The United Nations (UN) has warned that an estimated 19.5 million people in Nigeria will be food insecure following the devastating flooding which has wreaked havoc across states in the country.
In a statement, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Mathias Schmale said that climate change was real and was already affecting millions of people in Nigeria alone.
He noted that vulnerable people in Nigeria, as elsewhere in the Sahel, were on the frontline of the climate crisis for no fault of their own, adding that discussions on the issues must be on the front burner as the world gathers in Egypt next week for the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27).
He said: “Over this past week, I spoke with people that have lost all their possessions as a result of devastating floods, during visits to Adamawa in the north-east and Anambra in the south-east”.
Read also: UN Report: There will be no glaciers on Kilimanjaro by 2050
According to him, “It was humbling to observe the determination of flood-devastated communities who are seeking long-term solutions to the flooding menace in the face of great adversity”.
He explained that with more than a quarter of all affected people (close to 730,000 people), Anambra was the state most affected by the worst floods in Nigeria for more than a decade.
“As the world gathers in Egypt next week for the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27), there can be no doubt that climate change is real and is already affecting millions of people in Nigeria alone.”
The UN boss lamented that the flooding had also affected more than three million people, with over 600 people killed, while another 1.5 million people had been forced to flee their homes.
Story was adapted from Thisday.
