Nigeria @ 66: Tinubu promises prosperity, omits environment – CAMIC ED
By Awyetu Asabe Hope
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary made no direct mention of environmental issues, climate change, deforestation or biodiversity conservation.
This was pointed out by the Executive Director of Climate Africa Media Initiative & Centre (CAMIC), Mr. Aliu Akoshile, in an exclusive interview with NatureNews.
In the broadcast titled “From Reform to Prosperity,” on October 1, President Tinubu declared that Nigeria had passed through its own “Red Sea” and was entering an era of prosperity.
The President said his administration had taken difficult economic decisions over the past three years to correct longstanding distortions, stating that “The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired.”
President Tinubu, who returned to Nigeria on Tuesday from an extended three-week vacation abroad, said the next phase of governance would focus on reducing the cost of living, creating jobs, expanding industries and lifting Nigerians out of poverty.
Commenting on the broadcast, Mr. Akoshile noted that while the speech highlighted farmers, traders, teachers, entrepreneurs and the Armed Forces, it made no reference to Nigeria’s pressing environmental challenges.
Arguing that the exclusion of environment cannot be equated with other sectors that may also have been omitted, he said, “Environment is actually not a sector. It is the foundation upon which all other sectors survive. It is the common denominator for humanity and sustainable development.”
“You cannot talk about agriculture without soil fertility and rainfall, you cannot talk about health without clean air and water, you cannot talk about security without addressing desertification and resource conflicts, and you cannot talk about prosperity on a dead planet,” Mr. Akoshile added.
He said the omission is critical at a time when Nigeria is battling one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, accelerating desert encroachment in the North, flooding in the South, and general loss of biodiversity despite being home to nearly 8,000 plant species.
Mr. Akoshile referenced the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), which in its independence message noted that over 90% of Nigeria’s original forest cover is already lost.
As of press time, the Presidency had not issued an additional statement on environmental policy to complement the independence address.
