African countries must continue to explore various measures to combat climate change, desertification while also addressing food insecurity and poverty across the continent.
This is one of the reasons Nigeria plans to attain net zero by 2060; as its “energy transition plan also focuses on how to creatively transit to net zero emissions and at the same time increase access to power and high agricultural and industrial output.”
This was stated by President Muhammadu Buhari in a speech Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, delivered on his behalf in Abuja Thursday at the 8th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW), which Nigeria is hosting.
Nigeria is part of the African Union’s Great Green Wall initiative which aims to restore the continent’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives, while boosting food security, and strengthening climate resilience.
Highlighting the importance of tackling both poverty and climate change on the continent, the President stated that “it is important to emphasize that for Africa, mitigation and adaptation methods for climate change must be mindful of the fact that Africa is confronted with twin challenges.
The ravages of climate change but perhaps more importantly the existential problem of extreme poverty. Both, not one, must be addressed,” President Buhari stated.
The President noted that “we must take every opportunity and especially at meetings like this, to remind ourselves as African leaders and our development friends, of what the Great Green wall Initiative is and what it is not.
According to him, while the original vision was to create a wall of trees against desertification in the Sahel, the horn and across North Africa, the Great Green Wall today has a more ambitious reach—it is now a variety of sustainable land use practices designed to combat climate change and desertification and to address food insecurity and poverty.”
Buttressing on measures taken by Nigeria so far in addressing climate change, the President noted that “Nigeria believes that protecting our planet, its biodiversity and climate are essential to our collective survival. The impact of climate change is upon us all over the continent – drought and desertification increasing conflicts over pasture and water, food insecurity, loss of livelihood and youth migration among others.”
Noting the receding Lake Chad due to the effects of climate change, the President observed that if this major challenge is not addressed urgently, “fishing, dry season farming and all other associated value chain benefits are lost or greatly reduced.”
Urging synergy among African countries in addressing these existential and other associated challenges, the President said, “we must build climate-resilient economies that effectively align with the SDGs and that have great potential for unlocking the full opportunities in different sectors of the economy, while protecting the resources for present and future generations.
President Buhari noted steps taken by the Nigerian government in this regard, including the recently signed Nigeria Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project with the World bank.
He disclosed that the project “will increase the implementation of sustainable landscape management practices in northern Nigeria and strengthen the country’s long-term enabling environment for integrated climate-resilient landscape management.”
While he commended the current initiatives by the international technical and financial partners for pledging financial resources to support the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative, the President urged for financing to help preserve African rain forests which he said absorb no less than 1.5 billion tons of CO2 yearly.
“This is more than the Amazon or any other region’s rainforests. Financing is needed to help preserve these vital carbon sinks: because without viable alternative energy sources, much of the local population still depends on burning firewood for cooking and heating. So, there is a need to provide sustainable energy alternatives – and to compensate regional governments who in the interest of maintaining these carbon sinks for us all have to forgo deforestation for agriculture or industrialisation.”
President Buhari further noted that Decennial Priority Investment Plan (DPIP) 2021 – 2030 as an important pillar of the overall great green wall project.
“The Plan is hinged on sustainable land management actions that emphasize ecosystem restoration, recovery and conservation of land and biodiversity, socio-economic development activities, adaptation and resilience to climate change.”
He added that the commitment of every nation will be important in meeting the deadline of the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Agenda.
“The early disbursement of the pledged resources without stringent conditionalities would indeed see the transformation of our degraded ecosystems.”
“I have in my capacity as the President of the Conference of Heads of States and Government of Member States, directed the Honourable Minister of Finance of Nigeria to lead the Initiative to access the funds pledged by our Partners under the Great Green Wall Accelerator. The Minister will take appropriate States in line with the understanding we had at the Abidjan side meeting held on 9th May, 2022,” he added.
Also, the President, on behalf of the Nigeria government, and in fulfillment of Nigeria’s pledge to support the PAGGW, stated that he had directed the Federal Ministry of Environment to coordinate the release of some vehicles for the use of the PAGGW Secretariat and Allied Agencies.
“Having also fulfilled the payment of our outstanding contribution of about $654,291 only, I am also glad to pledge the sum of $550,000 only as our contribution to the building of the Great Green Wall Secretariat. I call on other member countries to follow suit by contributing towards the building of a befitting office for the PAGGW”, he stated.
After declaring open the Session, the Vice President proceeded to flag-off the 2022 Tree Planting Campaign, calling on States Governments to “replicate the same across their various States so that Nigeria can meet its pledge of planting 25 million trees in the next two years.”
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Nigeria endowed with commercial solid minerals in 500 sites – Adegbite
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, says Nigeria is endowed with quality commercial minerals in over 500 locations across the country.
Adegbite said this in his speech during the Nigerian Day at the 2022 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), International Convention, Trade Show and Investors Exchange in Toronto, Canada on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the speech is titled: ”The Mechanisms of Transparency and Commitment in Mining Governance as Tool for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment to Nigeria’’
According to him, Nigeria is blessed with 44 different types of minerals in commercial quantity in over 500 locations in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said these minerals broadly cut across the various mineral spectrums, adding that these deposits are categorised into five groups according to their uses.
He said these include: baryte, kaolin, gypsum, feldspar, limestone, energy minerals such as coal, bitumen, lignite, uranium.
Others are: metallic ore minerals, such as gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead-zinc, copper; construction minerals such as granite, laterite and sand
Under precious stones are: sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst, garnet among others.
“This clearly demonstrates the wide mineral spectrum we are endowed with, which offers limitless opportunities along the value chain, for job creation, revenue growth and among others.
“Nigeria provides one of the highest rates of return because its minerals are closer to the surface,” he said.
He said that the first phase of mineral exploration project which was the National Integrated Mineral Exploration Programme (NIMEP), designed to rapidly generate bankable geoscientific data had been completed.
He said the aim of the project was to de-risk the sector and attract high caliber investments, adding that target minerals under the first phase include gold, lead-zinc, iron ore, battery minerals, among others.
He said “The contractors have executed and completed the exploration works on Gold, Platinum Group of Elements (PGEs), Lead-Zinc, Iron Ore and Barites; results on Greenfields and Brownfields are on process to be declared for investment opportunities.”
He said that the Federal Government of Nigeria had in its relentless commitment towards the sector provided support by putting up a strong policy and regulatory structure to attract development.
“That robust structure, line by line, is possibly our strongest argument today, for seeking to attract investment into Nigeria.
“Nigeria has been part of this event for several years because of our determination to see exponential growth of the mining sector’s contribution to our GDP more than it has done in the past forty years.
“We are here to collaborate and network with global leaders, professionals, investors, Chief Executives of junior, mid-tier and major mining companies,” he said.
The minister said that the Federal Government had also commenced the process of retrieving Nigeria’s colonial geological data from the United Kingdom.
He said: “We are engaging the British Geological Survey (BGS) to build a national electronic geo-data archiving management system to be called the Nigerian Geo-Data Center at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).
This will provide easy access to geoscience data for prospective investors on potential areas to target for exploration and mining within and outside Nigeria.
“Currently, there is an ongoing review of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007.
“The aim of the review is to bring legislation into conformity with global best practices, limiting the role of government to that of regulation and creating space for the private sector to maintain a more expansive presence in the sector.”
