Climate Change: A Wake Up Call

The current change in weather condition in various parts of Nigerian, once more, reminds us of Nigerian leaders non-chalance and lackaidaisical disposition towards climate change.

Infact, the different positions and views by relevant authorities on the sudden return of harmattan haze  quickly points to the fact that the authorities are indifferent to realities of global climate changes.

The sudden return of harmattan weather condition is a clear pointer that our leaders are just groping in the dark, not knowing precisely what to do in such natural occurrences.

In advanced societies, the citizens should have been alerted long ago on the impending change and how it will affect their lives, rightly or wrongly. But here in Nigeria, different bodies and people, hold varied opinions, just because of the indifference by relevant government bodies.

The departure from the usual climatic and weather conditions as evidently manifested in the last one week or more should have been predicted long ago and  the citizens sensitised on the implications, rather than the panic and confusion currently exhibited by all.

The curiosity occasioned by the massive dust haze over the  country’s skyline, no doubt, has its implications on the social and economic activities of the citizens. Perhaps, we need to quantify the loss to really appreciate and place its impact on Nigerian economy.

The losses can be seen in the aviation sector which recorded several cancellation of flights and virtually paralysed other activities at the nation’s airports due to poor visibility. Similarly, petty traders and businessmen and women  who scampered for safety abandoned their businesses, just to avoid the ‘acid rain’ resulting from the weather change.

Nigeria, to say the least, recorded huge financial losses as a result of the prevailing development. Simply, the explanation is that our leaders and authorities did not anticipate the change on time and therefore never prepared for it.

And this brings us to the question: what should be done in the circumstance?.

Other developed countries such as United States of America, Britain, France and other European countries had experienced extreme weather conditions and other natural phenomena like heavy snowfall during winter seasons. Such countries usually devise ways and means of reducing, to the barest minimum, the impact and losses on their citizenry. But in Nigeria, the story is different.

Nigerians are left at the mercy of nature and to their fate whenever we have extreme cases of rainfall or dryness. It should not be ! Our problem, indeed, is that of dearth of information and reliable records on weather conditions.

In civilised societies, there is no basis for the different views on the “purported acid rain”, now making the rounds, if we have our acts right. This is largely because there is no scientific proof to that effect..

In other societies, information on weather is tracked and passed on promptly to enable people prepare ahead. Obviously, the authorities response to natural phenomena is not encouraging at all.

Our leaders must therefore take the issue of climate change more seriously if our environment must be protected from the vagaries of the climate.

Nigeria must squarely address the challenge posed by climate change. Our leaders must provide the framework and enabling environment for pro-active action in this direction.

Resolutions from the UN’s climate change conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark must be taken seriously if we must move to the next level. Humanity’s survival will largely depend on our ability to collectively protect our environment from change phenomena.

Climate change poses clear and present danger to mankind and a road map towards addressing the challenge becomes inevitable.

Goodluck Ukwe