“Our communities are full of law-abiding, if impoverished, residents of Lagos State. We belong to the city and have a right to the city as well as right to shelter and to livelihood. Forced eviction is not only unlawful, but ineffective. It will also not solve whatever problem your administration hopes to solve. It will not set Lagos on the path to being a global megacity. The only path to real megacity is to embrace the urban poor and partner with us to find lasting solutions to challenging urban problems such as security and development.”

Those were the compassionate yet somewhat defiant words of waterfront and slum dwellers in a recent correspondence to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State over the latter’s decision to demolish shanties along the state’s shorelines.

The government move is coming in response to the recent kidnappings in the state, some of which were carried out through the waterways. A fresh incident featured the kidnap of school children and staff of the Lagos State Model College, Epe.

Governor Ambode, who gave the order during an inspection tour of state projects, said government was poised to go all out against kidnappers through tougher legislations.

He said: “Most of the issues that we have with kidnappings are actually being brought up by those who are illegal settlers by the waterfront. We will commence demolition of all the shanties around the creeks in Lagos State and also around our waterways in the next seven days. We will not allow a few set of people who come into Lagos and stay on our waterfront illegally and then use it as anopportunity to kidnap our people.

“I believe that the era of kidnapping has come to an end. We are going to review our laws and I can tell you sincerely that we will deal with kidnappers squarely in Lagos from this moment onwards.”

But the governor’s statement and resolve have apparently not gone down well with the over 70 waterfront settlement communities in the state, who have come together as a group to resist the open threat to their livelihoods and places of abode.

In what looks like a damning letter to the governor, the waterfront dwellers, operating under the aegis of their umbrella body, the Nigeria Slum/Informal Settlements Federation, have denounced the governor’s announcement (made on Sunday, October 9, 2016), and even demanded an immediate retraction of the seven-day notice given to them.

Part of the letter, titled “Demand for immediate retraction of seven-day notice to waterfront communities across Lagos State” and dated Tuesday, October 11, 2016, states:

“With due respect your excellency, we a movement comprising the poorest residents of Lagos State from over 70 informal settlements – and ever growing.

“We have come together knowing that our unity is our strength, to seek partnership with government to protect our dignity and bring development to our community.

“Consequently, and with heavy hearts we hereby denounce your excellency’s announcement of 9 October and demand official, immediate retraction. We have no choice but to suspend all dialogue until such notice is retracted.

“Should this notice not be retracted by end of the day on 12 October 2016, we shall use this medium to inform your excellency that we will be embarking on mass protest across the state.”

The letter was endorsed by representatives of communities such as Ofin (Ikorodu), Itun Agan, Tomaro, Baiyeku (Ikorodu), Ajagbe Sari Iganmu, Mosafejo Oworonshoki, Oko Agbon, and Irede.

President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has assured the citizenry of the Senate’s commitment to universal access to clean cooking energy in Nigeria. He made the declaration recently in Abuja while hosting  members of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (NACC), who paid him a courtesy call.

National Coordinator of the NACC, Ewah Otu Eleri, told the audience that over 95,000 Nigerians, mostly women and children, die annually as a result of smoke from the kitchen.

He said: “Smoke from the kitchen is the highest killer of Nigerians, after malaria and HIV/AIDS. Cooking should not kill.” He urged the Senate President and other Senators in attendance to support the goal of 10 million clean solutions for delivery to Nigerian households and institutions by 2020.

“Nigeria has all it takes to achieve universal access to clean cooking. Our country is one of the world’s largest producer and exporter of cooking gas, known as LPG. Despite that, only about five percent of households in our country use cooking gas,” Mr Eleri added.

Daniel Isiocha, a manager with Techno Oil Limited, producers of LPG, disclosed that the establishment is currently constructing a cylinder manufacturing plant in Lagos and has just commissioned the building of a gas terminal.

He lamented that the switching cost to LPG is very expensive, even as he urged Dr Saraki to support the use of part of the current spending on kerosene subsidies for LPG. According to Mr Isiocha, this would lower the cost of LPG and ensure more Nigerians have access to clean cooking fuel that is produced locally.

Musa Raymond, Managing Director of Musa Raymond Nigeria Limited, told the audience that his firm produces about half a million clean cooking stoves annually. “With better access to finance and stronger demand, especially from government-owned facilities such as schools and prisons, my company can produce millions of stoves and employ more Nigerians. Access to finance is the biggest challenge,” he disclosed.

Addressing the Senate President, Adako Kwanashie, a clean clean cookstoves entrepreneur based in Kaduna State, told the story of his small stove producing company. “I employ five local artisans, mostly potters and metal workers. If the government had facilitated more demand for our products, for instance through an awareness campaign, we will sell more stoves and can employ up to one hundred young people,” he explained.

He added that small clean cooking businesses require a supportive policy environment to expand the market for cleaning cooking in the country.

With the Senate President were Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Climate Change), Senator Sam Egwu (Chairman, Senate Committee on Industry) and Senator Rose Oko (Member, Senate Committee on Environment and Climate Change).

In his response, Dr Saraki assured the NACC delegation that clean cooking was close to his heart. “At the Senate, we shall step up actions to expand access to clean cooking. It is a fact that, apart from saving lives, the use of clean cookstoves would also help to create jobs for our people. We are particularly happy that the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is focusing on made-in-Nigeria cooking solutions,” he said.

The Senate President promised to work with his colleagues in the Senate to explore opportunities to use legislation to expand access to clean cooking energy in the country. According to him, himself and his colleagues would work to promote made-in-Nigeria clean cooking products. He urged Senator Oluremi Tinubu to work with NACC to determine the kind of actions the Senate can take to support the goals of the Alliance.

“As a child, I’ll go across Lake Chad on a hovercraft and think I’m going to England, today it’s a poodle.”

Those are the words of Minister of Environment, Amina J Mohammed. That was many years ago. But, today, the story is different. Climate change has exacerbated the shrinking of Lake Chad since the 1960s from a total area of 25,000 km2 in 1963 to about less than 3,501 km2, according to Scientific American 2001. As a result of this, sources of livelihood and income have been cut short, causing conflict and unrest in the surrounding area. There is even the possibility that this is one of the causes of Boko Haram.

Climate change is upon us all, it is no respecter of person, status, country and region. Africa, that did not contribute to historical and present emissions, is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. The continent has seen an increase in droughts, water stress, inequality, flooding and other negative effects of global warming and climate change.

What scares me the most are women, youth and the poorest people who are often marginalised. What will they do? How will they cope?

Islands are already disappearing; each successive month is declared hotter than the previous; July 2016 was the hottest month in the world’s record according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

“It appears almost a certainty that 2016 also will be the warmest year on record,” according to GISS director, Gavin Schmidt.

This warming is affecting Nigeria gravely with increase in desertification in the Northern states, salt water intrusion as well as flooding in the south and destruction of coastal communities by storm surges. Action has to be taken urgently by developed countries to reduce their emissions.

Following the success of the Paris Agreement and its entry into force just before the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco from the 7th -18th of November 2016, more sanctions and actions have to be taken, as countries are still opening coal plants.

How are we going to curb emissions and limit temperature increase with such developments?

To put temperature increase to 1.5℃ might be a bit too late as research already shows a 1℃ increase from pre-industrial levels in 2015. The temperature of the first months in 2016 was said to be about 1.38℃ – 1.4℃, showing that the possibility of warming reaching and exceeding 2℃ is likely, sooner than we thought.

Carbon Brief in an analysis stated that we have fivve more years before we finish our 1.5℃ budget. What is worrisome is that the difference of .5℃ would bring about more calamities that are detrimental to ecosystems and the environment.

Throughout this year global awareness of climate change has been at its peak. A video on climate change was shown at the opening of the Olympics, the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly created a platform for countries to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement and, finally, Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio produced a movie on climate change.

Is this enough for developed countries and emerging economies like India, Brazil and China to reduce their emissions? Ecosystems are already at risk and species are disappearing – should we wait till it’s too late before drastic climate action is taken?

By Chinma George (Climate finance consultant, @Chimz_green)