Dear Minister Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Honourable Minister of Environment, Nigeria, My name is Juwonlo Michael. I am the Country’s Manager for Nigeria for Climate Scorecard, a non-profit organization that monitors the climate policies and programs of leading greenhouse gas emitting countries.Based on a review of Nigeria’s policies, we believe that there is much that...
Author: Juwonlo Michael (Juwonlo Michael)
Nigerian farmers have displayed commendable resilience and flexibility due to ever-shifting climate dynamics
Rating BIn Nigeria, the average farm size for subsistence farmers varies between 1 to 3 hectares, with a noticeable distinction between the Northern and Southern regions. The North boasts larger farm sizes than the South, a trend that shapes the agricultural dynamics within the nation. The diversity in farm sizes often reflects the region’s climate,...
Nigeria Has Made Progress in the Development of Water Management Systems, But More Needs to Be Done
Rating: BOver the last decade, Nigeria has faced significant challenges in ensuring access to clean water, particularly for the poorest and most marginalized communities. According to the World Bank, approximately 60 million Nigerians lacked access to drinking water in 2018. Climate change has exacerbated these challenges, with more frequent and extreme flooding polluting fragile water...
Nigeria’s New Government Has Yet to Prioritize Climate Change
Climate Progress in the First Half of 2023 Rating DThe first half of 2023 in Nigeria was focused on the general and presidential elections, with little attention given to climate change issues. This is despite Nigeria experiencing extreme weather events, such as the worst flooding in a decade in October 2022, displacing over 1.4 million...
The Women Environmental Programme Helps Communities Better Manage Drainage to Adapt to Climate Change
The route from advocacy to policy best practice may be both difficult and gratifying in the complicated tapestry of government, where ideals and objectives intertwine with the complexity of the real world. It is a revolutionary route that can remodel societies, uplift communities, and effect real change. Advocates can transcend the realms of mere rhetoric...
Nigeria commits to cutting GHG emissions by 20% by 2030 instead of 50%
As the world faces the urgent challenge of mitigating climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has set a goal of achieving a reduction of 50% over pre-industrial levels in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Nigeria, a country that is both rich in natural resources and heavily reliant on fossil fuels, stands...
Nigeria spent $3.94 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2018
Like many other countries, Nigeria has a long history of providing subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. These subsidies were initially introduced to support the country’s oil industry’s development and ensure that fuel was affordable for Nigerian consumers. However, these subsidies have become a significant drain on the country’s finances and a barrier to developing...
Ethnic People in the Niger Delta are Arguably the Most Vocal Group on Matters Relating to the Environment in Nigeria
There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria with a population of some greater than others. By population size, the top three are Hausa (30%), Yoruba (15.5%) and Igbo (15.2%). The indigenous people in Nigeria are the country’s original inhabitants belonging to these ethnic groups which are present across the entire country. One can typically...