Environment
Maldives Experience: Nigeria Can Turn Extreme Weather into Prosperity with Good Governance
The conversion of Maldives extreme weather experience into economic prosperity is possible in Nigeria if the country fix governance, transparency and accountability.
Three things are implicated and prioritized in building good resistance and resilience against extreme weather, climate change and planetary restorations : accountability, transparency and good governance.
However, Nigeria’s limited adaptive capacity, driven by economic, institutional, and infrastructure challenges, leaves the country highly exposed to these climate hazards.
Let look at climate actions across vulnerable countries like the Maldives, the sahel region and the Gulf of Guinea starting with Maldives where extreme weather threats has been transformed into building good governance, transparency and accountability.
In the Maldives, Climate change poses an existential threat with 80% of its islands sitting less than one meter above sea level, risking total submersion by 2100 due to sea-level rises of up to 0.9 meters.
Key impacts include severe coastal erosion, flooding, destruction of coral reefs, depletion of freshwater aquifers, and threats to tourism and fishing, which are critical to the nation’s economy.
The efforts of the government is creating progress and prosperity in recreational communities and attracting over 2m tourists annually is turning adversity into prosperity.
In corollary, Nigeria sits in the 2 most promising economic areas in the world: the Gulf of Guinea and the sahel region. How does Nigeria create economic growth and prosperity from the crisis in this region starting with the Gulf of Guinea.
Climate change in the Gulf of Guinea drives severe sea-level rise (~3.89 mm/yr), causing intense coastal erosion, flooding, and saltwater intrusion that destroy infrastructure and ecosystems.
Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall threaten fishing, agriculture, and livelihoods, particularly in densely populated cities like Lagos, Accra, and Abidjan.
Nigeria can turn her economic challenges into fortunes if she approaches the sahel region with the Maldives model where climate actions changed threat to prosperity and progress.
On the otherhand, the sahel Savannah is the region of contradictions in poverty, insecurity and prosperity.
The Sahel is experiencing rapid, severe climate change impacts, with temperatures rising 1.5 times faster than the global average.
Key effects include erratic rainfall, severe droughts, and intense flooding, which degrade agricultural productivity, destroy livelihoods, drive displacement of millions, and exacerbate conflict over scarce resources.
Let’s understand the real issue of climate change in Nigeria and the need to redouble efforts and create the pathway and framework for economic growth and development.
How has governance, transparency and accountability change the fight against climate change in Nigeria.
Climate change in Nigeria drives severe environmental and economic crises, including devastating floods in the south, rapid desertification in the north, and extreme heatwaves nationwide, making it one of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
These shifts destroy agriculture, reduce food security, and cause violent conflicts over dwindling resources. As the country prepares for the 2026 season of extreme weather conditions, the choice between politics, elections and environmental protection and economic consequences stares at the nation.
Nigeria must remember that the World Economic Forum has identified extreme weather conditions as the third most disruptive action against global economy because anywhere there is natural disasters, there are also economic disasters.
AVM RTD AKUGBE IYAMU MNSA fsi
CONSULTANT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ANALYST ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
PRESIDENT ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE PRACTITIONERS
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service is actively salvaging a 45,000-litre diesel tanker that upturned at Liverpool bridge outward Apapa, Tin Can Island, Lagos. Emergency officials confirm the situation is now under control.
The tanker was successfully saved from a secondary incident. Security agents were deployed to curtail a crowd attempting to scoop the fuel. “Emergency scene secured from scoopers,” an update confirmed, allowing safe trans-loading of the remaining contents to proceed.
Authorities are urging motorists to take alternative routes while maintaining control of the affected area.
Operations are ongoing with further details expected.
Nigeria has solidified its position as West Africa’s climate action leader after submitting the region’s first 3rd National Determined Contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Vice President Kashim Shettima is set to unveil Nigeria’s green transition roadmap at the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, aiming to transform climate commitments into concrete investment opportunities and projects.
In a statement, Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, emphasized Nigeria’s dedication to global climate goals. “For us as a country, it is not just about our participation at COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, but it shows clearly the President’s commitment to the 2016 Paris accord, to which Nigeria is a signatory, and ensuring that article 13 of that accord, which talks about climate change, is duly pursued and being implemented to the letter,” Nkwocha stated.
Director General of Nigeria’s National Council on Climate Change, Tenioye Majekodunmi, revealed Nigeria’s pioneering status in an interview ahead of the summit’s opening ceremony. Majekodunmi noted with delight that Nigeria’s early submission positions the country to leverage COP30 for substantial investment gains and partnerships. In a statement, she said, “This is particularly what we call the implementation COP that we have all been waiting for here in Belem, and we are very excited that it has come. COP 30 is particularly important for us in Nigeria because of the momentum that we have gathered in the last two months leading up to the summit. First with the submission of our NDC 3.0 and us being the first West African country to submit—this is a turning point for Nigeria.”
Majekodunmi highlighted three key takeaways for Nigeria at COP30. She explained that the summit would help turn deliverables in the NDC 3.0 into pipeline projects, partnerships, and pay-for-performance models. “We need to start turning from paper to projects, and COP 30 is where Nigeria would be doing this,” she added. Secondly, she pointed to Nigeria’s recent approval of the National Carbon Market Framework and operationalisation of the National Climate Change Fund, which signals to investors that Nigeria is open for high-integrity carbon investments. In a statement, Majekodunmi emphasized, “Belem gives us the right global matchmaking platform to be able to achieve this, and we are quite excited about what is going to happen.” Thirdly, she noted Nigeria’s aim to deepen South-South cooperation on climate change, particularly through forest protection initiatives with regions like the Amazon, Congo, and Guinea.
Nkwocha further outlined Nigeria’s emission reduction targets, confirming the country’s commitment to cutting emissions by 32 percent by 2035. He stated that Vice President Shettima would present Nigeria’s climate action address at the general plenary of leaders and participate in a high-level thematic session on “Climate and Nature: Forests and Oceans.” Nkwocha reiterated that Nigeria’s participation underscores its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Accord.
Environment
OPU NEMBE KINGDOM IN BAYELSA STATE HIT BY NEW OIL SPILL AMIDST ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL STRUGGLES
The Opu Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa State is grappling with a fresh oil spill from an 8-inch delivery line operated by Nembe Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, formerly known as Aiteo, barely weeks before the fourth anniversary of the devastating 2021 Santa Barbara oil blowout. The spill occurred on October 1, 2025, near the Santa Barbara well in OML 29, reigniting fears among residents still recovering from the impact of the 2021 disaster that lasted over a month.
In a letter to the company’s Health, Safety and Environment Manager, Augustine Amaka Bisong, the community’s legal representatives, Iniruo Wills and Dr. Dickson Omukoro of Ntephe Smith and Wills, accused the firm of poor crisis management and disregard for its host community. Aiteo informed the community of the spill only on October 5 — four days after the incident — requesting a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) for October 6, which the Opu Nembe leadership rejected, describing it as “a show of disrespect” and rescheduling it to October 9, 2025, for proper representation.
“Our clients deserve adequate notice to assemble a competent JIV team, some of whom travel from Lagos, Port Harcourt, or Yenagoa,” the letter read in part. “This ensures due diligence and prevents the manipulation of the JIV process, which has become a recurring problem.” The community demanded a thorough investigation into the spill, assessment of its environmental and health impact, and prompt remediation to protect residents reliant on fishing and farming.
“Beyond this spill, our clients demand a top-level engagement between the company, the community’s technical team, and regulators to establish a lasting framework that ends this continual environmental burden,” the letter added. Aiteo, which acquired Shell Petroleum Development Company’s OML 29 in 2015, has faced several spill-related controversies in Nembe.
The Opu Nembe Kingdom is pursuing a separate legal battle against the oil, with a case at the Federal High Court in Yenagoa (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/284/2024), seeking compensation and environmental justice over three major spills recorded between 2019 and 2020. In a recent correspondence dated October 7, 2025, Opu Nembe’s counsel expressed frustration over repeated adjournments allegedly sought by Aiteo’s lawyers. “Our clients, who depend on oil-polluted waters for daily survival, view these delays as unnecessary and insensitive,” the letter stated. “After five years of Aiteo evading liability, further adjournments only reinforce the impression of a defendant taking the judicial process for granted.”
The community’s legal team urged Aiteo’s counsel to cooperate for a timely conclusion, stressing justice delayed amounts to justice denied. Environmental law advocates have renewed calls for specialized environmental courts to fast-track oil pollution cases in the Niger Delta. The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission’s 2023 report revealed about 25 percent of all oil spills in the Niger Delta occur within the state, highlighting flaws in the Joint Investigation Visit process including weak oversight and industry interference.
As Nembe communities face ongoing environmental and legal battles, frustration mounts over what residents describe as “a recurring cycle of neglect, pollution, and injustice” leaving an enduring scar on their creeks.