Climate change and Nigeria

Barely nine weeks or thereabout to the United Nation summit in Copenhagen, African officials that met at a special meeting in Bukina Faso resolved to demand billions of dollars in compensation from the rich polluting nations for the harm of gases in the atmosphere. This is because Africa is the worst hit of all the continents by global warming. Even the World Bank estimated that the developing world( most countries in Africa are developing or under developed) will suffer about 80 percent of the damage of climate change.
This agitation and many other activities all over the world show that climate change is about the most important issue dominating international and national discourses right now. Different regions including Africa are taking radically different positions on how to reduce greenhouse gases that cause rise in global temperatures with disastrous consequences. Some of the negative effects of the changing climatic conditions are unusually hot weather, rising sea level due to melting of the antartic ice caps, depletion of greenbelts etc.
In Nigeria, our government is yet to put plans in place to contained the effects of climate change on the environment and the people. One wonders what position we will be taking come December 2009 negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark when all nations especially Africa will be placing demands and asking for compensation from the rich polluting nations. Is Nigeria not feeling the impact of climate change? NO? We are feeling the impact seriously. The incessant and unexplainable flooding of cities across Nigeria is taking alarming proportion. Most states are crying for help as erosion had sacked communities and rendered millions homeless. Desert encroachment is ravaging most parts of the country. People are relocating, businesses are closing down and many are thrown into the labour market.
Due to the Federal Government of Nigeria lack of direction on this issue, the Governor of Lagos state, Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola said it was not a matter of choice but of necessity for every nation in the world to work to save our environment. Without the environment, there is no planet earth. The threat to the environment is a threat to humanity and all levels of government across the earth must act quickly irrespective of belief and convinction to save the planet. One of the effects of the changing climatic conditions is desertification and deforestation and the governor has embarked on planting and nurturing plants all over the state to combat that problem. The Federal government on its part should provide cheap source of energy so that the people do not resort to forest resources as their energy sources.
As the world celebrates Blog Action Day on climate change today, i wish everyone a pollution-free environment.