Nigeria, the giant of Africa, known for its oil production, agriculture, and economic diversity, has faced numerous climate change effects for years, leaving many residents with recurring challenge.
The most recent climate change disaster that struck Mokwa districts of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa, located in Niger State, claimed the lives of more than 200 people, while 500 residents were reportedly missing.
After the torrential rain swept some victims into the Niger River on 29 May 2025, over 3,000 victims were left with no shelter after 265 homes were ravaged by the flash flood, with the last recurring experience dating back 60-year-ago, according to the Al Jazeera report.
Speaking with New Daily Prime correspondent Yunusa, he noted that residents have been living in fear, losing sleep as floods threaten their homes.
The danger is worst in coastal states such as Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta, where rising waters are now a recurring nightmare.
Northern states like Borno, Kogi, and Benue are not spared either; heavy rains and swollen rivers often trigger floods, especially after dam overflow.
While recalling the ugly scene that turned into a day of remembrance for all in Niger State, Adamu Yusuf, a father who narrowly escaped death with his swimming skills, narrated how he helplessly watched his wife and newborn washed away in the intense flood that claimed the lives of hundreds of resident.
Another victim, Farida Auwalu, who lost seven children out of a family of 16, shared that finding solace depends on seeing the remaining bodies of her three children following the recovery of four.
“My hope is to see the remaining bodies and give them a decent burial and closure,” Auwalu shared while speaking with Al Jazeera.
Similarly, in 2022, hundreds of people were killed in the flood that ravaged 34 out of 36 states, displacing more than 1.3 million.
In 2024, another disaster struck again in Borno State after the Alau Dam collapse, killing about 230 people including women and children, leaving 600,000 with no shelter.
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Despite Nigeria being flagged at nine places and ranked 26th in the Climate Change Performance Index 2025 data report—which indicates the need to reduce methane and other pollutant emissions that contribute to global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer—the country still faces environmental issues.
With the recent climate change developments, experts demand that Nigeria embrace energy and renewable transitions instead of operating under fossil fuel emission.
According to the United Nations (UN), climate change is defined as a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. The global agency said the shift can occur due to natural causes, but human activities are the major drivers, highlighting fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas as top contributors.
For Nigeria, the impacts manifest in extreme floods, droughts, and heatwaves that bring health risks and financial straight.
In Taraba State, a 2024 report revealed that crops worth millions of naira were lost when rainfall abruptly ceased. Such events deepen food insecurity, which the UN estimates could affect more than 25 million Nigerian.
Climate change factors
Data obtained from a group of researchers in Nigeria showed that climate change and greenhouse gases are the major sources of the greenhouse effect which constantly affects the ozone layer of the earth.
According to the team of researchers, these challenges are a result of constant carbon excretion from energy production, transportation and land-use change.
Some experts disclosed that other contributors include unregulated construction and poor drainage infrastructure across the country.
Also speaking with this newspaper, the Coordinator for Quest for Growth and Development Foundation (QGDF) in Nigeria, Smith Nwokocha, attributed the effects of climate change seen in Nigeria, and globally, to oil exploration, gas flaring and agricultural deforestation.
“…We are looking at oil and gas, fuel combustion, which is energy including agricultural deforestation—wood removal. These are the major emitters in Nigeria. But across the globe, it’s more of oil and gas because of leakages, oil spill, venting in terms of gas flaring and then waste, also industrial waste,” Nwokocha said, revealing Nigeria is one of the biggest in Africa when it comes to oil and gas production, while citing Nigeria’s 2024 Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1).
He suggested that to avert the reoccurrence of climate change effects—or at least reduce the impact—citizens and non-citizens of Nigeria should adopt the use of electric stove
“I don’t know how we’ll get there, but that is one way we can manage it because we are not so much involved in charcoal cooking. Individuals also need to use solar cookers as well. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), personally, I might not encourage it, but it’s an alternative. People think that gas is clean. Gas is actually not clean, and what I would recommend most for individuals is to look at electric stoves, then solar cookers,” the climate change advocate said.
“These individuals can ensure they are part of providing solutions to the climate change effect,” he said. “They also need to reduce their waste, combustion, and recycle their plastic.
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Explaining further, Nwokocha, who has seven years of practice as a climate change expert, encouraged residents to substitute open burning with tree planting in order to avert flooding, adding that residents and business owners should clean their drainage
“The drainage system, they need to ensure that they clean it up to avoid flooding, because once the drainage system is blocked, you also experience flooding.
He underscored further ways to reduce the extreme effects of climate change, stressing that instead of using generators, residents should invest in solar lanterns, home systems, e-mobility, e-bikes, and electric vehicle.
“For the government,” he said, ‘’They need to ensure that they have a device, a technology that helps them detect leakages and ensure that there’s something that helps them capture floods. Then agricultural businesses need to train farmers to better understand climate change effects and adopt climate-smart practices in agriculture,” the public interest advocate said, also encouraging Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs), noting that it is very important for farmers to ensure efficient fertiliser use and agroforestry.
“SME owners need to shift to solar mini-grids, or hybrid systems. Instead of these diesel generators, they need to switch to clean energy and begin to experience good air quality.
He noted that the government needs to initiate strategic policies to help mitigate climate change effects on its citizens, such as enforcing existing gas flare reduction deadlines with penalties. Unfortunately, he claimed that the Nigerian government allows multinational companies to operate with gas flare-ups, endangering the lives of citizen.
“There should be a penalty for those who do not want to reduce gas flaring. There should be a law that holds some of these oil and gas companies from operating using gas flaring at all costs. There are technological devices in advanced countries used by the oil companies,” he said, further urging the Nigerian government to put an end to gas flaring, noting that it cannot be tolerated in other countries in the global north.
“In fact, the Nigerian government needs to provide subsidies for clean energy, cooking, and solar. They can launch waste separation and recycling hubs in major cities, particularly in busy cities. The government needs to put those things in place and then incentivise many great developers for oil electrification.
“There should be a policy in place. There is a rapid scale-up for renewable energy. While you reform the electricity market, you can invest more in renewable energy to make it clean, better, and even affordable. Governments also need to ensure that our lands are not overused. There should be a lot of tree planting and forests should be well managed instead of cutting down our trees. They should expand the monitoring team to ensure those things are in place.
He added, “For people in the community, companies involved in clean energy and manufacturers should be encouraged with incentives so that they can do better. There should also be data monitoring.
When asked about how Nigeria’s reliance on fossil fuels has contributed to climate change and left the country vulnerable to its effects, he responded that Nigeria’s over-dependence on fossils has increased the effect of climate change in the country.
Speaking on the consequences, he said methane leakage and routine flaring release potent greenhouse gases, noting that 2024 statistics of World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report indicated that Nigerian gas flaring had increased by 12%.
“One can imagine that adding CO2 and methane to the atmosphere,” he stressed, highlighting the impact on the human system.
“There are some climate-induced shocks out of this fossil fuel-driven change we are talking about, which is sea level rising. When you come to Niger Delta now, some of our sea levels are rising, which has threatened even the oil infrastructure and local livelihoods. There are heatwaves and droughts. This thing also affects our agriculture and power system.
“If you come to Niger Delta, you will see that some communities can’t even manage the climate disaster because of internal conflicts that arose from just having oil in your compound or in your community. This will really help to ensure that the reform is made possible.
“Nigeria is feeling the impact. In the 2022 flood, statistics showed that it displaced over 1.4 million people.
Fragile Infrastructure
Nigeria has invested heavily in flood-control infrastructure, yet disasters persist. Between 2015 and 2024, nearly ₦180 billion was allocated for dam construction and rehabilitation. The country has 408 dams — 142 large, 59 mid-sized, and 207 small. But many are poorly maintained, with cracks and weak walls that collapse under pressure
At the Alau Dam, reconstruction only began after its collapse displaced hundreds of thousands. Minister of Water Resources Prof. Joseph Utsev admitted the rehabilitation is critical “not just to prevent another disaster, but to reposition this dam as a multipurpose facility for drinking water, irrigation, and even hydro-power.
Food Security
According to the climate change advocate, the reoccurrence of floods has led to the contamination of water, health implications, destruction of infrastructure, shortage of food supply and increase in food price.
“Even the flood spreads cholera, typhoid, and malaria. You see malnourished individuals because people don’t eat the kind of food they need to eat due to drought-affected areas
“There is recurrent drought, which reduces even production. Livestock suffer because there is no water to drink, so they die. There is desert encroachment. People will move when there is drought for a long time; they tend to move to an area where they can have access to water. Even high temperatures shorten crops. They can’t grow very well when the temperature is so hot,” the founder of Quest said, noting that in a United Nations 2023 report, more than 25 million Nigerians were projected to face acute food insecurity.
“We cannot undermine the health implications of food insecurity. Nigeria needs to begin to map out policies to manage this extreme weather, drought, and floods
Pathway to halt net-zero emission
Looking ahead, on a credible pathway to net-zero emission for Nigeria, Nwokocha said the country already has an energy transition plan to achieve a net-zero emission goal by 2060 but can be achievable if sincerely gets involved in tackling the challenge.
“We don’t know how visible that will be, but to even achieve this net zero, the truth is that we need to be involved rapidly in renewable energy, storage rollout, ending routine flaring, and cutting methane, and then involving clean cooking. Our transportation needs to be electrified, like EVs. There should be massive forest protection and reforestation,” he said, echoing that despite the lapses, Nigeria can achieve its targets to end gas emission.
He believes that when Nigeria starts investing more in tackling climate change challenges, between 2030 to 2045, the country will witness a high level of progress and reduced risk.
Speaking of Nigeria’s political and economic structures and readiness to seek transformation, the public interest advocate said the government has the power, and the recent administration has inaugurated an arm known as the National Council for Climate Change, indicating the government’s willingness to tackle these issues, but urged them to do more by sincerely adopting the recommendation and implementation of the energy transition plan.
“Nigeria needs to be sincere in their political practice, and have people that are sincere to make Nigeria work. They don’t look at the well-being of the populace, which is what our political parties, unfortunately, drive towards
Government intervention
Following President Bola Tinubu’s direction to mitigate floods, tackle water challenges and improve agriculture in the country, particularly for the people of Borno, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Prof. Joseph, on 7 August 2025, disclosed the work progress at the Alau Dam, first built in 1986, following the commencement of the reconstruction and upgrading project, highlighting Federal Government reaffirmation and interventio
Prof. Utsev revealed that the first phase of the work, targeted to avert future tragedy and flood, began in March 2025 and will end by September 2025, while the second phase, targeted at a full-scale upgrade, will begin in October 2025 and will be completed in March 202
“This intervention is critical, not just to prevent another disaster, but to reposition this dam as a multipurpose facility for drinking water, irrigation, and even hydro-power generation in the near future,” Prof. Utsev said, while warning farmers to stay away from the dam environment, citing the risks and implications of cultivating within the axis of the dam as water levels remain under control.
