving legislatures, executives, the media, civil society, academia, the private sector, traditional institutions, women, and youths to tackle the situation head-on.
Chief Onuigbo gave further insight when he stated that, “…in the Eighth Assembly, I sponsored the Climate Change Bill during my Chairmanship of the House Committee on Climate Chang, which then late President Mumammed Buhari declined assent. I represented the Bill during the Ninth Assembly and it eventually secured passage and late President Buhari’s assent on November 17, 2021 becoming the Climate Change Act 2021.An achievement that symbolised Nigeria’s formal institutional acceptance of climate change as a strategic national challenge requiring coordinated governance mechanisms and long-term national planning.
He commended the President Bola Tinubu administration for showing resolve in implementing the provisions of the Climate Change Act 2021 as a strategic framework for national climate action and sustainable development, among which is the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, a visionary step aimed at unlocking the vast economic and environmental potential of Nigeria’s marine resources while strengthening climate resilience and sustainable resource management, advancing the National Carbon Market Activation Policy (NCMAP), which seeks to generate between $2.5 billion and $3 billion annually by 2030 in line with Section 4(i) and (j) of the Climate Change Act among other significant interventions.
Chief Onuigbo concluded by reminding the stakeholders at the gathering that Nigeria still possesses the human capital, scientific expertise, youthful energy, institutional frameworks, and policy foundations necessary to confront the climate challenge successfully, hence the need not allow the impact of small decisions to quietly erode the progress already made, as climate action is no longer optional while the future of Nigeria’s development will depend significantly on how successfully it responds to the climate challenge facing her today.
