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By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
With more flooding expected to hit more states in Nigeria this year, a non-governmental organization, Natural Justice, has called for concerted effort at tackling the “climate emergency” confronting the country.
Programme Manager at Natural Justice (Nigeria), Mr Mike Karikpo, told journalists at a ‘Media training on Reporting the environment and climate emergency through a climate justice lens’ in Port Harcourt on Friday, that the climate crisis facing the country has reached emergency proportions, and requires a response by all stakeholders.
Karikpo said that “As a people, we realize the situation we are in. But the problem is that we lack the will power to make the changes that are necessary to respond to the climate crisis.”
Noting that the media plays key role of “galvanising support for climate action by individuals, corporate organisations and governments,” Karikpo lamented that governments at the various levels in Nigeria are not doing enough to tackle the climate emergency.
“The Federal Government has put in place climate change policies, it has put in place the climate change council, and agencies who play a crucial role in getting environmental information together, analysing and sharing the information.
“The state and local governments have not done as much as expected of them, except for Rivers State that the House of Assembly has passed a climate change bill. We think it is important that we prevail on our state governments and local governments to take action in putting climate change policies in place,” he said.
Secretary, Rivers State chapter of the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), Lawrence Dube, said the event was specifically designed to “reposition the debate on environmental justice, through a climate crisis lens, so that the climate emergency in Nigeria can be properly understood, re-conceptualized and engaged.”
This is particularly important, he said, given the occurrence of disasters like flooding, especially in the Niger Delta region, and the need to mitigate them “through conscientious action by policy makers and advocacy by civil society.”
Noting that the media has a “strong role” to play in the advocacy for climate justice, Dube stressed the need to protect the environment, especially with regards to the Niger Delta “where natural resources extraction has caused serious havoc to the waters, air, forests, mangroves, biodiversity,” adding that “if we don’t do that, then we are in big trouble.”
Mr Klem Ofuokwu, journalist and resource person, speaking on ‘Boosting your Knowledge of Reporting the Planet,’ urged journalists to enhance their reportage by increasing their knowledge on issues surrounding climate change.
Ofuokwu said it is important that the media understands it plays a critical role informing the public and also in “building a critical mass of public opinion” and mindset that are favourable to achieving effective social action in support of climate justice.
He urged participants to place emphasis on fairness, participation and inclusion for all while reporting the environment.
Mr Tekena Amieyeofori, in a lecture titled, ‘Reporting the Environment from A Rights-Based Perspective,’ described the environment as a life-support system, providing air, water and food, from the earth, for man’s sustenance.
Noting that the various social and human rights are inter-related in nature, Amieyeofori argued that environmental rights are central to other rights “since one must eat, breath clean air and drink clean water before he can talk about his human rights.”
Another resource person at the training, who is the executive secretary of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Center, Sulaimon Arigbabu, while describing the media as a critical connector in the climate ecosystem for ‘Early Warning, Early Action’, said the “media must own the climate Justice narrative and push the Nigerian perspective of climate Justice.”
Journalists from various states in the Niger Delta, such as Rivers and Cross River, participated in the training organised by Natural Justice.
