Climate change and security implications for Northern Nigeria.

Loss of farmlands, grazing lands, fishing grounds and fertile soil are the biggest drivers of the persistent crisis bedeviling the Northern region of Nigeria.
Desertification and draught costs about 350000 hectares, states such as Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara are extremely vulnerable, and not surprisingly, these states have seen a sharp rise in kidnapping, banditry and the activities of transnational terrorist groups (ISWAP, Ansaru) etc.
From 1960 to date, Lake Chad has receded by over 90% of its original size, this has cost lost of farmlands, hunting and fishing grounds for millions of people in the North Eastern region, this region for over a decade has been plagued by the scourge of terrorism, exacerbated by the receding of the lake chad and desertification thus contributing immensely to the provision of enabling and fertile ground for recruitment for ISWAP and a host of terrorist franchises.
Climate change coupled with a rapid rise in population increases pressure on scarce resources, ignites age old conflicts and or creates new ones. This perpetuates the circle of poverty amongst the mostly rural poor, increases rural-urban migration, fuels conflicts and crime.
These activities have reaching consequences for our national and food security as the intervention of nature denies those communities the use of hundreds of thousands of arable land annually whilst the activities of man which may or may not arise as a consequence of the intervention of nature are also denying hundreds of thousands of farmers access to their farmlands.
If this should be sustained for a significant period of time, the recent and nascent gains in the agricultural sector will be lost, food security threatened and a famine may arise as a consequence.

In light of the foregoing, concrete strategies must be adopted to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The first is behavioral change. The Northerner must fully understand the impending doom associated with his livelihood, environment and overall quality of life. Climate Change and its impacts must therefore be introduced into our curriculum both at primary and secondary level. The next generation must grow up with a different mentality where sustainability and conservation inform all social and economic activities. We must as a people begin to have positive attitudes towards climate change mitigation strategies such as tree planting, recycling and water management.

Secondly, all nothern states can declare a particular day of the year which should be generally around the onset of the rainy season, something called "plant a tree day". This initiative should he driven by all the state governors and should be embraced both public and private sector. On this day, govt agencies, schools, banks and other enterprises should encourage their respective membership to plant at least a single tree. Imagine all schools, MDAs, banks, industries, students and workers, coming out en masse to plant a tree. Not just in one state but accross the region asva whole. This will not only improve the environment but will also create jobs. Furthermore it will trigger more concern for the environment as whole, leading to a more secure and prosperous North.

As Nigeria's national security architecture deals with an array of kinetic threats, the nation must not ignore nor underestimate the national security posed by climate change.

The writer can be reached via;

Email: walinajeeb2@gmail.com

Phone: +2347030758038