The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday raised the alarm over the worsening impact of climate change on Nigerians, declaring that the crisis has gone beyond environmental concerns to become a major human rights challenge.
The Commission said rising incidents of flooding, prolonged drought, displacement, food insecurity and violent conflicts are stripping thousands of Nigerians of their rights to life, shelter, food, education and livelihoods, insisting that climate action must now be driven by the protection of people.
Speaking at the inauguration of the National Working Group on Human Rights and Climate Change in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said every climate policy must put human dignity at its core.
“Climate change is not just about rising temperatures. It is about people. It is about families losing their homes, farmers losing their livelihoods, communities being uprooted and vulnerable people falling deeper into poverty,” Ojukwu said.
He maintained that the newly inaugurated Working Group would ensure that Nigeria’s climate response protects the rights of those bearing the brunt of environmental disasters.
The Working Group, established by the NHRC in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), brings together government agencies, civil society organisations, academics and development partners to mainstream human rights into climate governance.
Representing the Minister of Environment, Dr. Iniobong Abiola Awe assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would continue to pursue inclusive climate policies that leave no one behind.
Similarly, Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Dr. Omotenioye Majekodunmi, said climate change has intensified flooding, migration, farmer-herder conflicts and rising temperatures across the country, warning that the effects are increasingly threatening lives, livelihoods and human dignity.
Also speaking, Founder of the Women Environmental Programme, Dr. Priscilla Achakpa, called for greater protection of women, young people and other vulnerable groups who are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters.
The Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Tijani Ahmed, represented by former NHRC Director, Mr. Dahiru Bobbo, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to supporting victims displaced by climate-induced emergencies.
The Presidency, through the Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Climate Change, Comrade Yussuf Olatunji Kelani, pledged support for the activities of the Working Group.
SINL NIgeria Online reports that the inauguration marks a significant step towards ensuring that Nigeria’s response to climate change places the protection of human rights at the centre of national policies, with stakeholders insisting that safeguarding the environment must go hand in hand with protecting the people whose lives depend on it.
