Climate change experts have warned that it would be risky for Nigerians to elect climate deniers in the February and March 2023 general elections, especially given the effects of extreme weather occurrences every season.
In an interview with newsmen, the Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), Dr David Michael, noted that climate action was critical to the survival of democracy and sustainable development.
He, however, lamented that “So far, climate change is under-represented in the campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections. It will be a dangerous mistake if we elect climate deniers in the 2023 general elections.”
“Climate change issues are too important to be left in the hands of deniers. This is because climate change is the crisis of our lifetime, it is the defining issue of today’s world, and that is why we are calling on citizens, especially those in communities impacted by climate change, to ensure that they collect their PVCs and look beyond empty campaign promises and other forms of inducement to vote for candidates that understand climate change issues and have a climate action plan,” he added.
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He emphasized that Nigeria is extremely sensitive to climate change, with devastating effects on the nation’s economy as well as the health and social well-being of its citizens.
The climate expert warned that the country would perish if the effects of climate change were not stopped and climate resilience was not created.
On his part, Prof. Abdullahi Bashir, a communications and climate scholar at the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, described climate change issues as a matter of life and death.
He lamented that politicians do not bring up climate change during campaigns despite the fact that desertification, flooding, deforestation, and other climatic disasters have a terrible effect on local communities and people’s quality of life.
He said, “Climate change should be part of the debate leading up to the February-March general elections. But unfortunately, the politicians and the political parties are not making it the main theme of their campaigns”. “Looking at the prevailing circumstances, this is quite unfortunate, there is no awareness of the issue and people are not making demands along those lines, and climate change has been overshadowed by other issues, whereas it is tied to economic growth, development, health, and even survival in other communities.
Speaking further, he said, “It is a worrisome scenario because the fight for climate change action needs political leadership and somebody that understands the issues, somebody that can provide the solutions, and whom the people can vote for. So this lack of interest in climate change is not good for Nigerian society.”
Story was adapted from Daily Trust.
