As the year, 2023, is being ushered in stakeholders in Nigeria have made fresh demands for better environmental protection in the new year even as they list what they expected to be done by the government and its agencies to prevent a reoccurrence of natural and environmental calamities which befell the country in the out gone 2022.
Checks by our correspondents revealed residents are weary of a reoccurrence of the various environmental issues experienced in the out gone 2022.
No fewer than 1.4 million people the floods were displaced, over 603 killed and more than 2,400 persons injured by last year`s flooding in Nigeria. About 82,035 houses were damaged, and 332,327 hectares of land affected.
The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall and climate change as well as the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in neighbouring Cameroon. Flooding, which affected Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and the surrounding region, began in the early summer of 2022 and ended in October.
The Nigerian government had blamed the floods of 2022 on unusually heavy rains and climate change. But, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, said the flooding could be largely explained by climate change. Climate change in Nigeria has been responsible for flooding, droughts, decreased air quality and the loss of habitat.
There is high priority placed on the environment in the UN sustainable development goals, aimed to solve global issues like climate change, food security, amongst others.
In Nigeria, these issues are also problems affecting livelihood. One major highlight of environmental events in 2022, is the UN COP27 event held in Egypt.
The resolution made by participating nations was the creation of loss and damage facility to help vulnerable nations fight climate change.
But environmental activists in Nigeria have said that the creation of loss and damage facility is not enough in the fight against climate change.
While explaining his observations on the COP at a media debrief organised by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in November, 2022, Nnimmo Bassey of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), recalled that in 2009, rich countries pledged 100 billion dollars to support developing countries but there have not been a transparent report showing accountability of the finance.
Bassey who also attended the COP, advised that developing nations should insist that those responsible for climate change should not just pay for loss and damage but should establish historical accountability.
Also, the Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Chima Williams, said the issues that transpired at COP27 called for concern, adding that it showed unseriousness of the partners involved.
He said, “Issues of remediation were not discussed. Following the recent flood incidents in Nigeria, if we depend on COP and its decisions, we will continue to experience doom.
“For the loss and damage fund, questions should be raised on what constitutes it, who is paying, what should they pay, who receives it and when should it be received.”
He further urged that strategic litigation should be the option for developing nations especially Nigeria, being one of the countries affected by the activities of these polluters.
Looking at different environmental concerns, NatureNews correspondent has outlined below five 2023 expectations on environmental protection in Nigeria.
Topping the table is climate finance: All investors are exposed to the impact, not just of global warming and environmental damage themselves, but of political and economic action to tackle their causes. Investors must make sure any exposures to these risks are considered thoughtfully and managed alongside opportunities in solutions to the climate challenge.
Our investigation also reveals that biodiversity seats nest in the rung of the ladder. Stakeholders are of the view that in Nigeria, areas like sustaining aquatic lives and Rivers, wildlife free from poaching and maintaining zoos should be improved upon.
It was also discovered that there was high demand for weather conditions to be monitored appropriately by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet) for prediction of rainfall and impending flooding incidents.
Also, residents especially of the Niger Delta region extract want proper attention paid to oil spills. The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) informed that spills have occurred in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta states.
NOSDRA’s Director General, Mr Idris Musa informed that ‘’Between 2015 and January, 2022 in Bayelsa State, we have recorded 1086 oil spills and out of the 1086 oil spills, 917 were as a result of vandalism which is also what we call sabotage or third party interference.’’
But speaking to the people, they are insisting that regulatory agencies are not doing enough. The general coordinator of Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in Ogoni, Celestine Viula, expressed his displeasure to NatureNews over the poor attention given by Shell and government agencies like the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
Coming after is the demand for clean and potable water which is not only essential for man and animal consumption, but also to health and sanitation. Many people in Nigeria still experience difficulties in accessing water especially as Nigeria still fights open defecation.