The Country Director of International Alert, Dr Paul Nyulaku-Bemshima, has said
conflict and climate change are existential issues that must be dealt with together.
He made this known at a just concluded workshop on the Nigerian Conflict Sensitivity and Climate Adaptation Facility (NC-SAF) for civil society organsiations and Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja.
The workshop themed: “Capacity Building and Strategy Planning Workshop on Conflict Sensitivity and Climate Adaptation Approaches” was organised by International Alert with support from Irish Aid.
Nyulaku-Bemshima said the workshop which was a follow-up to the launch of the NC-SAF in November brought together key stakeholders to discuss the intersections of climate change and conflict in Nigeria.
Nyulaku-Bemshima said the strategy session would prepare stakeholders with enough knowledge and skills to make the most contribution of the priorities into the NC-SAF.
He said although there existing work being done on climate change and peace building in Nigeria, however, organisations were working in silos, thus the need for harmonisation.
“Coming together gives us a multiplier effect in terms of advocacy and in terms of creating the needed policy change,”he said.
Also,the National Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum and a professor of Sociology with interest in Environment, Societies, and Conflict, Prof. Muhammad
Baba said the convergence was very important in the sense that it raised consciousness amongst stakeholders about the impact and the intersection of climate, conflict, and other issues affecting the society.
In his words “We know there is a great nexus between ability of people to utilise the environment and conflict. In a lot of places in Nigeria, in the Northwest, in the Northeast and the Central, these are daily issues that affect the lives of the people.
“I think one of the first steps towards the solution is to understand exactly what is going on. What are the dynamics between climate change and induction of conflict? And how do this impact on human social organisation?
“This is because if we are not careful, climate change is something that will lead to conflict and this conflict will consume everyone, protagonists and antagonists especially with the rising population in Nigeria,” he said.
Also, the President of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Mr Nathaniel Awuapila,said the meeting came at an important moment when the Federal Ministry of Evironment was also working on conflict sensitivity.
Awuapila said the workshop was an opportunity to galvanise the necessary momentum to make sure that the climate change policy was not just on paper, but implemented across the country.
“Nigerians need to acknowledge that climate change is real. There are stakeholders, very influential people that have continued to deny the impact of climate change,”he said.