BY Guest Writer
BY CHIMA WILLIAMS
The Buhari Years: What We Ordered vs What We Got – civil society leaders reflect on the Buhari Administration and its achievements, shortcomings, and regressive steps. This article focuses on the environment.
The outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s environmental protection footprints in the past eight years can be evaluated under two subheadings thus:
POLICIES AND LEGISLATIONS
Within the past eight years of the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari administration, I can say some milestones were achieved in the area of legislation and policies for the protection of the Nigerian environment.
The above assertion is premised on some of the practical steps taken by the outgoing administration from the beginning of their tenure.
In September 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari, before addressing the opening of the meeting on Taking Climate Action for Sustainable Development in New York, co-hosted by Nigeria and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as one of the Side Events of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71), signed the Paris Agreement, where he committed Nigeria to reduce “greenhouse gas emissions unconditionally by 20% and conditionally by 45% in line with Nigeria’s nationally determined contributions”. And in November 2016 while addressing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-22) in Marrakech, Morocco, he reiterated the pledge that Nigeria would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2030.
In 2017, the federal government adopted the ‘Economic Recovery & Growth Plan 2017-2020′ which, among other things, stated the position of the government on how to raise resources from the otherwise wasted associated gas through flaring by petroleum industry players. This will further reduce the hazardous impacts of gas flaring and increase the revenue base for the nation.
In 2018, the government enacted the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Policy 2018. The policy is clear that gas flaring is prohibited.
In 2021, Mr President signed into law the Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021 which provides the strategic focus of Nigeria in combating climate change and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 whose long and unenviable history is in the public domain.
Despite there being issues of concern with the Climate Change Act and the Petroleum Industry Act, as an environmentalist, I will not be afraid to say that the passage of these laws with environmental protection provisions were positive acts by Mr President in the area of environmental protection and preservation within the years under review.
The enactment of the above showed the seriousness of the outgoing administration in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change which is one of the key drivers of environmental degradation and havoc in Nigeria.
The above especially the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Policy 2018, which clearly states that gas flaring is prohibited, and the Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021 which provides the strategic focus of Nigeria in combating climate change, are in line with the judgment in the case of Jonah Gbemre V. Shell & Others – a case we supported and are still supporting at the appeal court.
PRACTICAL PROTECTION OF THE NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT
Whereas we can say that the outgoing administration fared well in environmental protection policies and legislations, I dare say that cannot be said of the practical protection of the Nigerian environment. The critical failure areas include:
(ii) No mention was made by the outgoing administration on the call for a comprehensive environmental audit of the Niger Delta to determine first the level of pollution within the region and propose mechanisms and processes for the recovery and restoration of the environment, citizens’ livelihoods and health. The call for the establishment of environmental restoration bonds by both divesting and new investing companies in the Nigerian Petroleum Sector was not given the due attention it deserved as one of the steps towards protecting the Nigerian environment from any petroleum operational disasters.
Flowing from the above, it is evidently manifest that it was not all celebrations in the Nigerian environmental protection milieu by the outgoing administration’s policies and practices and we therefore call on the incoming administration to look at the lacunas and fill them up.
Chima Williams is the executive director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria & 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize (Nobel Green Prize) Winner for Africa.
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