You’ve failed to tackle Nigeria’s ecological challenges, stakeholders blast three tiers of government

 

By Faridat Salifu

Participants at the Nigeria Social Ecological Alternatives Convergence, held Monday, July 14, in Abuja descended on Nigeria’s three tiers of government, accusing them of failing to address the root causes of ecological damage or protect vulnerable communities affected by pollution, displacement, and loss of livelihoods.

They comprised civil society organisations, grassroots activists, and community groups.

In a joint communiqué issued at the end of the convergence, the participants said Nigeria is facing a “litany of ecological crises” linked to extractive activities such as oil and gas drilling, mining, deforestation, and industrial agriculture.

They, as a result, demanded urgent, inclusive reforms to tackle such deepening socio-ecological crisis.

The participants condemned what they described as corporate environmental abuse, particularly the abandonment of oil wells and mining sites without decommissioning or remediation.

They described Nigeria’s current environmental governance as fragmented, citing weak coordination, poor enforcement, and a lack of gender and social inclusion in climate-related policies.

Participants highlighted the disconnect between federal and state-level environmental strategies, calling for stronger policy integration and community involvement.

Among their top demands in the communiqué were a call to intensify afforestation efforts, improve drought resilience, and promote community-led land restoration.

Other recommendations included declaring “no-go zones” for mining, enforcing full decommissioning of extractive sites, and ensuring free, prior, and informed consent from indigenous communities.

The Niger Delta was flagged as a major concern, with the participants calling for a comprehensive ecological audit, gas flaring ban, and stronger protections for communities affected by oil company divestment.

They also urged the federal government to design a just energy transition plan that includes job creation, community compensation, environmental remediation, and universal clean energy access.

Support for smallholder farmers and wider adoption of agroecological farming methods were also listed among priorities.

To strengthen legal protections for ecosystems, participants advocated assigning legal value to nature, drawing from models used in Ecuador, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

On institutional reform, the participants called for inclusive policy implementation, integration of local environmental knowledge, and climate responses tailored to Nigeria’s diverse ecological zones.

They rejected carbon offset markets and biodiversity credit schemes as false solutions, warning against the financialisation of nature.

The communiqué stressed the need for transparency and accountability in climate action and disaster response, as well as equitable policy design that addresses the unique vulnerabilities of women, youth, and other marginalised groups.

Participants further called for a nationwide ecological audit to identify resource degradation and resilience gaps.

They made a strong appeal for scaling up grassroots mobilisation, environmental education, and citizen science to build an informed national response to the climate crisis.

Described as the second in a growing annual series of civic dialogues, the convergence reaffirmed its role as a platform for multi-stakeholder environmental introspection and action planning.

Organizers of the convergence, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) urged federal and subnational governments to take the communiqué seriously and turn its proposals into binding policies, warning that “the environmental and social survival of Nigeria depends on bold, inclusive, and immediate action.”

The convergence was organized with support from the FASFA Foundation and in collaboration with Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Kabetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Social Action, Oilwatch Nigeria, and We the People.

It brought together stakeholders from government, academia, social movements, youth and women’s groups, persons with disabilities, and community-based organisations.