Following the decision of the Nigerian Environmental Study/ Action Team (NEST) Board at a meeting held on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, Professor Emmanuel Nzegbule has been appointed Executive Director at NEST. The appointment took effect from January 1, 2026.
Chairman of NEST, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, made the disclosure in a statement.
Nwajiuba disclosed that the decision to appoint a new Executive was taken in May 2025, after a careful consideration of what is best for NEST.
Prof. Emmanuel Nzegbule
Emmanuel Nzegbule, who takes up the appointment on a part-time basis, holds a doctorate degree and specialises in conservation ecology and environmental management. He has lectured in the university for many years.
According to Nwajiuba, Nzegbule previously held positions at NEST, including as a Senior Research Fellow and Board member. He led the implementation of national climate change response projects such as the Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC) and Climate Change Adaptation for Africa (CCAA) project.
Nzegbule has published many works on natural resources management, climate change solutions, and environmental governance. He is a fellow of the Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD), UK, a member of the Shalom Club and the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES).
“We expect Prof. Nzegbule to take up this responsibility with his usual commitment to service,” said Nwajiuba.
The global economy is undergoing rapid transformation. From January 1, 2026, exports of selected carbon-intensive goods into the European Union will be subject to a carbon price under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Officially framed as a climate instrument designed to prevent carbon leakage, CBAM in practice represents a profound reordering of global trade governance one with far-reaching implications for Africa’s industrial future.
At its core, CBAM redefines how competitiveness is determined in global markets. Competitiveness is no longer shaped primarily by productivity, cost efficiency, or technological capability. Instead, it is increasingly governed by regulatory carbon-intensity benchmarks designed, calibrated, and enforced in Europe.
Dr Okeh Austine Sadiq, lead author end Editor of the Carbon Free Africa Network
For African economies – many still in early or incomplete stages of industrialisation – this shift risks entrenching structural asymmetries rather than enabling a fair and development-aligned low-carbon transition. Decarbonisation is both necessary and unavoidable. The critical question, however, is how it is governed, who bears its costs, and whose development trajectories are constrained in the process. CBAM answers these questions in ways that expose the political economy of unequal decarbonisation.
Power, Governance, and Cost Shifting
CBAM operates by imposing a carbon price on imports equivalent to what European producers face under the EU Emissions Trading System. In theory, this is intended to “level the playing field.” In practice, it transfers the burden of adjustment onto exporting countries that neither designed the rules nor possess comparable fiscal, technological, or institutional capacity to comply with them.
For Africa, this is not a technical trade issue. It is a political economy problem concerning who governs decarbonisation and who pays for it. African exports of steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, and other energy-intensive products increasingly face non-tariff barriers rooted in emissions accounting, reporting, and verification systems that are costly to establish and maintain.
These compliance costs are rarely passed on to buyers in competitive markets. Instead, they are absorbed through price compression, declining margins, and reduced reinvestment capacity – directly undermining industrial competitiveness.
The asymmetry is structural. European industries have benefited from decades of industrial subsidies, infrastructure investment, and fossil-fuel-driven growth. African industries operate under conditions of constrained finance, infrastructure deficits, high energy costs, and limited access to clean technologies. Yet CBAM treats emissions intensity as a present-day technical attribute, stripped of its historical and developmental origins.
CBAM as a Disciplinary Trade Regime
Although presented as a climate measure, CBAM increasingly functions as a disciplinary trade instrument. Over time, its scope has expanded, reporting requirements have tightened, and verification demands have intensified. Proposals to extend CBAM to additional sectors and strengthen anti-circumvention rules further increase compliance pressures on exporters from the Global South. Crucially, this technical tightening has unfolded alongside political accommodations for European industry.
Debates on simplification, exemptions, and transitional relief have focused primarily on safeguarding internal competitiveness rather than easing the adjustment burden on external partners. This dual logic – rigour for outsiders, flexibility for insiders – reinforces perceptions of CBAM as a form of carbonised protectionism.
From a political economy perspective, CBAM allows Europe to advance its decarbonisation agenda while externalising a significant share of its transition costs. It internalises industrial benefits while shifting adjustment pressures onto economies with weaker bargaining power and negligible historical responsibility for climate change.
Africa’s Developmental Baseline of Low Emissions, High Vulnerability
Africa contributes less than 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, despite accounting for nearly 18 per cent of the world’s population. Average per-capita emissions remain below 1 tonne of CO₂ per year, compared to 7–8 tonnes in the EU and over 14 tonnes in the United States.
Yet Africa experiences disproportionate climate impacts, with climate-related shocks projected to reduce GDP growth in vulnerable economies by 2–5 per cent annually by mid-century. This mismatch between responsibility and vulnerability reflects not climate virtue, but under-industrialisation. Manufacturing accounts for roughly 11 per cent of Africa’s GDP, compared to over 20 per cent in East Asia, while Africa’s share of global manufacturing value added remains below 3 per cent – a figure that has stagnated for decades.
CBAM intervenes precisely as African countries seek to expand industrial capacity to absorb labour, diversify exports, and reduce commodity dependence. In this context, it risks constraining the very development pathways required for long-term resilience and climate ambition.
Unequal Trade Structures and Africa’s Peripheral Position
Africa’s integration into global trade remains structurally unequal. The continent accounts for approximately 3 per cent of global merchandise trade, exporting primarily raw materials and semi-processed goods while importing higher-value manufactured products. In Africa–EU trade, exports are heavily concentrated in energy, minerals, metals, and basic manufactures – sectors now directly exposed to CBAM.
This pattern reflects Africa’s peripheral insertion into the global economy: resource- and carbon-intensive production at the margins, with value addition, technology, and standard-setting power concentrated in the Global North. CBAM does not disrupt this structure. It reinforces it by penalising carbon intensity without addressing why carbon-intensive production dominates African exports in the first place.
Preliminary assessments suggest that CBAM could raise the effective cost of certain African exports to Europe by 10–30 per cent, depending on sector and emissions intensity. In already unequal markets, such shocks weaken industrial viability and risk locking Africa further into low-value, carbon-penalised trade roles.
Carbon Pricing as a Development-Blind Trade Policy
CBAM assumes that producers can respond to carbon prices by investing in cleaner technologies. This assumption collapses under African realities. Industrial decarbonisation requires reliable clean energy, long-term capital, and technological upgrading. Yet across Africa over 600 million people still lack access to electricity. Industrial borrowing costs commonly exceed 10–15 per cent, compared to near-zero real rates in Europe during much of the past decade. Unfortunately, clean industrial technologies are protected by intellectual property regimes that restrict diffusion.
Carbon intensity in African industry is therefore structural, not behavioural. It reflects energy systems shaped by colonial infrastructure, post-colonial underinvestment, and chronic fiscal constraints. CBAM nonetheless treats emissions intensity as a firm-level choice, transforming carbon pricing into a disciplinary mechanism that compels adjustment without enabling transition.
Africa’s Necessary Pathway
Africa’s response to CBAM cannot be limited to compliance. It must be developmental. The continent’s long-term climate and economic interests lie in green industrialisation—building manufacturing capacity aligned with low-carbon energy systems, regional value chains, and domestic demand. Green industrialisation is essential for job creation in a continent expected to add over 400 million people to its working-age population by 2050.
It will act as an avenue for export diversification beyond raw commodities. This will reduce exposure to climate-related trade shocks while also achieving mitigation without sacrificing development. This pathway is consistent with the Paris Agreement, which recognises that mitigation must occur in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The Agreement assumes differentiated transitions supported by finance, technology transfer, and capacity building—not uniform decarbonisation imposed through trade enforcement. However, CBAM, as currently designed, bypasses this logic. It accelerates decarbonisation where capacity already exists while constraining the industrial upgrading Africa requires to transition sustainably.
Finance, Technology, and the Equity Gap
A central weakness of CBAM is the absence of binding mechanisms to support industrial decarbonisation in exporting countries. There is no guarantee that revenues collected at Europe’s borders will be recycled into concessional finance for African industry. Without redistribution, CBAM becomes a one-way fiscal and regulatory transfer. This contradicts long-standing climate finance commitments.
Developed countries have consistently failed to mobilise the promised $100 billion annually for climate action. Finance for industrial decarbonisation particularly in hard-to-abate sectors remains scarce, fragmented, and skewed toward middle-income markets. Expecting African firms to decarbonise under these conditions is not climate ambition. It is cost shifting.
Implications for the Paris Agreement
If CBAM proliferates without equity safeguards, it risks undermining the Paris Agreement itself. Climate action enforced through unilateral trade measures erodes trust, fragments cooperation, and reintroduces coercion into what was designed as a cooperative regime. For Africa, the danger is clear: decarbonisation without industrialisation, compliance without competitiveness, and mitigation without development gains. Such outcomes are incompatible with a just transition and inconsistent with the spirit of Paris. An equitable climate regime must allow Africa to industrialise green not penalise it for not having done so already.
Contesting Carbonised Trade
CBAM crystallises a broader transformation: the carbonisation of global trade rules. Whether this transformation deepens inequality or enables shared transition depends on political choices still being made. For Africa, responding to CBAM requires more than technical adjustment. It demands collective political engagement, insistence on finance and technology as integral to trade-linked climate measures, and a continental strategy centred on green industrialisation. Absent these conditions, CBAM risks entrenching Africa’s peripheral status governing decarbonisation at the border while foreclosing development at the centre. That is not climate leadership. It is unequal decarbonisation.
Worried and moved by the unending terrorism in Nigeria, I was recently compelled to investigate the menace, using my crystal ball. From the revelation, some high-ranking individuals are fueling the widespread terrorism-induced bloodbath through betrayal and tacit support.
And except there is a unified response driven by sincerity, patriotism and unbiasedness, devoid of religious and ethnic prejudices, Nigeria will be brought to its knees by terrorist’s groups with jihadist agenda.
I am not a clairvoyant, but I have a crystal ball which I occasionally consult when I am eager to forecast the future. I have never doubted the accuracy of my crystal ball due to outcome of previous results. This forms the basis of my concern and fear for Nigeria, a country that had once showed great promises, could become a victim of traitors and systems contradictions.
Dr. Mike Owhoko
In my crystal ball, I see terrorism draped in jihadism with ultimate goal to establish Islamic Caliphate in Nigeria. There is a covert design aimed at spreading Islamic authority and influence across the country, and what is playing out is a script to deliver this plan. Current outlook for control of economic and political power is accidental, and not the underlining motive. It is a carefully guided intent by the traitors.
This underscores the reason for the underground conspiracy by some powerful Islamic extremists to weaken capacity of government to fight terrorism, implicitly, exposing the country to complex risks with streaming effect of sliding into an Afghanistan’s experience. Afghanistan is currently ruled by the Talibans, reputed for terrorism and human rights violations. Though a long-term plan, the goal is aimed at making Nigeria an Islamic country, using Sharia law as driver.
Unarguably, the introduction of Sharia law in 12 northern states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Katsina, Jigawa, Borno, Kaduna, Yobe, Gombe and Niger, has encouraged Islamic extremism, and provided the framework for promotion of jihadism in Nigeria. Islamic extremists, particularly those of Fulani extraction, believe Sharia law should be extended to other parts of the country through Jihad, even though it undermines Nigeria’s secular status.
This ambition emboldens Fulani Islamic extremists and other terrorist groups to move into communities to maim, kill, dislodge and dispossess inhabitants of their ancestral homes and lands. Until Sharia law is abolished, Islamic terrorism in Nigeria will not abate.
Trailer load of Fulani youths together with some persons suspected to be from the Sahel, being transported and dropped off in large numbers in bushes of various communities across the country, particularly in the southern part of Nigeria, is part of the overall plot. These youths with no visible education and skills, carry out various crimes from their hidden locations, including kidnapping and rape, and most times, forcefully converting their victims to Islam.
In my crystal ball, I see some notable traditional rulers, Islamic clerics, politicians, businessmen and influential personalities from the north as benefactors, providing support for jihadist agenda in a coded fashion. The Nigerian Army is also not immune to insider traitors who secretly volunteer classified information to advance Sharia scheme.
As a ploy to gather sympathy, I see some of these sponsors and sympathisers appealing to sentiments by downplaying the gravity of crime of these terrorist groups and portraying them as bandits and insurgents fighting for religious obligations. This position is expected to be canvassed and sustained in various social media platforms in the time ahead.
A few of these collaborators are also secretly working with some external groups with leanings to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It is ISIS’ agenda to push its ideology and influence across some key African countries, including Nigeria.
Besides, I see the conspirators not giving up in their attempts to frustrate government’s efforts at defeating terrorism. Targeting and killing of Christians, and some Muslims who hold contrary view of Islam, is part of grand design to blackmail government into submission and expand Islamic hegemony in Nigeria. It is also their plans to leverage strategic alliance with some Sahel groups to attain mutual goals.
Notwithstanding the recent United States’ bombing of terrorists’ cells in Sokoto State, I see terrorists’ organisations expanding their bases and networks beyond current operational holds in the north and making incursion into the southern parts of the country. I also see emergence of new splinter groups from Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), while Ansaru, Fulani Islamic extremists, Mahmuda and Lakurawa, will remain united with common agenda for territorial expansion.
Major manifestations in my crystal ball are reminiscent of the events that happened during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. While in power, Jonathan had said that Boko Haram members and sympathisers were in almost every level of his government. In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) in 2015, he further disclosed that Boko Haram had links with international extremist groups like ISIS in the Middle East where they were undergoing training.
When President Jonathan made these remark, Nigerians glossed over it, believing that, as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, he had the powers to deal with the terrorist groups. Unfortunately, his government was encumbered by entrenched Islamic interests, resulting largely to failure to conquer the Islamic extremists.
Since it was within Jonathan’s constitutional responsibility to protect lives and properties, why did he not move proactively and swiftly in identifying and encircling the Boko Haram elements in his government? Evidently, Jonathan was overwhelmed by the domineering influence of Islamic stalwarts, both in and outside his government.
The former President failed to exercise the will and political courage to confront the monsters, owing to offence-aversion to avoid likely blackmail and sabotage by some powerful northerners. This encouraged Boko Haram’s influence to fester in his government. Unfortunately, he learned in a hard way, following the kidnap of Chibok girls, which was obviously orchestrated to humiliate and bring down his government.
With the Chibok experience and the on-going terrorism attacks in the country, I have often wondered why government, with all its contraptions, including intelligence network and security formations, would allow these Islamic moles in government, despite implications on Nigeria’s sovereignty?
With my knowledge of Political Science, I know for a fact that government is the supreme entity with overall authority over the people, with primary purpose to provide security and welfare. In absolute terms, there is nothing a government in power cannot do, except to literally turn a man to a woman, and vice versa.
So, why the waiver of some persons from the weight of the law, making government to look like institutional weakling? In the absence of compromise, government has the capacity to identify and track activities of terrorists.
Late General Sanni Abacha might not have become Head of State through democratic means, but he understood the risk posed by saboteurs in and outside government. To achieve stability, he identified and punished persons considered as threat to government, irrespective of status. Abacha believed that once insurrection had lasted more than 72 hours, there was insider’s collaboration fueled by political motive.
For government, there should be no sacred cows and individuals with blue blood, as the law is sacrosanct. Government’s current seeming fatigue to contain and deal with these Islamic fundamentalists, is rooted in overwhelming influence enjoyed by radical Islamic adherents in government. They should be fished out.
For too long, government has exhibited cowardice in the face of growing crimes against Nigerians by a few entrenched Islamic extremists. Seeking external help to save lives and properties, is not a sign of weakness, but diplomatic courage. The recent intelligence cooperation between the Federal Government and the United States, resulting in airstrikes of terrorists in the North-West region is commendable. The government must leverage all available external opportunities to defeat this jihadist scheme.
Nigeria is a secular state and a plural society with over 250 ethnic groups. There must be freedom of religion devoid of discrimination, just as no one ethnic group has the authority to encroach into other peoples’ ancestral land and violently take possession. This must stop.
Therefore, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu must demonstrate courage to identify and deal with the sympathisers, financiers and sponsors of these Islamic terror groups, otherwise, he risks facing the Jonathan’s fate, and possibly, dismemberment of Nigeria.
Dr. Mike Owhoko is a Lagos-based public policy analyst, author, and journalist. He can be reached at www.mikeowhoko.com, and followed on X {formerly Twitter} @michaelowhoko
January marks International Zero Waste Month, a growing global observance that calls for systemic action from governments, industries, and all sectors to reduce waste at its source and prevent pollution.
The movement began in the Philippines in 2012 through the Zero Waste Youth Initiative and was formally recognised in 2014 with Presidential Proclamation No. 760, which promotes designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, while conserving and recovering resources instead of indiscriminately disposing or burning them.
Since 2023, environmental organisations led by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) have helped expand the campaign internationally, making zero waste a shared advocacy across countries, sectors, and communities.
International Zero Waste Month 2026
This year’s observance of International Zero Waste Month also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, enacted on January 26, 2001, which provides the national framework for integrated solid waste management based on resource conservation and recovery. More than two decades on, persistent challenges such as improper waste disposal, infrastructure constraints, and gaps in public awareness underscore the need to strengthen and fully implement the law.
According to DENR reports, the Philippines generates 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually, contributing to the 61,000 metric tons of solid waste produced daily – enough to fill 37 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This includes 163 million plastic sachets, 48 million shopping bags, and 45 million thin-film bags. Alarmingly, only a third of this waste ends up in landfills, while 35% is discarded into the ocean.
“Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient, and visionary, guiding industries, governments, and communities to prioritise upstream solutions – reducing production, designing products responsibly, and minimising waste at its source – while recognising that recycling and other downstream measures remain essential,” said Jam Lorenzo, Deputy Executive Director of BAN Toxics.
The group emphasised that the country should adopt the principle of Zero Waste across all sectors, focusing on policies and practices that prevent waste generation before it occurs. By prioritising upstream solutions, the country can conserve natural resources, protect ecosystems, and create sustainable production and consumption systems, complementing downstream strategies like recycling, recovery, and safe disposal.
Meanwhile, at the community level, BAN Toxics suggests practical Zero Waste approaches that can help reduce waste, promote sustainable production and consumption, and create a safer, healthier environment at home and in the neighborhood:
Segregate Your Waste
Segregating waste at home is the first step toward a Zero Waste approach. Separate recyclables, compostables, biodegradables, and hazardous items to conserve resources, reduce landfill dumping, and prevent toxic contamination and pollution.
Refuse Single-Use Plastics, Switch to Reusables
Say “no” to plastic bags, straws, and disposable utensils, and bring reusable alternatives whenever possible. Use bayongs, mesh, or cloth produce bags for fruits and vegetables, and carry metal straws and reusable utensils for take-out orders. Replace plastic wrap and disposable containers with glass or stainless-steel food storage, which keeps food fresh without generating waste or absorbing odors. Consistently adopting these practices can prevent hundreds of single-use plastics from entering the waste stream.
Compost Kitchen Waste and Non-Recyclables
Biodegradable waste makes up a significant portion of household garbage. Compost vegetable peels, fruit scraps, coffee grounds, and eggshells. Tear non-recyclable items like food cartons, paper napkins, tissue paper, pizza boxes, and paper egg cartons into small pieces and add them to the compost bin. The resulting compost can be used in home gardens, potted plants, or community composting programmes.
Support Eco-Friendly Refilling Stores or Plastic-Free Sari-Sari Stores
Refilling stores and plastic-free sari-sari stores are zero-waste shops where you bring your own containers to fill with bulk goods like food, cleaning supplies, and personal care items. They reduce single-use plastics and packaging while offering sustainable alternatives for everyday essentials.
Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Replace household cleaners with simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, and lemon. Natural cleaners cost less, reduce plastic bottles, and eliminate harsh chemicals. A basic all-purpose cleaner of equal parts water and vinegar with a few drops of essential oil works for most tasks.
Choose Environmentally Friendly Products
Select products made from natural or recycled materials, such as bamboo, organic cotton, or native leaves. Choose items that reduce waste, like steel bottles and cloth bags, energy-efficient options like LED bulbs or solar devices, non-toxic household cleaners, and chemical-free personal care products.
Practice Mindful Meal Planning
Plan meals weekly, shop with a list, and use what you have before buying more. Store food properly to extend freshness and repurpose leftovers to reduce food waste.
Repair, Repurpose, and Donate
Before discarding items, consider if they can be repaired, repurposed, or given to someone who needs them. Learn basic repair skills such as sewing buttons, patching clothes, or fixing small appliances. Transform old t-shirts into cleaning rags, glass jars into storage containers, and worn towels into washable cleaning cloths. Donate usable items you no longer need instead of throwing them away. These practices extend product lifespans and keep materials in circulation.
Replace Disposables with Sustainable Alternatives
Examine your daily routine for disposable items you can replace with reusable alternatives. Use cloth handkerchiefs instead of tissues, washable menstrual products instead of disposables, rechargeable batteries instead of single-use, and real dishes for gatherings instead of paper plates and cups. Small changes like these may seem minor, but together they prevent large amounts of waste.
BAN Toxics emphasises that transitioning to zero-waste habits does not require perfection. Individuals and communities can start with one or two manageable changes and gradually add more as these practices become routine. Focusing on progress over perfection, even reducing waste by 20% can make a meaningful difference.
The organisation stresses that the Zero Waste journey is ultimately about being more intentional with resources, reconnecting with what we consume, and recognizing that individual and collective choices shape the environment.
As Africa moves into 2026, the continent is quietly becoming one of the most consequential battlegrounds for the future of tobacco harm reduction. With a fast-growing population, limited healthcare capacity, and millions of adult smokers, policy decisions taken in the next year will determine whether smoking declines rapidly or remains entrenched for decades.
Across the continent, tobacco control is strengthening. Taxes are rising, smoke-free laws are expanding, and public awareness of smoking harms is improving. Yet one reality remains unchanged: cigarettes still dominate nicotine consumption. The question for 2026 is whether African governments will begin to actively enable safer alternatives or continue regulating all nicotine as if risk were equal.
Residue from tobacco smoke can end up in indoor air even in nonsmoking spaces
A Shift from ‘Control Only’ to Risk-Proportionate Policy
In 2026, the most important trend to watch is the growing tension between traditional tobacco control and modern harm-reduction approaches. While many African countries remain cautious about vaping, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine products, regulatory silence is no longer sustainable. These products are already in the market, legally or otherwise.
Policymakers are increasingly confronted with a choice: regulate safer nicotine products to displace smoking, or leave adult smokers with only combustible options while illicit markets expand.
Countries that adopt risk-proportionate regulation, distinguishing cigarettes from significantly lower-risk alternatives, will likely see faster declines in smoking prevalence and reduced long-term healthcare costs.
Country Signals to Watch in 2026
South Africa will remain the regional bellwether. Its proposed tobacco legislation could set a precedent for how emerging nicotine products are treated across Southern Africa. Whether the law differentiates risk levels or regulates all products identically will be closely watched by regulators, industry, and advocates alike.
Kenya represents a market of opportunity constrained by policy uncertainty. Vaping and oral nicotine products exist but remain expensive and inconsistently regulated. In 2026, tax reform and clearer product standards could unlock harm reduction as a genuine smoking-cessation pathway rather than a niche consumer option.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest market, remains largely unregulated when it comes to novel nicotine products. This regulatory vacuum presents both risk and opportunity. A science-based framework could rapidly position Nigeria as a continental leader in pragmatic tobacco control, or, if delayed, allow informal markets to dominate.
Zambia highlights the challenge of over-restriction. High taxes or bans on safer alternatives may protect public health in theory, but in practice risk preserving cigarette dominance. In 2026, pressure will grow for evidence-based reassessment.
The Bottom Line
Africa’s tobacco control story is no longer just about reducing smoking, it is about how fast and how effectively that reduction happens. Tobacco harm reduction is not a replacement for tobacco control; it is its most underused accelerator.
In 2026, the countries that move beyond ideology and regulate nicotine based on risk will define the next chapter of African public health. Those that do not may find that cigarettes remain the default, not by choice, but by policy design.
Health analysts say the reform agenda unveiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, signals an important shift in how African countries prepare for disease outbreaks.
According to them, it will also help strengthen routine health services, particularly in Nigeria.
The analysts said this in an interview on Saturday, January 3, 2026, in Abuja.
Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa
Janabi said Africa must prioritise early detection of outbreaks, stronger primary healthcare (PHC) systems and regional manufacturing of vaccines and medical commodities to reduce dependence on emergency responses.
He warned that delayed reporting and weak laboratory systems had contributed to the wider spread of infections across the continent, noting that preparedness should no longer rely on funding that only increases during crises.
“Africa has learned repeatedly that delayed action is costly. If we strengthen systems early, we reduce the severity of the shocks that follow,” he said.
Dr Ishaku Akyala, an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at Nasarawa State University, said that the blueprint was particularly relevant to Nigeria, which continued to battle recurring outbreaks such as Lassa fever, cholera and diphtheria, alongside a growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
Akyala noted that Janabi’s emphasis on district-level surveillance, real-time data, laboratory readiness and reliable electricity in health facilities aligned with Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to modernise disease intelligence systems.
According to him, the approach could help the country detect outbreaks earlier, reduce response delays and limit both economic and human losses.
Janabi identified PHC as the strongest lever for improving public health in Africa, warning that heavy investment in tertiary care at the expense of community-level services leaves millions exposed to out-of-pocket health expenditure.
“If we strengthen the foundations, everything upstream becomes more efficient,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Samuel Eleojo, a Public Health Expert, said that this supported Nigeria’s plans to revitalise PHC centres, expand health insurance coverage and scale up community-level care through initiatives such as the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Janabi also called for increased local manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics and medicines, saying Africa must not continue to depend almost entirely on foreign supply during global emergencies.
He said coordinated procurement, regulatory harmonisation and sustained financing were needed to make regional production viable.
Eleojo said that Nigeria would benefit from such reforms through its ongoing national vaccine manufacturing and pharmaceutical sector revitalisation initiatives.
Janabi further acknowledged funding pressures within WHO Africa and pledged reforms to make country offices more responsive, technically strong and accountable to member states.
He said WHO Africa would continue to support governments to shift from a crisis-driven response to a predictable, long-term system strengthening.
“The momentum is there. Our task is to turn promising progress into standard practice,” he said.
Observers said that the blueprint challenged Nigeria to sustain health financing, improve coordination, strengthen PHC delivery and invest in early warning systems to ensure resilience against shocks such as pandemics, climate-related disease spread and economic strain.
They noted that full implementation would help Nigeria move toward routine readiness, protecting households from catastrophic health spending and strengthening health security.
A Chicago filmmaker decided to create a classroom in Africa, where he shares his knowledge and insight with wildlife conservationists in Rwanda and Uganda.
The images they’ve captured are wonderful; the gaze of a gorilla, a hidden herd of hippos. But the people behind the cameras are not professionals.
“These are the people on the front lines of wildlife management,” said filmmaker David McGowan. “They’ll see things other people won’t see because they’re there all the time, and it’s only fair – they want to have a voice in the discussion too.”
David McGowan
As much as a voice, McGowen wanted them to have “the eyes,” the camera gear to tell their stories. So in 2022 he decided to go to Rwanda, bringing them the equipment they needed and teach them himself.
“It worked like a charm. The people who took the class were rangers, trackers and guides. They got it right away,” he said.
The idea began in 2007 when McGowan was in Uganda. A veterinarian he was working with told him a story: a silverback gorilla he was watching died, which wasn’t unusual. What happened after that was.
“The body was surrounded by juveniles and females in an unmistakable mourning rite,” McGowan recalled. “He had never seen that. He went to his colleagues, and they had never seen that. He went back to the literature – nothing. He said, ‘If I had a camera and knew how to use it, that would have been international news and a boon to science.'”
It took several years, but McGowan bought everything budding filmmakers would need; most of it with his own money.
He headed to Africa, where he taught a month-long course to rangers and guides, the people who drive the wildlife tourism industry but had never documented what they see every day in their backyard.
“I feel like this is working,” he said. “This is exactly what we want to do. We want them to have the tools and the skills to offer their voices about what are the solutions to keeping wildlife wild.”
McGowan’s students have already produced several short documentaries they share online, about everything from wildlife conservation to human, animal and environmental health. And their teacher is never far away; every Monday, McGowan gets on a Zoom call to encourage his students and answer any questions they have.
One of the film projects his students in Rwanda asked to do focused o how locals were learning to create handmade paper from banana plants, a full-circle moment because McGowan was nominated for an Academy Award in 1992 for his documentary on an Indiana couple who create handmade paper.
“I don’t know what to make of it, it’s like serendipity,” McGowan said.
Life, indeed, has a way of opening doors, many of them unexpected, like an opportunity to learn, fulfill dreams, protect and document a way of life for generations to come.
“I’m training people to feel like I do,” said McGowan. “They’re as passionate about conservation as I am. I know I have allies on other continents. I know there’s a cohort who will continue to do what I did with my career.”
Two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have decried the ongoing attack by the Lagos State Government on Makoko community, an impoverished and predominantly fishing community in Lagos.
While describing the development as “a symbolically inhuman and vicious New Year gift on the urban poor”, the groups called on the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to halt the exercise.
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Centre for Children’s Health Education Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE) in a joint statement condemned what they termed a “gross human rights abuse” against the people of Makoko community in Lagos in response to the ongoing forced eviction exercise being carried out by the Lagos State Government using armed security personnel and thugs.
Houses are set ablaze at Makoko community
Houses are being set ablaze with people’s properties in the houses and with community members including children, women and aged persons scampering for safety amidst a major chaos.
According to community insiders, in a swift and unannounced move on Monday January 5, 2026, the Lagos government sent bulldozers into the waterfront community and started setting fire on houses.
“We earlier had a meeting with some government representatives, and they assured us that only houses which were 30 metres to the power lines would be pulled down. We are extremely shocked that they came and started setting fire on other houses.
“They came around 8am today and starting shooting, spraying teargas and seizing people’s boats. As I speak, they have almost reached 100 metres, burning houses down. Many of the occupants of the houses have either gone to the market or fishing jobs or traveled for the holidays and their properties are being set on fire.
“The chiefs were summoned to government house today after they complained about the presence of bulldozers in the community and while they were away, the demolition squad came and started the destruction. This is unimaginable. They are bent on driving us away by hook or crook,” said an insider.
HOMEF and CEE-HOPE described the latest eviction exercise as unlawful and condemnable and another attack on poor and vulnerable members of the society.
“It is really sad that rather than securing citizens, government and their agents are adding to the horrors, deprivations, harms and insecurity in the land. The assault on Makoko is absolutely reprehensible and unacceptable,” said Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, HOMEF’s Executive Director and eminent human and environmental rights activist.
“The human and shelter rights of every resident of Makoko must be respected by the Lagos State Government. Enough of this dehumanising treatment of the urban poor by the state in cahoot with private developers,” he added.
‘”It is sad indeed that the state government has shown itself to be consistently lawless on so many fronts especially in its dealing with the urban poor,” said Betty Abah, CEE-HOPE’s Executive Director. “Just after the savage attack on Oko-Baba, Ayetoro followed by that of Otumara and Baba-Ijora followed by the recent massive eviction of Oworonshoki all of which led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people, the government is turning its vicious searchlights on Makoko again. Lagos has an acute short of housing issue, why then is it not provision of affordable or social housing that is making the headlines from Lagos every year?”
She added: “Why is it the vicious attack on poor and vulnerable masses and massive forced homelessness, most times in direct violated of set down rules of prior and informed notification, resettlement and compensation plans? Why are these evictions mostly in direct flouting of existing court rulings or injunctions?”
She further lamented the toll of the demolition on children, thousands of whom are typically removed from school following such developments.
“These perennial attacks by a government on people to whom they owe a duty of care and protection are lawless, unwarranted, reprehensible and should stand condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians and indeed the world. They fall short of international and local standards of engagements. They must stop now and treat and compensate all wounded members and displaced members of the community immediately. Lagos must upgrade slums in line with international best practice and not destroy lives,” the statement concluded.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has rejected a circulating report claiming the refinery is shutting down for maintenance, describing the story as false and misleading.
In a statement released on Monday, January 5, 2026, the refinery emphasised that production remains ongoing, stable, and uninterrupted.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery continues to operate at scale and retains the capacity to supply between 40 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily through January and February, subject solely to market demand,” the statement said.
Dangote Refinery CNG trucks
It added that, on January 4, the refinery produced 50 million litres of PMS and evacuated 48 million litres via its gantry. “Current stock levels cover over 20 days of national consumption, effectively dispelling any concerns about supply.”
The refinery clarified that routine maintenance on specific units, including the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC), does not interrupt overall production, owing to the sophisticated and integrated design of its processing units. Other critical units, such as the Naphtha Hydrotreater, CCR Reformer, and Hydrocracker, remain fully operational, producing PMS, Diesel (Automotive Gas Oil), and Jet A-1.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery confirms that it has consistently maintained adequate PMS availability for the domestic market. From 16 December 2025 to date, the refinery has loaded between 31 million and 48 million litres of PMS daily from its gantry, in line with prevailing market demand. These volumes are fully verifiable against depot loading records maintained by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in the normal course of its regulatory responsibilities,” the statement said.
The refinery also reaffirmed its ex-gantry price of N699 per litre for PMS, available to all marketers and bulk consumers. It encouraged filling stations, large-scale users, and institutional buyers to patronise locally refined products, which are more affordable, reliable, and of high quality, rather than relying on imported alternatives.
“By sourcing PMS locally at N699 per litre, marketers are better positioned to pass on price relief to consumers, enhance market stability, conserve foreign exchange, and support Nigeria’s broader economic recovery and energy security objectives,” the refinery said.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery accused fuel importers of promoting false reports to justify recent, unwarranted increases in petrol pump prices, noting that such actions run counter to national interest and impose unnecessary hardship on Nigerians. According to the refinery, without domestic refining, petrol prices could rise to as much as N1,400 per litre in a post-subsidy environment, highlighting the stabilising role of local production.
“Recent price movements further highlight an uncomfortable reality. In the absence of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, fuel importers would continue to operate without restraint, with petrol prices potentially escalating to levels estimated at up to N1,400 per litre in a post-subsidy environment. The refinery’s operations have therefore served as a critical stabilising force in the downstream petroleum market,” the statement added.
Reiterating its commitment to energy security and market stability, the refinery said it would continue supplying high-quality petroleum products, maintaining steady availability, and supporting Nigeria’s broader economic growth. Stakeholders and the public were advised to disregard misinformation and rely on verified sources.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery will continue to act in the national interest by supplying high-quality, locally refined petroleum products while supporting Nigeria’s economic stability, energy independence, and industrial growth,” it concluded.
Two breakthrough offshore discoveries in Namibia in 2022 – one by Shell and one by TotalEnergies – marked an important milestone for the country’s future energy landscape and for Africa’s broader upstream ambitions.
The excitement generated by high-impact discoveries creates a ripple effect that benefits the entire continent. I’m convinced that the ongoing interest we’re seeing today in African exploration and production (E&P) stems in part from the major discoveries in Namibia, alongside recent successes in Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, and Egypt.
When you factor in advances in E&P technology, the promise of newly emerging basins, and the continued strength of Africa’s established producing regions, there are genuine reasons to feel confident about the future of African oil and gas.
Onshore drilling: Upstream activity in the oil industry
That sentiment is reflected in the African Energy Chamber’s 2026 Outlook Report, “The State of African Energy,” which projects renewed momentum in the continent’s upstream market during the next several years. According to the report, global E&P capital expenditure (capex) is forecast to reach approximately $504 billion by 2026, with Africa contributing about $41 billion.
Africa’s hydrocarbon production is expected to remain stable at roughly 11.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) through 2026, and new projects are on track to increase output toward 13.6 million boe/d by 2030.
Yes, the report acknowledges that optimism is being tempered by caution. Keen to protect their balance sheets, investors are scrutinising opportunities closely. But overall, the potential for sustained upstream expansion is truly promising for African states with petroleum reserves. The key will be doing as much as possible to attract the capital needed to pursue the next wave of discoveries.
Frontier and Emerging Basins Signal Strong New Potential
As investors weigh their options, the most compelling signs of progress are coming from Africa’s frontier and emerging basins.
In Namibia’s Orange Sub-Basin, where more than 6 billion boe have been discovered in less than four years, operators are preparing the next wave of high-impact wells. Côte d’Ivoire, meanwhile, is seeing a surge of activity around its recent deepwater finds.
Egypt, which already has long history as a producing state, is experiencing fresh momentum in underexplored offshore acreage. Earlier this year, drilling in the Herodotus Basin confirmed gas at the Nefertari-1 well.
Even in Libya, where hydrocarbons have been produced for decades, frontier acreage remains. BP and Eni aim to spud the Matsola-1 ultra-deepwater gas prospect later this year. If it delivers, the well could pave the way for deeper Sirte Basin exploration and reduce geological risk across the broader Gulf of Sirte.
“The continent continues to offer up new frontiers, all of which may draw exploration capital,” our Outlook report notes. “Places to keep an eye on are the ultra-deepwater portion of the Congo Fan in Angola, the Gabon–Douala Deep Sea Basin offshore São Tomé and Príncipe, the Namibe Basin in Namibia and Angola, the Herodotus Basin offshore Egypt and the offshore portion of the Sirte Basin.
“Others that have already played host to exploration cycles may still present significant opportunities in a similar fashion to the Côte d’Ivoire-Tano Basin. One example is the MSGBC Basin, where over 9.5 Bboe was discovered between 2014 and 2019, but which is still viewed as immature in terms of exploration.”
Still, prospects alone are not enough. To translate discoveries into development, Africa must confront the operational and investment challenges that stand in the way.
Data, Imaging, and a New Era of African Prospecting
As encouraging as the upstream outlook is, Africa’s geology remains complex, and that complexity can shape how and where companies invest. In parts of West Africa, for example, thick layers of salt can distort seismic signals and make it difficult to identify potential reservoirs with confidence. And in the far south, strong offshore currents can interfere with seismic acquisition itself, degrading data quality and forcing operators to invest in more advanced imaging and noise-reduction technologies.
But as our Outlook report notes, technology is starting to change these dynamics. “Recent advancements in seismic acquisition, processing technologies, and drilling capabilities have enabled exploration efforts over the past decade to target more intricate prospects at greater depths in Africa as elsewhere,” it states.
These advances have been helping oil and gas companies de-risk prospects once considered too complex or too costly to pursue.
Emmanuelle Garinet, TotalEnergies’ vice president for exploration in Africa, has pointed to Namibia as a prime example of how high-resolution seismic imaging and advanced subsurface modeling can reshape exploration strategies. She noted that the company’s decision to drill the Venus prospect – which lies within the Namibian portion of the Orange Sub-Basin – was possible because the technical data provided enough confidence to reduce uncertainty ahead of drilling. The results validated that choice: the 2022 Venus-1 discovery, estimated at 1.5 to 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil, stands as the largest ever made in sub-Saharan Africa. Its scale has reshaped expectations for what may still be unlocked across the Orange Sub-Basin.
The trend is also visible offshore Angola, where better subsurface imaging and advanced drilling systems are opening deepwater and ultra-deepwater opportunities in heavily salt-influenced geology. Azule Energy aims to drill the Kianda prospect in late 2025. If the ultra-deepwater test succeeds, it could pave the way for exploration across a vast area – more than 30,000 square kilometres – previously viewed as high risk.
The Capital Challenge: Competing for Global Investment
But geological complexity isn’t the only factor shaping investment decisions. Political and security challenges persist in several countries – among them Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and can materially affect both operations and capital flows. Add to that the lack of clarity around monetisation and industrialisation pathways, and it becomes clear why some investors remain cautious.
The Outlook report notes that upstream capital spending in Africa has risen consistently over the past three years as the sector recovers from the pandemic-related lows of 2020. Even so, worldwide investment growth has not kept pace with the strong cash flows generated by upstream operations. Analysts from firms like Wood Mackenzie and Deloitte all describe the same pattern: Companies are channeling a significant share of their cash flow into dividends, buybacks, and debt reduction instead of chasing growth at any cost.
In short, Africa is competing for capital at a time when global investors are more disciplined than ever.
In this environment, African states cannot simply assume that interest in our geology will translate into final investment decisions. We must move quickly to capitalise on today’s E&P appetite by reducing above-ground risks, providing clear monetisation and industrialisation pathways, and building stable, predictable frameworks that give investors the confidence to commit for the long term.
The window of opportunity is open, but it will not stay open forever.
By NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber
