Nigeria’s Climate Justice Fight Just Got Real – Here’s Who’s Leading It
By: Abudu Olalekan
Monday morning. Abuja air thick with generator fumes and stale coffee. Another workshop. Another “strategic plan review.” But this one? Felt different. You could cut the tension with a machete.
See, Nigeria’s Climate Justice Alliance (NCJA) – that ragtag crew of activists, researchers, farmers, and pissed-off youth – just wrapped their two-day huddle. From Feb 16th to 17th. Trying to figure out how not to drown while politicians argue about paperwork.
Dr. Joseph Onoja (Nigeria Conservation Foundation), Dr. Michael David (Global Initiative for Food Security… yeah, the mouthful), and Dr. Grace Alawa (Sustainable Action for Nature) slapped their names on a communique. Alongside Zinta Akpoko (Bridge That Gap), Udochukwu Egwim (South Saharan Dev Org), Patience Akaase (Women Empowerment Programme), and Ahmed Tiamiyu (Community Action Against Waste). Real people. Real dirt under their nails.
Here’s the raw truth they spat out: Climate justice ain’t happening. Not for the folks getting buried by floods in Benue. Not for the women walking 10km for dirty water in Zamfara. Not for kids hacking down forests just to eat.
“We’re trapped,” one woman told me later, wiping sweat in that AC-less room. “Cut trees for firewood? Sure. Then the rains wash away our soil. More hunger. More kids sick. It’s a fucking loop.”
The communique? Fancy words. “Strengthening community voices.” “Holding duty-bearers accountable.” Cool. But what does it mean?
Simple: They’re done begging.
Done watching oil spills poison creeks while Lagos elites sip bottled water. Done with CSOs tripping over each other for donor cash instead of helping Mama Ngozi in Bayelsa whose farm’s now a swamp.
Weak coordination? Yeah, that’s the killer. These groups – all heart, zero sync – end up shouting into separate megaphones. Government hears noise, not demands. Money vanishes. Communities stay screwed.
“We need one fist,” Zinta Akpoko snapped during coffee break, knuckles white on her mug. “Not ten fingers pointing different ways.”
So what’s the play?
No more silos. CSOs + social enterprises = actual power. Stop working alone like lone wolves.
Gender? Disability? Non-negotiable. If your climate plan ignores pregnant women or wheelchair users? Trash it. Start over.
Call out the liars. Gov agencies. Oil giants. Anyone taking bribes while the Niger Delta burns. NCJA’s got eyes. And phones. And rage.
They’re building working committees – public advocacy, cash hunting, knowledge sharing. Sounds boring? Maybe. But imagine:
Ahmed Tiamiyu training Lagos slum kids to turn plastic waste into bricks.
Patience Akaase teaching women solar drying for crops instead of burning forests.
Dr. Onoja shoving satellite maps in ministers’ faces: “See this red zone? That’s where your ‘development’ drowned 200 homes.”
This isn’t about saving polar bears. It’s about saving us. Right here. Right now. While dust storms choke Kano and rivers swallow villages whole.
Government better listen. Development partners? Stop funding fancy reports. Fund communities. Private sector? Your “green” ads won’t wash away oil stains. Media? Stop chasing celebrity gossip. Cover this.
NCJA’s roadmap? Clear. Brutal. Non-negotiable:
✅ Joint advocacy – hit policymakers together.
✅ Resource mobilization – chase dollars for villages, not VIPs.
✅ Knowledge sharing – no more “secrets” between NGOs.
“It’s messy,” admitted Dr. David, rubbing tired eyes. “Like herding cats. But if we don’t try? Everyone loses.”
I left the workshop sweating. Not just from the broken AC. From hope. Real, gritty, angry hope. These aren’t suits in air-conditioned rooms. They’re the ones knee-deep in floodwater right now.
Will it work? No guarantees. Nigerian bureaucracy eats idealists for breakfast. But for the first time in years? Feels like the tide’s turning. Not with speeches. With action.
So next time you hear “climate justice” and roll your eyes? Remember Mama Ngozi. Remember Ahmed hauling trash. Remember Zinta’s white-knuckled fist on that table.
This fight’s just begun. And it’s ours.
