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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) are set to strengthen their collaboration on climate mitigation in the interest of Nigeria’s continued socio-economic development.
Speaking at a meeting at the NGF’s office in Abuja over the weekend, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike, described the relationship between the NGF and NiMet as being in the “best interest of the country” as it would benefit the people.
“It’s no longer news that we are seeing increasingly severe weather events affecting our communities. Every year we count the losses of the number of our people killed, families and communities displaced, and the economic damages,” Anosike said.
“These extreme weather events also trigger human trafficking, disease outbreaks, and other negative impacts,” he added.
He stressed further that NiMet and NGF strongly believe that something should be done to mitigate the impact of climate change, and both organisations would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guide their collaboration.
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“If we can proactively collaborate and coordinate our activities, we should be able to reduce the impact of climate change. This is why NiMet has come to the NGF. Our collaboration will ensure that weather and climate information get to the last mile – the Nigerian people,” he said.
To him, weather and climate information are critical to the sustainable economic development of the country. Early warning systems are systematic activities that ensure weather and climate information reaches the Nigerian people and vulnerable communities, enabling them to respond accordingly.
“Not reactively, but proactively. Early warning saves lives, but for it to work effectively, synergistic leadership has to be demonstrated by all the relevant stakeholders,” Anosike emphasised.
On his part, the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdulateef O.T. Shittu, stated that climate change was impacting economic well-being both nationally and globally.
“NiMet is a critical federal government agency, hence the NGF has agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with it so that we can support and partner with them to implement all the climate change initiatives that the agency has, in the interest of the Nigerian people,” Shittu said.
“Climate change is all about mitigation and adaptation. We have discussed a lot about that and what needs to be done. We have to face the reality of climate change and see how we can mitigate it, especially in preventing food shortages and ensuring food security. These are critical,” he added.
