By Rotimi Ajayi

Since his inauguration on May 29 this year, President Goodluck Jonathan has kept his election promise of “give me your vote, I will not disappoint you.” Curiously, his keeping the promise does not manifest in the expected delivery of policies with integrity, rather it manifests in not giving Nigerians what could be “globally” adjudged as sound policies and actions.

Nigeria became a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and thereafter the Kyoto Protocol. Immediately after signing on, activities commenced with the support of the Development Agencies, for development of policies that will aid in tackling Climate Change threats and impacts.

The threats and impacts of climate change on Nigeria are well documented not only in the Nigerian National Communications sent to the UNFCCC by Nigeria, but also in the Reports of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change.

In the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action (NASPA) released by the Ministry of Environment in November this year, “Climate change is already having significant impacts in Nigeria, and these impacts are expected to increase in the future. Recent estimates suggest that, in the absence of adaptation, climate change could result in a loss of between 2% and 11% of Nigeria’s GDP by 2020, rising to between 6% and 30% by the year 2050. This loss is equivalent to between N15 trillion (US$100 billion) and N69 trillion (US$460 billion).”

A supplementary proposal document on need for National Climate Change Trust Fund reads in part, “Climate change is a serious threat to poverty eradication and sustainable development in Nigeria. This is because the country has a large rural population directly depending on climate sensitive economic and development sectors and natural resources for their subsistence and livelihoods.

In addition, the adaptive capacity of the rural majority to climate change impacts is very low. The costs of not addressing climate change or to adapt to it are very uncertain, but their welfare consequences are expected to be enormous. “

Now, all efforts by the previous administrations are being grounded to a halt by the lassitude of the Jonathan administration. Africa just hosted the most important conference on climate change deals in Durban and Nigerian President, who claims big brother position was missing in all the actions.

One would have expected him to fly to South Africa to give strong support to his brother, Jacob Zuma to the effect that Africa was serious about climate change. Even when he chose to tour three African nations, South Africa was missing out. Again, the President demonstrated the policy tardiness of his administration in the 2012 budget speech when he glaringly left out Environment among the policy priority of his administration.

It goes to show his underestimation of the social and security threats of climate change. This perhaps informed the near miss that Nigeria had at the Durban meeting as our delegates arrived embarrassingly late due to delay in release of funds to support the meeting. Sources even disclosed that the President ignored invitations sent to him to attend the opening of the climate meeting.

It is curious that the same President brought on board by Environmental factor is the one who has chosen to sleep away on this critical issue already affecting Nigerians. Just as the Director of Climate Action Network, Ewah Eleri said, “we will not be tired at telling the power that be that they are taking a wrong turn on our economy by neglecting climate change.

That we will not reach the goals of the transformation agenda on our economy if we don’t address gas flaring, we cannot reach the goals of transformation agenda, if we do not address the challenges that climate put into out Agricuture.” Does Mr. President know this? His actions and utterances do not promise breath of fresh air.