Onuigbo advocates for increased legislation to ramp up Climate Action in Nigeria, achieve set goals

The Chairman of the Committee on Security, Climate change, and Special Interventions of the North-East Development Commission, NEDC, Chief Sam Onuigbo, has said that legislation must help in driving climate action, for countries including Nigeria to successfully address climate change and build a structure for sustainable growth.

Delivering a keynote address tilted, “Climate Change Act: Implications for climate action in Nigeria”, at the maiden Climate Justice and Just Energy Transition Conference in honour of Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba @60 birthday anniversary held at Coal City University, Enugu State, Chief Onuigbo pointed out that without legislative backing, Governments cannot be legally bound to their climate change commitments, hence the need to encourage increased legislative actions to back up climate change commitments and goals.
The former federal lawmaker, was the sponsor and father of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, 2021, assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2021, said critical sections of the Act show that the Act is intended to serve as a holistic legal framework for climate action in Nigeria.
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Onuigbo, who commended President Bola Tinubu who he said has clearly exercised leadership by taking many far-reaching and positive climate actions in the first year of his administration, also harped on the need for climate education and its inclusion into the nation’s educational curricular at all levels.
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“We are no longer debating whether climate change is real or not. We know that it is, as severe and unpredictable weather events around us affirm daily. From the floods, we now witness frequently, the massive landslide in Kaokalam village in Papua New Guinea that reportedly killed 2000 villagers in their sleep, the midair storm that hit two international airlines: Singapore airlines and Qatar airways, the heatwave in Mecca that killed 1,300 persons, irregular rainfalls, the menace of gully and coastal erosion, desertification and land degradation leading to loss of arable land, loss of over 90 percent of Lake Chad, forced migration, competition for scarce resources and food insecurity, confrontation and security challenges, even the diehard skeptic knows that the world is reeling under the impacts of climate change “, Onuigbo buttressed further.

Onuigbo who insisted that efforts at tackling climate change must continuously improve on collaboratively, stated that these environmental and developmental challenges required a multifaceted effort involving all tiers of government, the private sector and the civil society organizations, hence the need for all hands to be on deck to tackle the devastating impacts of these existential threats.

The former Federal Lawmaker, who was the sponsor and father of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, 2021, assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2021, maintained that the Nigerian Climate Change Act was designed not only to mitigate the impacts of climate change but also to facilitate adaptation and associated measures that are essential for the sustainability of the environment and the prosperity of the people.

The Chairman of the conference Organizing Committee, Dr. Robert Onyeneke, in his address, decried that over reliance on fossil fuels have continued to pose serious environmental and health risks and also complicating the nation’s path towards sustainable development.

He appreciated Prof. Nwajiuba’s coordinating role in developing climate change adaptation manual for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management project among other timely and impactful contributions on climate change and also lauded him for being a vanguard in the environmental discourse.

He also enjoined the conference participants to consider the broader implications of the conference theme – Climate Justice and Just Energy Transition, especially pertinent to Nigeria and the developing world at large.

“Let us take the advantage of this unique gathering not only to celebrate the milestones of a remarkable career but also to collaborate towards meaningful and impactful solutions for advancing climate justice and just energy transition”, Onyeneke tasked the participants.

In his speech, the Special guest of honour, Ambassador Chris Maiyaki, Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, who was represented by the NUC Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu, observed that the inhabitants of the earth are highly concerned about the climate, which also made the theme of the conference apt.

He expressed optimism that the participants will be enriched with new knowledge about climate change, while wishing Prof. Nwajiuba a very happy 60th birthday anniversary.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, which was made virtually, the Vice Chancellor of Coal City University, Prof. Adam Icha-Ituma, who appreciated the strides recorded by Prof. Nwajiuba, which he said would continue to inspire generations, expressed confidence that the conference will help address the critical issues affecting climate change.

Other keynote addresses presented during the conference include; Energy Transition: Is Green Hydrogen a viable solution for Nigeria by Prof. Kehinde Ogunjobi, Director, West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) Competence Centre, Burkina Faso; The Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards: The role of the National Universities Commission in mainstreaming climate change mitigation and justice in University Education in Nigeria by Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu; and Integrating a transitional justice approach into climate finance negotiations: A clarion call for true climate justice by Dr. Augustine Njamnshi.