Environment & climate

This year's flooding proves that climate change is real. Rise in temperature, rise in ocean levels, excessive rains, are all indicative of climatic changes. The poor, the well to do and the rich are affected alike.

Impact of climate on Nigeria is quite severe. Besides causing excessive rainfall, flash floods, landslides, and gully erosion, climate change also affects our food production, our forestry and related costs of building and furniture materials. We contribute to climate change,

I am deeply saddened by the multiple loss of lives and disruption of activities in Maiduguri, Borno state capital which has just been hit by a devastating flood disaster. It is heartbreaking to think about the families who have been bereaved or torn apart, the homes that have been destroyed, and the livelihoods that have been ruined. I can only imagine the pain and suffering that the people of Maiduguri are going through right now. My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I hope that they find the strength and resilience to get through this difficult time. In times like these together as a nation, we must support each other. I urge the federal and state governments to do everything within their powers to provide aid and relief to those affected by this natural disaster . We need to work together to rebuild and restore the communities that have been damaged. May God console and protect the people of Maiduguri, and may He give them the courage and hope they need to face the days ahead. -PO

It was refreshing news on Monday to a bewildered nation learning that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State. For this I thank him even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently. Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visits would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that makes it look like a state visit. The presence of the President in these devastated and grieving communities will be very reassuring and uplifting. Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies. In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods. These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed. The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations, still significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made some days ago from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims in his country. Less than 100 persons died in Mthatha, and more than 200 died in Mokwa, with over 1000 still missing. If the South African President could do it, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people. Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message, that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten. Please also consider stepping up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas. We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO

No, Mr President, this is not the Time for Holidaying. Dear Nigerians, I am struggling with my senses to understand what is happening to governance in this country. What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want. In the past two years, Nigeria has lost more people to all sorts of criminality than a country that is officially at war. Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from. With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. The Presidency release merely confirmed an earlier news report since last week where the Prime Minister of the Caribbean Philip J. Pierre announced at a pre-cabinet press briefing on Monday, last week that President Bola Tinubu is expected to depart Nigeria on Saturday, June 28, 2025, for Saint Lucia for official engagements and private leisure time. According to the Prime Minister’s announcement “two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation. I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos. I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President, on whose table the buck stops in this country, with all the myriad problems in virtually all areas of governance, would contemplate a leisure trip at this time. This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger state where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster. I wonder which type of incident will happen before a President is attracted to show physical sympathy to the distressed citizens. The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi the state capital for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack. In terms of land size, Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489 839 and Minna, with 532, 000 is almost three times the population of St Lucia. I don't think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops. This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace, going by the way it prioritises the rich and shows indifference to the poor. This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed. One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number. Finally, I like to let our leaders know one thing that the God given resources of this country belong to all, not to a few. The time has come to put a stop to this drift before it consumes all and focus on pulling people out of poverty. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO

Managing Disaster is a critical aspect of governance that every government should take seriously. The frequency of disasters in our country and the needless bloodletting should raise concerns for our government at all levels. My heart goes out to the families of the latest disaster who have lost loved ones and to all those injured in the tragic flood in Yola. This is another painful reminder of the urgent need for serious investment in disaster preparedness, environmental protection, and urban infrastructure across Nigeria. I acknowledge and commend the prompt action taken by the State Government of Adamawa, the Police Command and other agencies of Government in the rescue efforts. However, disasters must no longer be reduced to passing headlines. It is time for our government, at all levels, to embrace a proactive approach. Investing in effective drainage infrastructure to protect our people and preserve their means of livelihood. I stand in solidarity with the affected communities in Adamawa State and call on NEMA and other relevant authorities to move swiftly to provide relief and long-term support for the victims. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may healing come swiftly to the injured and displaced. –PO

Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy My attention has been drawn to trending claims by the Anambra State Government that my administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities, and unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. This is completely false. We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion. At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified. The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project. The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion. It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind. If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning. -PO