A total of 239,834 Nigerians who were displaced by the activities of insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states are still living as refugees in neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Republic of Chad and Niger Republic.
Nigerian refugees in Chad
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), over 100,000 displaced Nigerians reside in Niger, while the second largest number of refugees was in Cameroon.
Quoting from a recently released humanitarian intervention report by NEMA, the agency’s Head for Media and Public Relations, Mr. Sani Datti, in a statement issued on Monday, said, “There are presently 20,804 displaced Nigerians living in the Republic of Chad; 80,709 in the Republic of Cameroon; and 138,321 in the Republic of Niger.”
He noted that about 29,581 displaced Nigerians who fled their communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to Republic of Niger and Cameroon voluntarily returned last year. Datti stated that 13,046 Nigerian returnees came from Niger Republic in May 2015 and were received in Geidam, Yobe State.
According to him, between April and December 2015, NEMA received about 16,595 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Cameroon through the Sahuda border crossing area near Mubi, Adamawa State.
Datti said, “Some of the Nigerians that fled to neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon were provided with humanitarian relief support by the Federal Government of Nigeria through NEMA, to alleviate their suffering.
“The displaced Nigerians have also received humanitarian support from the host governments, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the host communities and Nigerian citizens living in the three host countries.”
Datti noted that the agency adopted a monthly Humanitarian Coordination Meeting, a forum which consists of relevant Federal Government agencies, UN systems and international non-governmental organisations.
The forum, he said, undertakes analysis on causes of humanitarian situations, conducts need assessments, identifies and provides humanitarian interventions based on its respective mandates. “The report added that due to the successes recorded by the Nigerian military with the support of Multi-National Joint Military Task Force in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents, the humanitarian dashboard is fast changing,” Datti said in the statement.
He noted that focus was gradually shifting towards reconstruction, rehabilitation, resettlement, recovery and dignified return of IDPs back home, while the process for the return of Nigerian refugees from neighbouring countries were equally on-going.
The comprehensive guide on how to formulate effective Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in developing countries, produced in 2013 by the United Nations development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Framework Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and the UNEP DTU Partnership (formerly the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Risø Centre), has now been updated. The adoption of the Paris Agreement and related national climate action plans, more known as NDCs, called for an update of the NAMA guidance document to bring clarity to the relevance of NAMAs in the Paris Agreement.
The original group of institutions collaborated with the NAMA Facility to produce the updated document entitled “Guidance for NAMA Design in the context of NDC implementation,” which was launched at a side event held on the margins of COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco
The original group of institutions collaborated with the NAMA Facility to produce the updated document entitled “Guidance for NAMA Design in the context of NDC implementation,” which was launched at a side event held on the margins of COP 22 in Marrakech. Two countries who have re-envisioned their NAMAs in the new Post-Paris landscape, Costa Rica and Lebanon, shared their experiences at the event, which also featured presentations by UNDP, New Climate Institute and the UNFCCC on the importance of NAMAs to support NDC implementation.
NAMAs represent a valuable opportunity for developing countries to address greenhouse gas emissions while remaining true to their sustainable development priorities and needs. Indeed, many countries have already developed NAMAs as instruments for participating in the global mitigation agenda, and as a means of leveraging national and international support for more effective and transformational climate actions. In light of the Paris Agreement, these NAMAs have gained recognition as a formidable vehicle to achieve NDC targets.
The updated document as well as further information on NAMAs can be found here.
The UNEP DTU Partnership, a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark, UNEP and the Technical University of Denmark, is a UNEP Collaborating Centre as well as a research and advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development.
The UNEP DTU Partnership is comprised of two centers: the Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development; and the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (the Energy Efficiency hub, under SE4ALL).
The Partnership assists developing countries transition towards more low carbon development paths, and supports the integration of climate-resilience into national development. The Partnership’s is located in the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has a team of more than 60 scientists and economists from 20 countries.
The first-ever United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference ended on Sunday in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, with more than 50 countries endorsing the “Ashgabat Statement on Commitments and Policy Recommendations,”’ with a view to supporting cleaner, greener transportation – from local transit systems to worldwide multimodal networks.
Group photo with the participants of the Ashgabat United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Turkmenistan. Photo credit: UN/Amanda Voisard
“The Conference has reinforced the importance of sustainable transport and has shown it is a shared global task,” said Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, at the closing ceremony.
“Sustainable transport solutions are key to leaving no one behind, securing prosperity, enabling access to services and protecting the environment,” concluded Mr. Wu, adding that “without sustainable transport, there will be no lasting progress on climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Noting the many encouraging success stories delegates had shared at the two-day conference, Mr. Wu said more needed to be done, including mobilising trillions of dollars in investments and implementing legal, regulatory and governance frameworks. He also underlined the need to continue and strengthen capacity-building to developing countries.
“We have identified areas for regional and international cooperation and shared far-reaching policy recommendations,” he said. “We have, collectively and individually, identified concrete actions to move the world towards the new and essential paradigm of sustainable transport. Looking ahead, we must use our shared understanding to advance sustainable transport for all, by delivering on our commitments, forging new alliances and transforming our policies.”
He added that policy decisions needed to meet the needs of all in a low-carbon manner, requiring integrating transport modes and tapping into technological opportunities to bring the fundamental, transformative changes.
Stakeholders endorse “Ashgabat Statement”
Concluding the two-day conference with the so-called “Ashgabat Statement,” participants stressed the need to promote the integration of science, technology and innovation into sustainable transport systems by tapping into technological opportunities in the decades to come, in order to bring about fundamental, transformative changes to transport systems.
This, they said, can be achieved through the use of energy-efficient technology, as well as information and communications technology, as they called for strengthening capacity-building support to developing countries.
They also welcomed stakeholders who had developed and launched sustainable transport initiatives, and called on all stakeholders to continue to seek collaborative partnerships for new, innovative, sustainable transport paradigms.
Also during the closing ceremony, Igor Runov, UN Under-Secretary-General and Head of the International Road Transport Union, presented the summary of the Transport Business Forum, which had been held earlier in the day.
Three other events held on Sundy focused on transport safety, the needs of countries in special situations – mostly least developed countries – and avenues for financing sustainable transport.
“Sustainable transport is a challenge for all countries, but countries in special situations, including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states, face particular obstacles,” said Gyan Chandra Acharya, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative dealing with the needs of those countries (UN-OHRLLS), in his opening remarks to an event focused on sustainable transport and transit solutions in countries in special situations.
Developing countries face challenges in financing sustainable transport systems
Among the challenges highlighted by the panelists, and which, they acknowledged, must be addressed in order to achieve sustainable development in these countries, include high transport cost, restricted access to the sea, limited air service for passengers and cargo, and difficulties securing investments and partnerships.
“There are, altogether, about 1.1 billion people in these countries, so when we look at the global programmes, global solutions, as well as global development frameworks, we have to look at those countries if we want to leave no one behind, and make it inclusive of all,” noted Mr. Acharya, referring to the rallying call of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The conference brought together key stakeholders from Governments, the UN system and other international organisations, the private sector, and civil society to engage in a dialogue that emphasises the integrated and cross-cutting nature of sustainable transport and its multiple roles in supporting the achievement of the SDGs. All modes of transport – road, rail, aviation, ferry and maritime – were addressed.
The Northeast region of Nigeria has suffered severe humanitarian crisis as a result of Boko Haram insurgency. This resulted in drastic decline in socio-economic activities including farming, pastoralism, commerce and social interactions among the populace especially in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Women and children in a IDPs camp. The displacement was informed by the Boko Haram insurgency. Photo credit: channelstv.com
Similarly, there has been unprecedented displacement of persons from the region to safer areas in Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, and others including the Federal Capital Territory.
According to a Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) developed by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with NEMA https://nigeria.iom.int/dtm as a means of collecting and disseminating data on IDPs, about 389,281 persons were displaced in 2013; 868,335 in 2014; 1,846,999 in 2015 and 1,822,541 as at October 2016.
The Humanitarian Coordination Forum (HCF), consisting of relevant Federal Government agencies, UN agencies and International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs), was adopted both at the national and state levels. The forum meets monthly under the coordination of NEMA to analyse and proffer solutions to humanitarian situations. A platform for coordinating efforts of all humanitarian actors and daily administration at the camps (Camp Coordination and Camp Management) was also created.
There are currently 18 formal internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps in Borno State; seven in Yobe State and four in Adamawa State, while there are 16 satellite camps in the liberated areas of Borno State.
Furthermore, to address the humanitarian challenges in the North East, the Federal Government through NEMA established cells in Maiduguri and sub-cells in Yola, Adamawa State and Damaturu, Yobe State, in collaboration with the military. This was to create access for aid workers to provide the much needed assistance to the IDPs and open a safe corridor for local people that escaped Boko Haram occupations and repentant militants to move into safety.
NEMA set up Operations Office in Gombe and Adamawa states to cater for the influx of IDPs and those taking refuge in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states and also deployed its staff to Maiduguri and the Humanitarian sub-cells in Damaturu and Yola to provide support and assistance to IDPs.
To complement the efforts of the affected state governments as well as cushion the effects of humanitarian challenges, especially on food security and nutrition, NEMA has been providing food items to the IDPs in the camps. To also ensure the steady supply of these food and Non-Food items (NFIs), NEMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Borno and Yobe states.
It has equally entered into a mutual agreement with Adamawa state government on the provision of relief materials to IDPs. The agency also provided drugs to some major hospitals in the zones and deployed medical team and equipment to the Northeast to support the provision of Medicare to the IDPs while providing working tools for IDPs with expertise in selected skills.
NEMA has regularly received returnees from neighboring countries who fled the country due to the insurgency and presented humanitarian relief assistance to them. The agency encourages corporate and individual donors to provide support to the North East region by delivering humanitarian aid directly to affected states.
NEMA is also a part of the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative (PCNI), the Victims Support Fund (VSF), and the Safe School Initiative (SSI), all initiatives of the Federal Government put together to support IDPs in the North East.
In summary, NEMA has provided support to the affected populations living in camps, liberated areas, and host communities and to the refugees across the borders. However, the humanitarian landscape is fast changing due to the successes recorded by the Nigerian Army with the support of Multi-National Joint Military Task Force (MJTF) in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.
The focus is gradually shifting towards Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Resettlement, Recovery and dignified return of IDPs back home while process for the return of Nigerian refugees from neighboring countries is equally on-going. This is a cross-cutting, multi-stakeholding, multi-disciplinary and cost intensive endeavor requiring support from all stakeholders.
It is interesting to mention that while local and international humanitarian responders including the UN system and public spirited individuals have given valuable support towards overcoming the humanitarian crisis in the Northeast, there is no doubt that the Federal Government has played the greatest role in this endeavor.
NEMA will continue to support and work towards bridging the identified gaps in humanitarian response through enhanced coordination, capacity building and strengthening of collaboration with the affected states and relevant stakeholders including line MDAs, local and international response organisations and the UN system.
By Sani Datti (Head of Information Unit and Public Affairs at NEMA)
Nigeria Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Pa Lamin Beyai, has said that the uniqueness of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) lies in its decentralised grants awards decision-making which is based on strategic direction by a voluntary National Steering Committee (NSC) in each participating country.
Nigeria Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Pa Lamin Beyai (second from left); Elizabeth Olofin (representing the NSC) (left); Kusimo David of the Department of Planning, Research & Statistics, GEF Desk Office (representing Director and GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Amos Tanko Ibrahim) (second right); and National Coordinator of the GEF-SGP, Mrs Ibironke Olabamise (right), at the event in Abuja last Wednesday
Dr Beyai made the submission in Abuja on Wednesday, 23 November 2016, at a ceremony to appreciate and inaugurate old and new NSC member of the GEF-SGP.
“The strength of the GEF-SGP depends on the effort of the NSC members,” he said. “I therefore look forward to a very outstanding support of every member of the NSC to take SGP yet to higher levels of achievements.”
He pointed out that even though the grant amount is small compared to the country’s size as well as her environmental challenges, “yet the benefits of Nigeria participating in UNDP GEF-SGP are worthy of note.”
He listed these to include:
Participation of local, poor, marginalised communities in GEF for environmental benefits and livelihood enhancement,
Utilisation of GEF opportunities for maximum impact on the citizens,
To enhance UNDP Country Programme from the grassroots,
Unique, transparent delivery mechanism, and
Opportunities for resource mobilisation from remote donors.
According to him, about 116 projects have so far been supported in Nigeria, adding that close to 10 organisational and individual awards have been recorded as thousands of community dwellers have benefited as well as taken active part in project design and implementation.
Beyai said: “One major outcome of this is project sustainability because the communities took ownership of these projects. In relation to the UNDP Country Office, SGP complements UNDP national policy support programmes with the community initiatives that support advocacy and campaigns to feed into national policy development processes.
“Based on the global practice of GEF-SGP, the operational structure involves the set up of an NSC and the National Coordinator who works with the support and within the framework of each UNDP Country Office.”
While the GEF-SGP started in 1992, Nigeria was admitted into the programme in 2006. Three years later, a National Coordinator was engaged to manage the programme.
The National Coordinator, Mrs Ibironke Olabamise, described the GEF-SGP as the third component of the GEF which provides grants to poor and marginalised communities through national non-govenmental organisations and community-based organisations (NGOs/CBOs) to implement local environmental initiatives that also enhance their livelihood while achieving global environmental benefits.
Members of the new NSC of the UNDP/GEF SGP, with Pa Lamin Beyai, Kushimo David and Ronke Olabamise after the swearing in ceremony
She said: “The NSC, chaired by the UNDP Resident Representative, is the highest national organ of the SGP operational structure. It provides strategic direction as well as professional support to the programme in accordance with the Country Programme Strategy an in line with the global best practices of the GEF-SGP.
“The members of the NSC are composed of institutional representatives of some of the GEF implementing partners and also individuals who have distinguished themselves in their areas of expertise and have been seen to be contributing to national development and who are willing to deploy their expertise and experience for the achievement of national and global goals of the GEF-SGP.”
Director and GEF Operational Focal Point (OFP) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Amos Tanko Ibrahim, said the office is impressed with NGOs/CBOs relationship with the ministry and GEF-SGP, which he referred to as “GEF’s heart and our ministry’s heart too as environmental benefits are watered down through to our poor and marginalised communities.”
Ibrahim, who was represented by Kusimo David of the Department of Planning, Research & Statistics, GEF Desk Office, added: “Our national priorities and environmental agenda have been aligned with the visions of GEF around its thematic operational areas meant to enhance livelihood.
“We appreciate your efforts and wish to state our commitment to continue to support your programmes and activities in order to achieve the envisioned sustainable environment in tandem with the ideals of sustainable development. Our vision is Small Grants Programme with investment opportunities embedded to ensure job creation and the empowerment of our people at all levels of development in line with the present government’s economic diversification.”
Members of the new NSC include: Betty Abah, Yinka Agidee, Esther Agbarakwe, Amos Abu, Elizabeth Olofin, Huzi Mshelia, Angela Odah, Festus Eguaoje, Prof. Olukayode Oladipo, Michael Simire, Aisha Bello Mustapha and Odigha Odigha.
Established in 1992, the year of the Rio Summit, the GEF-SGP is the third component of GEF, which is the financial mechanism that provides funds for countries to address global environmental issues and also the largest funder of environmental projects. The GEF-SGP is said to embody the very essence of sustainable development by “thinking globally, acting locally”. By providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people’s well-being and livelihoods, SGP demonstrates that community action can maintain the balance between human needs and environmental imperatives.
According to Beyai, the SGP recognises that environmental degradation such as the destruction of ecosystems and the species that depend upon them, increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, pollution of international waters, land degradation and the spread of persistent organic pollutants are life-threatening challenges that endanger humanity.
“However, poor and vulnerable communities – SGP’s primary stakeholders – are most at risk because they depend on access to natural resources for their livelihoods and often live in fragile ecosystems,” he stated, adding:
“The programme supports activities of NGOs and CBOs in developing countries by providing grants of up to $50,000 directly to local communities including indigenous people, CBOs and other non-governmental groups for projects in Biodiversity, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management, International Waters and Chemicals.
“At present, 130 countries participate in SGP having ratified the Conventions on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Climate Change (UNFCCC). There are 84 country offices, two regional offices, and two sub-regional offices with day-to-day management by SGP National Coordinators.
“The current overall SGP project portfolio comprises 60% biodiversity, 20% climate change, 6% international waters, and 14% multi-focus. To date, the GEF-SGP has invested $450 million and leveraged similar levels of co-financing supporting over 14,500 community-based projects in over 125 countries. The maximum grant amount per project is $50,000, but averages around $20,000. Grants are channeled directly to CBOs and NGOs.”
It is time to face the fact that the Congo Basin forests will increasingly be threatened as development needs of member countries surges if urgent measures are not put in place to harmonise development challenges and conservation, experts have warned.
The Congo Basin Forest
The Congo Basin forest, which holds more than 25 billion tons of carbon and thousands of animal and plant species, is today impacted directly and indirectly by industrialisation, with palm oil plantations taking the lead.
“We need to step out of the conservation box and work with the different stakeholders to balance environmental needs with socioeconomic requirements,” pointed out Jef Dupain, Regional Director, Central and Western Africa at the African Wildlife Foundation.
Speaking at a panel discussion on industrial agriculture and Apes Conservation at the Congo Basin Forest Partnership meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, experts agreed there was a need to guide development actions and encourage best practices for sustainable resource conservation.
“The expansion of industrial palm oil plantations into the habitat of endangered animal species like apes in the Congo Basin forest area has become evident,” said Bas Verhage of WWF citing the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The book accordingly examines the interface between ape conservation and industrial agriculture in the Congo Basin and West Africa and notes that Ape habitats like that of other species in sub-Saharan Africa are seriously threatened. It more specifically explores the drivers behind the agricultural expansion and addresses ways to minimise and mitigate its impact on biodiversity.
In Cameroon for example, the Dja forest reserve in the South of the country is seriously under threats from an expanding rubber plantation just like the Ebo forest in the Littoral region is facing challenges from growing palms plantation.
The case of some 142,000-hectare Ebo forest that sits less than 150 kilometers from the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde and even closer to Douala, both cities with populations of over two million, is seriously under threat. Like Korup National Park and the Dja Reserve, Ebo is also home to a wide variety of wildlife, including the rare Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee and the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus), a highly endangered baboon-like monkey that, until the 1980s, scientists had written off as extinct.
The conservation actors at the panel discussion called for an integrated cross-sector approach to national management that factor in development and conservation needs through building bridges and linkages between protected areas, spaces designed for production, infrastructure and mining activity.
“There is an urgent need to work towards reconciling the conservation and development visions so as to optimise land use. The concept of protecting of Congo Basin should also include opportunities for development and job creation. Conservation and development are closely linked rather than conflicting concepts. Thus conservation projects should be tailored and harnessed to provide solutions to development and employment challenges,” says Andreas Athanas, Programme Design Director, AWF, in an interview.
Experts agree transparency must be the watchword in the conservation and forest management industry in coming years to bolster and foster trust among stakeholders.
“There is a need to build a permanent platform for inclusive dialogue between the States, the private sector and other actors to create an enabling environment and ensure transparency,” Athanas said.
Nigerian entertainer, Yemi Alade, has taken the lead in spreading Shell’s #makethefuture campaign which aims to inspire youths and entrepreneurs for bright energy ideas that can help in the global quest for more and cleaner energy.
Shell #makethefuture ambassador, Yemi Alade (middle), flanked by Shell Kenya Country Chair, Brian Muriuki (right), and GravityLight co-inventor, Jim Reeves, with students of Daraja Academy, Kenya during the Shell #makethefuture 50 Nights Tour, last week
The multiple award nominee and winner of the 2015 MTV African Music Award for Best Female Artist joined Shell-organised 50 Night tour of Kenya last week to celebrate the benefits and installation of GravityLight in some Kenya communities after she united with Oscar-winner, Jennifer Hudson, and four other music stars in Rio, Brazil on Best Day of My Life music video for #makethefuture.
GravityLight, one of seven energy ideas celebrated in Rio, Brazil in October by Shell, offers a clean, safe, affordable and reliable alternative to other fuel sources including kerosene lamps, which are used in homes by millions of families in Africa, including Nigeria. The low-carbon innovation does not need batteries or sunlight and costs nothing to run. It works by connecting an elevated bag filled with 12kg of rocks or sand to a pulley system. Each time the weight descends to the ground it powers a generator to create 20 minutes of light.
“The event in Kenya brings closer home how innovations and collaborations can help bridge the energy divide in the face of a rapidly growing global population,” said the Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor. He added, “By continuing the conversation on providing a wider, more sustainable mix of energy resources for the world’s growing population, Shell is provoking thoughts on tomorrow’s solution, and supporting young entrepreneurs through our 13-year-old LiveWIRE programme.”
Speaking on the relevance of her music to Shell bright energy ideas campaign, Yemi Alade said her music offered a good platform to draw attention to the energy needs of the world with strong appeal to engaged millennials who form the bulk of her fans. “Music offers a good platform and this is particularly true in Nigeria where we are working hard to provide the energy the nation badly needs to develop. In my music, I try to encourage people to look at the innovative side of life and this is what the ‘makethefuture seeks to achieve in the energy space. I’m pleased to be part of the energy train,” she said.
“GravityLight is really close to my heart as it’s an invention that solves a problem I know only too well. For many years as a girl, I had to use candles and kerosene lamps for hours while studying at night. Now with GravityLight, people have a safer way to study and families can have quality time in evenings. Being part of #makethefuture has been amazing – I’ve seen how it changed lives in Rio, and it’s moving to see it do that again in my home continent,” she added.
Other bright energy innovations being supported by Shell are:
Bio-bean – which explores how to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions from transport by turning coffee dregs into a sustainable transport fuel,
Capture Mobility – demonstrates how roadside turbulence from cars and trucks can generate clean power for local communities,
MotionECO – uses waste cooking oil to help to create a market for renewable diesel in China (in transport, public services and logistics) and discourage the harmful reuse of cooking oil,
Pavegen – converts power from footsteps into renewable energy that can power a community, and
Shell Eco-marathon – a global competition that sees students design ultra-efficient cars, and challenges them to see which can travel furthest on one litre of fuel.
Thomas Kuhn was the first scientist to use the term paradigm shift in his influential book titled, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” in 1962. He opined that “a successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual development of mature science.” Kuhn maintained that, as paradigm shifts via revolution, multiple prosperity and some anomalies come with it. It is clearly evident that the continuous drop in oil price by more than 40% since June 2014 when it was $115 a barrel, which now is below $70, after five years of stability is deterring Nigeria government from coping with spending commitment and thereby increasing government borrowing both home and abroad.
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun
Though crude oil has contributed immensely to Nigeria’s revenue since its discovery at Oloibiri in 1956, research has shown that, for a nation to attain the pinnacle of her success, its economy has to be diversified. Diversification does not come in a vacuum; sustainable development of other sectors of the economy cannot be achieved if we continue to romance the current mono product economy. As we all know that diversification will birth solid economic growth and this in turn will bring about a lot of prosperities for the nation; we should also not forget the fact that every paradigm shift comes with its own anomalies. That is the reason why this essay seeks to explicitly analyse the successes and challenges that come with diversification.
Foremost, it is germane to state clearly that one of the goods that come with diversification is improved human resource management. Due to the inability of the oil sector to employ a large number of our talented graduates, they tend to find succor in seeking greener pasture in advanced countries of the world at the detriment of our nation’s development. The development of other sectors of the economy will give room for efficient human resource management and this will also help identify and trap best brains that will catapult the nation to the brim of her success.
Unemployment will be a thing of the past if we can shift paradigm from a mono economy to a diversified one. The oil sector could only employ limited number of the population and worst still, only experts, leaving the rest to wander in disarray. History has shown that the agrarian economy of the 1960s employed 70% of the Nigerian population. So, there is no doubt in our mind that unemployment in Nigeria will be reduced significantly if the economy is diversified. Also, crime in its various forms such as kidnapping, robbery, scamming, and forgery will be reduced to nadir as these sectors will meaningfully engage the teaming population.
Furthermore, economic growth and development will be achieved. Economic growth according to Wikipedia, brings about increase in a country’s real level of national output which can be caused by an increase in the quality and quantity of resources and improvement in technology, that is, the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to population. Economic growth usually gives way for economic development, which in turn helps to ensure maximum quality of life through availability of social and infrastructural facilities such as pipe-borne water, uninterrupted power supply, improved healthcare delivery, and good road network among others.
There will be an increase in foreign exchange earnings through exportation of commodities that outsourced importation. The development of other sectors will strengthen our local markets and thereby helping our currency to appreciate over others. Most of the products consumed in the country will be locally made and this will help put a stop to excess importation of finished product. There is, however, a need to encourage Nigerians to patronize made in Nigeria products so as to grow Nigeria. Naira will only appreciate if local production and consumption are greatly encouraged.
In continuation, paradigm shift from a mono economy to a diversified economy will bring about an effective and efficient use of resources. Most of the raw materials needed by manufacturing industries to better the lives of the people are available in abundant in Nigeria. Tapping from these abounding resources will not only bring about increase in the country’s income per head, that is, per capita income but will help put a stop to unending importation of goods and services that has crippled our development as a nation. Extractive industries no doubt will have enough raw materials to tap from.
The diversification of other sectors will help boost foreign investment thereby motivating foreign investors to invest their capital heavily in domestic companies or other domestic assets. However, local industries will have access to necessary resources needed both in cash and kind to increase production and at the same time produce quality goods and services.
More so, we should not forget the fact that Kuhn maintained that there are anomalies for all paradigm, which the Nigerian economic revolution (diversification) may not be an exception. Some of the challenges that may come with diversification of the Nigerian economy include; challenge of inclusion, corruption, sustainability, environmental quality, educational training and management system among others.
A challenge of inclusion, however, is an international concept addressing how we can involve the grassroots in developmental plans without making them poorer. Thus, if diversification is not well managed, the only people that would largely benefits from it would be the upper and middle class. One of the reasons why policies failed in the past are because we use the top-bottom approach instead of bottom-up approach to solve problems rather than consulting them to know what they truly want. The fear now is that such act may continue.
In addition, corruption is the bane of every society. The reason why the mono product economy failed to be the answer to solving the puzzle facing us as a nation is because corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of this nation and if we fail to kill corruption, corruption will one day kill us and render the diversification of the economy useless. If this problem is not addressed, some cabals will still be looting the country’s treasury which may in turn affect the success of the economic revolution.
It is certain that environmental quality will be threatened. Extractive industries have high capacity of degrading the environment. Environmental degradation ranging from oil spillage, indiscriminate felling of trees, air and water pollution will be on the rise and this will be deleterious to the environment, aquatic and man’s health.
As if that is not enough, it is worrisome that the system of education cages graduates without giving them the opportunity of thinking outside the box. We might need to start outsourcing experts from outside the country to establish and manage these sectors, increasing the competition for job amongst our youth. Sustainability is also an important factor that must be looked into. How do we sustain the projects such that we don’t leave diversification again to concentrate on a particular field? How do we ensure that the sectors selected would be sustainably managed such that it lasts generations? These are issues that must be well addressed if we are to get it right.
We should not forget that management system borders most of the challenges. We have not proven a good track record of management in Nigeria. How do we make sure the systems to be created are not just running but have limited negative trends on the people and the country at large?
In conclusion, it is apparent that the exploration and exploitation of crude oil resources brings more anomalies to us than blessing. As such, diversification from such sector via revolution to other sectors of the economy to achieve more economic prosperity must be ascertained. Even if some challenges that can easily be dealt with will be experienced as stated by Kuhn, we must not underestimate the unending prosperities that come with it. That is why Professor Wole Soyinka submits that “I am convinced that Nigeria would have been a more highly developed country without the oil. I wished we’d never smelled the fumes of petroleum.” God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
By Alabede Surajdeen (environmentalist and political commentator; alabedekayode@gmail.com; @BabsSuraj)
Senior Special Assistant to the Benue State Governor on Public Utilities, Sanitation and Environment, Nathaniel Ikyur has stated that the state government is set to partner with some companies to create wealth from waste.
Outcome of waste-to-wealth: Paper bags from waste paper
According to Ikyur, who spoke after a special Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) sanitation exercise held over the weekend at the NUJ House in Makurdi in his honour, in the next few weeks, the Benue State Government would go into partnership with the companies in order to help Benue and her citizens generate wealth from waste.
“Waste generation and disposal should be properly managed and that is what the government wants to do through the partnership,” he stressed.
Ikyur, who also called for all hands to be on deck to help the government in salvaging the sanitation situation in the state, noted that partnering with the NUJ to carry out the monthly sanitation exercise would further publicise and sell the idea to the public, as there is every need for attitudinal change towards sanitation and waste management.
In his address, the Vice Chairman of the Council, Martins Kajo, stated that the union decided to partner with the SSA considering the importance of sanitation, adding that there is need to carry out sanitation every week instead of just once a month.
According to Kajo, cleaning the environment is ideal in enhancing a healthy society, therefore, the union decided to come out and clean the environment and support one of theirs in his efforts in sanitising the environment in Makurdi.
Also speaking, Chairman NUJ Correspondents Chapel, Aloysius Umalo, said they came out to carry out the sanitation exercise as a mark of living up to the tenets of supporting a clean environment.
He said, “It is our duty as journalists to inform the masses of sanitation and it is also our duty to help in sanitising the environment by taking part in sanitation.”
In his submission, a veteran journalist with Radio Benue, Dr. Fidelis Otebe, who stated that change begins with one, noted that a clean environment is a healthy one therefore, as journalists, they need to show example by cleaning the environment.
He maintained that as the watchdog of the society, journalists too have a role to play in educating the public on the need to keep the environment clean as well as take part in doing it physically.
It will be recalled that at a recent meeting of the Union’s State Working Committee (SWC) and State Executive Council (SEC), members appraised the sanitary conditions in Makurdi which they attributed to the environmental activities of Ikyur.
According to the union, a letter of commendation has since been delivered to Ikyur and, in support of his efforts, they decided to hold a special sanitation exercise as a mark of honour and a means to encourage his good performance.
In another development, General Manager Benue State Environmental Sanitation Agency (BENSESA), Andrew Chile, while addressing journalists after the monthly sanitation exercise in his office, stated that the agency has put modalities in place to curb the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in Makurdi.
According to him, over 60 defaulters were last week arrested carrying out indiscriminate dumping of refuse and made to carry out the cleaning of the said areas to serve as deterrent.
He added that they have liaised with security agencies with clear instructions on arrests and those arrested next will be sorry for themselves as very drastic measures are coming ahead to address indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Earlier this year, a project in Iceland reported an apparent breakthrough in the safe underground storage of the principal greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide – an option likely to be necessary if we’re to solve our global warming problem.
A core sample from research conducted to sequester carbon dioxide in basalt rocks. The white areas within the dark basalt rock core sample show where the carbon dioxide has reacted with minerals in the basalt and converted into a carbonate mineral similar to limestone. Photo credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The Carbfix project, run by a leading Icelandic producer of geothermal power, Reykjavik Energy, announced that it had successfully injected 250 tons of carbon dioxide, dissolved in water, into an underground repository of volcanic rocks called basalts – and that the carbon carbon dioxide hadn’t just stayed there. No – it was way better than that. Instead the carbon dioxide had apparently become one with the basalt, undergoing a fast chemical reaction and forming a type of rock called a carbonate in two years’ time.
That’s a big deal because it means the gas would not escape back to the atmosphere again even if the underground repository were somehow compromised. And now, a group of American researchers has taken the science even farther, once again suggesting that storing carbon dioxide stripped from industrial processes, or sucked from the atmosphere, in basalt rocks may be a key part of the solution to climate change.
Peter McGrail of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a branch of the Department of Energy, and his colleagues were also working on storing carbon dioxide in basalts, based upon small scale laboratory experiments showing the gas does bind with the rock. And they, like the Carbfix project, were ready to scale up and perform an actual injection, in this case 1,253 metres deep into basalts from the Columbia River region of Washington State.
In their results reported recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, they go beyond the Carbfix project in several key ways, McGrail said. First, they injected carbon dioxide in its fluid, supercritical form, which is most likely to be how it is received and transported from industrial projects. And second, after two years had passed, they took core samples of the rocks, using a battery of tests to prove definitively that the CO2 had indeed turned into a carbonate rock called ankerite, comprised of calcium, carbon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, and manganese.
This was a key demonstration because there are some carbonates that occur naturally in basalts, and so it was important to distinguish the new rock from what had already been there.
“We’d seen these things in the lab, but the field is often a case where your best laid plans and ideas from lab experiments fall apart, and just don’t work out,” said McGrail. “And the fact now that we’ve seen this after just two years with the exact really same things that we’ve seen in the laboratory, it’s a really significant result for us.”
In effect, what the researchers in both Iceland and Washington State were accomplishing was a high speed version of the geological process known as “weathering,” in which carbon dioxide very slowly becomes locked away in rock layers.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the study was the researchers’ ability to analyse the very carbon itself inside the rock samples that they recovered two years after injection. Here, they looked at the ratio of two “isotopes,” or slight variants, of carbon to one another. This way, they were able to show that the rock contained a higher ratio of the slightly lighter carbon 12, as opposed to the somewhat heavier carbon 13, thus showing a signature that matched up with the fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide that had originally been pumped into the earth.
“There is no other possible explanation,” said McGrail. “The only way that those carbonates had formed, it had to come from the CO2 that we injected.”
McGrail says that after this successful field test, the next step for the research will now be to scale up and start injecting even larger quantities of carbon dioxide into basalts, in volumes more representative of an industrial scale operation.
The new study is impressive, said Klaus Lackner, a researcher at Arizona State University who directs its Centre for Negative Carbon Emissions, where he is developing technologies to capture carbon dioxide from the ambient air all around us – a process that would have to be complemented by some form of long-term storage of the gas. Lackner knew the project was ongoing but was not involved in the work.
“Taking this study together with the Icelandic study, you see real progress toward making in situ mineralisation a high quality affordable carbon storage technology,” Lackner said. “Sure, there are more questions to answer, but these papers represent immense progress. The two studies complement and reinforce each other.”
Lackner added that “basalts on land and below the ocean floor are so abundant that if they can be pulled in, we have indeed unlimited storage capacity.”
McGrail’s vision appears slightly different, though. He believes that, much of the time, CO2 will be sequestered in geological repositories that contain it safely, but that do not react with it to form rock. However, he thinks that in key locations where basalts are available but other repositories are not, basalts will be used.
But Lackner stressed the advantage of having the carbon dioxide permanently become rock.
“There is a real value in being sure that storage is permanent on a geological time scale and that the carbon does not need any further monitoring,” he said. “Once you made carbonate there is no reason why it would revert again. You hit the thermodynamic ground state and it is very difficult to dislodge it from there.”
Either way, the new research appears to be another step along the way to a world in which, even if our industrial processes necessarily produce lots of carbon dioxide, we have other options than to just let it spill into the atmosphere.
