Editorial
Addressing Climate Change Challenges
Global leaders are coming together for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November 2022. This year’s conference is gathering leaders in government, civil society, industry, and finance from around the world to raise ambition and accelerate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
COP27, as the summit is usually called, comes at a critical moment in the fight against climate change. The UN COP27 summit is happening on the frontline of the converging climate, food, energy, health, and debt crises. This presents a need and opportunity like never to galvanise immediate, on-the-ground action in the countries that most need it. This summit needs to push countries, the private sector and local governments to deliver on promises already made.
Egypt’s summit theme is “Implementation”. It aims to shift the focus from negotiations and planning to action on the ground, where it is most needed. It seeks to ramp up adaptation to climate change impacts in parallel with emission reductions. Likewise, it also hopes to highlight both Africa’s need for immediate climate action and its role in facilitating and mobilising action at scale.
The summit is holding in a year of new weather extremes, food shortages, fossil fuel price spikes and a rising cost of living, with Russia’s fossil fuel-financed war on Ukraine further stoking the crises. So far this year, Africa has seen floods and storms kill hundreds of people across the continent, triggering electricity shortages, disrupting freight operations and devastating homes and livelihoods.
COP26, which was held in Glasgow in 2021, saw a wave of new promises from countries, the private sector and local governments. Yet, commitments still fall short of what is needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C. The UN should ensure that decisions at that conference are quickly implemented to meet the ambitious targets of the Paris climate agreement and stave off some of the worst consequences of global warming.
COP27 needs to deliver on five key areas to galvanise action. They include finance, emission cuts, crisis support, fulfilment of Glasgow promises, and stocktaking. The conference must establish a clear, transparent and honest global assessment process involving the private sector, regions and cities, civil society and youth. The stocktake should send signals that policymakers can use and apply at home.
This summit should pay special attention to African countries that are on the frontline of climate change. Extreme weather and disasters are stalling progress towards food security, social well-being and economic development in the continent. In food and agriculture, for example, the impacts of climate change are already causing shifts in growing seasons and increased dry spells and heavy rainfall, according to the Global Center on Adaptation. Evidence shows that climate change has stalled the productivity growth of maize.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is the latest African leader to weigh in on the issue. Speaking at the summit, he said African leaders were frustrated by what he called Western hypocrisy. Buhari stated that Western development had unleashed climate catastrophe on Africa and that part of Nigeria was submerged under the surface of water caused by severe flooding that affected 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states and displaced 1.4 million people.
President Buhari’s charge was very timely. This is the first time African leaders beyond the negotiating room are putting up forceful opinions and statements about what they believe, and it is coming from a point of what they have witnessed at different levels in their respective countries. It is embarrassing that Western governments repeatedly have failed to honour a 2009 agreement to pay $100 billion for climate adaptation and mitigation in developing nations.
With the turn of the 21st Century and the technological age, there is a heightened awareness of the devastation destined for humankind. However, while there is increased global momentum to generate understanding, effect changes, and propel action in our communities, Nigeria is relatively silent. Countless coastal communities have got fully submerged by water, yet, the government has no reliable report on the lives and infrastructure lost. It does not adequately cater to the needs of those most affected.
Many states are severely impacted by climate change. With all our communities built around and near the coastline, the daily pushing of water closer to our land sadly means disaster for us. Despite the alarming trends of rising temperatures and sea levels, unpredictable weather, and mass, we are still investing a large amount of money in infrastructure which is bound to disappear unless urgent action is taken.
The Federal Government must ensure that our country develops and implements a comprehensive plan for climate action at the federal, state, and local levels. The government must constructively invest time and money into urban renewal projects, including developing greener environments, urban and rural resilience and sustainability interventions to address flooding, droughts, and erosion.
Nigeria’s climate change policy should be activated to tackle the human causes of climate modification in a multifaceted way. The policy contains a set of rules, regulations, and standards for agencies and individuals to abide by to achieve the policy goals. Our lawmakers should enact laws to ban human activities that contribute towards the depletion of the ozone layer.
There should be public awareness campaigns through media channels to educate Nigerians on the negative impact of their activities on the environment. Teachers should teach children environmental education in schools to empower them early about the dangers of climate change and their role in mitigating it. Importantly, the Federal Government should enforce resolutions at the conference without delay. We all have critical roles to play in averting a looming disaster.
When Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, received the Board and Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), led by its Chairman, Senator Adeyeye Adedayo Clement, his message was unmistakable: Rivers’ seaports remain underutilised, and Nigeria is poorer for it. The governor’s lament was a sad reminder of how neglect and centralisation continue to choke the nation’s economic arteries.
The governor, in his remarks at Government House, Port Harcourt, expressed concern that the twin seaports — the NPA in Port Harcourt and the Onne Seaport — have not been operating at their full potential. He underscored that seaports are vital engines of national development, pointing out that no prosperous nation thrives without efficient ports and airports. His position aligns with global realities that maritime trade remains the backbone of industrial expansion and international commerce.
Indeed, the case of Rivers State is peculiar. It hosts two major ports strategically located along the Bonny River axis, yet cargo throughput has remained dismally low compared to Lagos. According to NPA’s 2023 statistics, Lagos ports (Apapa and Tin Can Island) handled over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s container traffic, while Onne managed less than 10 per cent. Such a lopsided distribution is neither efficient nor sustainable.
Governor Fubara rightly observed that the full capacity operation of Onne Port would be transformative. The area’s vast land mass and industrial potential make it ideal for ancillary businesses — warehousing, logistics, ship repair, and manufacturing. A revitalised Onne would attract investors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth, not only in Rivers State but across the Niger Delta.
The multiplier effect cannot be overstated. The port’s expansion would boost clearing and forwarding services, strengthen local transport networks, and revitalise the moribund manufacturing sector. It would also expand opportunities for youth employment — a pressing concern in a state where unemployment reportedly hovers around 32 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Yet, the challenge lies not in capacity but in policy. For years, Nigeria’s maritime economy has been suffocated by excessive centralisation. Successive governments have prioritised Lagos at the expense of other viable ports, creating a traffic nightmare and logistical bottlenecks that cost importers and exporters billions annually. The governor’s call, therefore, is a plea for fairness and pragmatism.
Making Lagos the exclusive maritime gateway is counter productive. Congestion at Tin Can Island and Apapa has become legendary — ships often wait weeks to berth, while truck queues stretch for kilometres. The result is avoidable demurrage, product delays, and business frustration. A more decentralised port system would spread economic opportunities and reduce the burden on Lagos’ overstretched infrastructure.
Importers continue to face severe difficulties clearing goods in Lagos, with bureaucratic delays and poor road networks compounding their woes. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report estimates that Nigerian ports experience average clearance times of 20 days — compared to just 5 days in neighbouring Ghana. Such inefficiency undermines competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Worse still, goods transported from Lagos to other regions are often lost to accidents or criminal attacks along the nation’s perilous highways. Reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps indicate that over 5,000 road crashes involving heavy-duty trucks occurred in 2023, many en route from Lagos. By contrast, activating seaports in Rivers, Warri, and Calabar would shorten cargo routes and save lives.
The economic rationale is clear: making all seaports operational will create jobs, enhance trade efficiency, and boost national revenue. It will also help diversify economic activity away from the overburdened South West, spreading prosperity more evenly across the federation.
Decentralisation is both an economic strategy and an act of national renewal. When Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports operate optimally, hinterland states benefit through increased trade and infrastructure development. The federal purse, too, gains through taxes, duties, and improved productivity.
Tin Can Island, already bursting at the seams, exemplifies the perils of over-centralisation. Ships face berthing delays, containers stack up, and port users lose valuable hours navigating chaos. The result is higher operational costs and lower competitiveness. Allowing states like Rivers to fully harness their maritime assets would reverse this trend.
Compelling all importers to use Lagos ports is an anachronistic policy that stifles innovation and local enterprise. Nigeria cannot achieve its industrial ambitions by chaining its logistics system to one congested city. The path to prosperity lies in empowering every state to develop and utilise its natural advantages — and for Rivers, that means functional seaports.
Fubara’s call should not go unheeded. The Federal Government must embrace decentralisation as a strategic necessity for national growth. Making Rivers’ seaports work is not just about reviving dormant infrastructure; it is about unlocking the full maritime potential of a nation yearning for balance, productivity, and shared prosperity.