The coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in partnership with the Borno State government has called on stakeholders and governments at all levels to, as a matter of urgency, prioritise climate change in their budgets to enable effective mitigation and adaptation measures.
Usman Aliyu, who is director general of Borno State Agency for Great Greenwall who led the climate change actors during the Youth Climate Justice March in Maiduguri, held in celebration of the 2025 Global Week for Action on Climate Justice.
The event is held annually to highlight the growing climate-related issues such as flooding, desertification, degradation, flooding, and food insecurity, which he attributed to years of neglecting climate concerns.
Placards at the march included messages such as: “Prioritize agroecology in state budgets,” “Climate adaptation is not charity, it’s justice,” “Nigeria can’t achieve sustainable development without climate resilience,” and “Hold polluters responsible.”
He urged governments, citizens, and individuals to embrace a just transition toward climate action, including climate financing, adaptation strategies, and environmental accountability.
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According to him, “First plan is what we began today by creating awareness, telling people what we are facing today. All of us are sweating, so this is a sign of global warming. This is an impact of global warming.
“So, I’m planning to create awareness and tell people on the importance of trees planting and the environment, how trees can help mitigate what we are facing today ranges between depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, reverse desertification and also mitigate desert encroachment.”
“And this is going to go a long way to reduce the temperature. This is going to go a long way to eradicate disease outbreak. This is going to go a long way in providing microclimate to the people. It is going to go a long way in boosting our agriculture, which is going to also secure our food security. It is going to also mitigate malnutrition, when the issue of climate change is being mitigated, definitely it will address all these issues.”
Story was adapted from Business Day.
