Nation
Climate Change To Cost Nigeria $460bn By 2050-Expert
The Director, Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State, Prof. Chukwumerije Okereke, has said that climate change would cost Nigeria about $460 billion by 2050 if action was not taken to mitigate its effects.
Okereke disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of the ninth international Lagos Climate Change Summit in Lagos.
“Climate change is costing Nigeria already $100 billion per annum. And that this amount will rise to about $460 billion per annum by 2050.
“And this represents a huge amount of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“From 2020 till now, climate change is already costing N15 trillion, representing two to 11 per cent of the GDP, by 2050 climate change will be costing N69 trillion, representing six to 30 per cent of the GDP,” Okereke said.
The expert, who is also a visiting professor to Oxford University, said climate change was already having untold effect on flooding and rising sea levels in the country.
According to Okereke, flooding is already affecting 25 million people in Nigeria.
“In Yenegoa, there are 302,782 people estimated to be exposed to high flood risk along the Niger-Benue basin in the Niger Delta area with 630km of land susceptible to flooding.
“In Lagos, 375,000 people are exposed to flooding; the number will increase to about 3.2 million people by 2050.
“The direct estimate of damage and loss is N1.48 trillion. The total damage and loss, including indirect ones due to flooding is about N2.6 trillion,” Okereke said.
He said that with the rise in sea level, an estimated 27 to 53 million people in the country might need to be relocated with a 0.5m increase in sea levels.
Okereke said that coastal settlements like Bonny, Forcados, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar were at risk with vast amount of oil infrastructure.
He noted that the country had mapped out a lot of interesting policies to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Okereke listed the policies as long-term sustainability plan to achieve a net zero emission target by 2060 and determined contribution to aggressively embark on actions to mitigate the impact change.
“All these are very fascinating, interesting policies.
“However, the action on the ground does not come anywhere near what is needed to arrest the situation to address the impact of climate change and to also reduce emissions from economic wide activity.
“So, we have a situation where we have a lot of various policies, documents, but very limited action on the ground and this worries me because I have been shouting that climate change poses an existential threat to Nigeria,” Okereke said.
He urged the government to match action with the right policies to achieving the desired result.
“We need to inject a lot of finance and a lot of action to stem the problem of climate change,” Okereke said.
He noted that the impact of climate change on our agricultural system was extremely high.
Okereke said that many Nigerians engage in one kind of agricultural activity or the other and agriculture constitutes about 26 per cent of the nation’s GDP.
“With climate change, you will have drought and it will affect different crops and impose even stronger, negative implications on food security system in the country.
“I have also argued that the depletion of the groundwater around the country caused by climate change and movement of people from the north to the south thereby fuelling insecurity.
“So, you have desertification in the north, flooding in the West, you have erosion in the east and deforestation in the south.
“And all of these things are threatening the existence and the wellbeing of millions of Nigerians,” Okereke said.
The Rivers state Government has identified six local government areas with the highest burden of maternal and Neonatal mortality in the state.
State Commissioner for Health Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh said this in an interview with newsmen at the Maternal and Neonatal Reduction innovation initiative ( Mamii)Rivers state activation workshop and state engagement meeting in Port Harcourt.
The event was organized by The Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with its Rivers state counterpart in Port Harcourt.
Dr Oreh also restated the preparedness of the state government to support current efforts by the federal government towards the reduction of maternal and infant mortalities in the country.
She mentioned the affected Local Government Areas to include, Andoni,Akuku Toru and Ahoada West
The rest according to the Commissioner are, Bonny, Etche and Emohua Local Government Areas.
She said the workshop will enable the team from the federal ministry of health and social welfare to brainstorm with the view to finding solution to the problem.
The Commissioner also gave reasons why the Mamii initiative was the best as far as finding solution to maternal mortality was concerned.
“The uniqueness of the Mamii initiative driven by the federal ministry of health and social welfare was that we used evidence to elicit the reasons for this deaths, so that the solutions will be context specific and tailored to the particular environment where those deaths are occuring
“For us in Rivers state we have six Mamii LGAs , nationally we we have 172 local government areas “the Commissioner said.
Earlier in her opening remarks,Dr Oreh said the state government is prepared to work with the federal ministry of health and social welfare to check the rate of maternal mortality in the state.
She commended The Minister of Health and Social welfare Professor Ali Muhammad Pategi for driving the Mamii initiative across the country and expressed optimism that the programm will see to the end of maternal mortality in the country.
Also speaking the National Coordinator Nigeria health sector Renewal Initiative Dr Adam Ahmed said Rivers state is the last state among Mamii states in the country to host the team.
He said the team will visit the affected Local Government Areas with the view to interacting with the people on how to check the trend.
He expressed the hope that with continuous efforts, maternal mortality will be checked.
Also speaking the permanent secretary Rivers state Ministry of Health Professor Justinah Jumbo said the government is not leaving any stone unturned towards reduction in maternal deaths.
The permanent secretary said Governor Siminalaye Fubara is a health friendly Governor who is desirous in improving the quality of health of Rivers people.
John Bibor
A pan-Nigeria organisation committed to the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages, Indigenous Language and Culture Promoters (ILCP), has called for the deliberate development and compulsory teaching of indigenous languages in both primary and secondary schools across the country.
The group made the call during its maiden Congress held in Bori, Rivers State, which was convened to examine challenges hindering the official adoption and effective teaching of Ogoni languages in schools.
Speaking at the Congress, the Executive Director of the organisation, HRC Mene Magnus Edooh, Amb.P, emphasised the critical role of indigenous languages in preserving a people’s culture, values and history. He warned against the gradual extinction of native languages, noting that language loss equates to identity loss.
“Years ago, Latin was a language of global relevance, but today it is largely extinct. We do not want Ogoni languages to suffer a similar fate. As a people, we cannot afford to lose our identity through the death of our languages,” Edooh said.
He explained that the Indigenous Language and Culture Promoters was established to collaborate with language stakeholders to ensure that children and younger generations remain connected to their mother tongues. The organisation also appealed to governments at all levels, as well as relevant institutions and individuals, to take strategic actions aimed at promoting and sustaining Nigeria’s indigenous languages.
Also speaking, the newly appointed Director of Media and Information, Prince David N. Gbarato, questioned the rationale behind government reluctance to accord indigenous languages their rightful place in national development policies.
According to him, “People with well-developed languages are people with well-developed indigenous systems and affairs,” stressing that language development is fundamental to cultural and societal advancement.
The Congress further served as a platform for the ratification of key officers of the organisation and featured the participation of representatives from various indigenous language groups and other language stakeholders, all of whom echoed the call for renewed commitment towards safeguarding Nigeria’s linguistic heritage.
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