By: Oluwaseun M. Lawal

Abuja. Tuesday. The rain had barely stopped when the city’s conference hall began to fill. Suits, traditional attires, name tags swinging as people moved from one coffee table to another. Conversations—some loud, some in whispers—were all about one thing: climate change.

Sen. George Akume, Nigeria’s Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had a message. A serious one. “We must act. Together.” He wasn’t standing at the podium himself—Mr. Nadungu Gagare, his Permanent Secretary for Political and Economic Affairs, carried his words. But still, the hall listened.

This was the Africa Infrastructure and Climate Change Summit (AICIS 2025). Two days. Dozens of countries. Leaders, policymakers, development partners, experts—people who can actually make things happen—were in the room. The mission was clear: find ways to build climate-resilient infrastructure and a greener economy for Africa.

The summit kicked off August 11. It ended the next day. But the urgency in the air? That will linger far longer.

Akume didn’t sugarcoat it. “Africa is at a crossroads,” he said. A continent blessed with gold, oil, rivers, sunshine—yet battling melting glaciers, heat waves, droughts, floods. And that’s just the climate part. Infrastructure gaps, shaky economies, resource shortages—they all make the fight harder.

“This summit is our platform,” he told them. “To share ideas. Forge partnerships. Build a future.” His call wasn’t just for Nigeria. It was for Africa. For the world.

Then came the turn of Mr. Moses Owharo, Chairman of the AICIS Planning Committee. He spoke with the urgency of a man who has seen both the problem and the solution. “We face huge gaps—in infrastructure, climate action, and resources,” he said. “But in those gaps, there’s opportunity. For innovation. For investment. For growth that includes everyone.”

Owharo pushed for stronger public–private partnerships, saying government can’t do it alone. “Our role, as private institutions, is to complement policy. To make impact real in people’s lives,” he said.

The summit wasn’t just talk. People swapped contacts. Ideas were sketched on napkins. Promises were made—some quietly, in corners.

Voices from across industries weighed in. Farouk Ahmed, Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, gave his take. Abdulhameed Aliyu from NIRSAL spoke on financing agriculture in a changing climate. Dr. Matthew Adepoju of NASRDA touched on the role of space technology.

Even the academic front was there—Dr. Eniola Ajani from Africa Aviation and Aerospace University brought the postgraduate perspective. Former House Committee on Climate Change chairman Sam Onuigbo showed up. The NNPC Foundation’s Emmanuella Arukwe was also present, along with diplomats who have seen these debates play out in capitals across the globe.

But beneath the formal titles and long job descriptions, the underlying point was simple.

Africa is running out of time. And if the people in that room don’t act now, the next summit might be about surviving the damage—not preventing it.