IN recent times, some parts of the country have been ravaged by floods, violent winds, desertification, erosion and other destructive effect of climate change.To mitigate the devastating impact of climate change in the country, the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) has called for Presidential ascent to the Bill that will ensure the creation of Climate Change Commission two years after passage by the National Assembly.The Academy also faulted the response of the federal government to the devastating effects of climate change in the country despite early warnings even as they commended President Goodluck Jonathan on adoption of the Climate Change Policy.The Academy said climate change is impeding development in Africa, preventing the country from meeting national objectives, and the continent from meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).To adequately address the devastating impact of climate change on the environment, health, agriculture and food security, and economy, and provide evidence-based advice to governments; the African Science Academies (ASA) from Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Madagascar and the United States National Academies of Science (USNAS) will meet in Lagos between Sunday November 11 to Wednesday November 14.The ASA was brought together, in 2004, by the Bill & Melinda Gates-supported African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI). The USNAS is helping to build the capacities of African academies of Science to support their governments by providing the evidence to inform policy.President NAS, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, at a recent press briefing ahead of the 8th Annual Meeting of African Science Academies (AMASA-8) with theme, 'Climate Change in Africa: Using Science to Reduce Climate Risks,' said the federal government has not responded properly to the flood disaster that have ravaged the country in recent times.Ibidapo-Obe said: 'The funny thing about the Lokoja flood disaster is that it was predicted that it was going to happen but what were the mitigating effects. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) despite their predictions and warning in March under estimated the Lokoja flood. There are reasons to be on top of this kind of disaster. What happened in Lokoja just tells us how important climate change mitigation can be.'The NAS President further stated: 'You need to be systematic in approaching the issues. Our government has not done much on mitigating the impact of climate change. The government has not taken the most important step that is doing a risk assessment. If a proper risk assessment was done the Lokoja flood disaster would have been mitigated even before the road from Lokoja to Abuja that has been cut off was built. We are not doing enough and we have been very tardy in taking decisions.'Go to Texas they are prepared for hurricane and everybody residents aware of it. When you damage the environment you put wahala (trouble) on yourself. When you destroy the trees because we need the trees to live. We caused the problems. Look at the Atlantic City project in Lagos, it will destroy the ecosystem. We are taunting the environment and we are actually inviting the environment to war. Are we prepared for this war' If we keep on harassing nature, nature is going to react. We need to understand that we need to conserve nature.'Past President NAS and chairman AMASA 8 Local organizing committee, Prof. David Okali, said: 'The adoption of the Climate Change Policy on September 13, 2012 by President Goodluck Jonathan is commendable. The National Assembly in 2010 passed a Bill on creation of Climate Change Commission but Mr. President has not signed it into law. The country has been doing something to address the issue even at the government level but we need a strategy on adaptation on climate change.'It is important that we lend the scientific voice to dealing with this phenomenon. Climate change is a topical issue affecting the development of African countries and there is need to increase African Science academies involvement in dealing with the phenomenon.
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