Sustainability and climate action: Nigeria’s future must run through every sector
By: Abudu Olalekan
It was a small book launch. Quiet venue. Few carefully picked guests. But the message that came out of that room was anything but small.
Rep. Sam Onuigbo sat there, flipping through the pages of a new book, “Blue Economy: Gateway to a Sustainable Future,” written by Dr. Chika Chukwudi. He looked up, and his point was simple enough: if Nigeria is serious about its future, then sustainability and climate action can’t just sit in speeches or policy memos. They have to run through every single sector of the economy. All of it.
He didn’t say it as theory. More like a warning. And a chance.
Onuigbo, who chairs the Committee on Security, Climate Change and Special Interventions at the North East Development Commission (NEDC), described climate action as something that has moved far beyond a nice-to-have agenda. For him, it’s now a national survival issue. Nigeria is already feeling the heat—quite literally—with floods, heatwaves, rising seas, and communities pushed to the edge.
According to him, Nigeria’s future really depends on how well climate action is woven into agriculture, transport, energy, education, finance, security, even tourism. Not boxed in one ministry. Not treated like an “environmental” corner issue.
This is where the idea of the blue economy came in. The book he was reviewing isn’t just about oceans and fancy jargon. It’s about using Nigeria’s waters—its 853 km coastline and roughly 46,000 square kilometres of maritime area—in a smarter way. Carefully. Profitably. And still keeping them alive for the next generation.
He linked this to something bigger: the Climate Change Act. That law, he explained, doesn’t just talk about emissions in abstract. It actually insists on nature-based solutions. In Section 27, the Act tells the Climate Change Council to adopt and promote approaches that work with nature: mangroves, wetlands, oceans, coastal habitats—all treated as frontline tools for reducing greenhouse gases and adapting to climate shocks.
The current administration, he noted, has tried to move from paper to action by implementing this Act and creating the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. That ministry, in his view, is not just another bureaucracy. It’s supposed to become a focused engine—coordinating maritime transport, fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism, offshore energy, and inland waterways so they generate jobs and growth without destroying the very water systems they depend on.
He pointed out something many people overlook: the Climate Change Act also pushes Nigeria towards Natural Capital Accounting. In Section 29(1), it directs the Council to work with the National Bureau of Statistics to build Natural Capital Accounts. Put simply, that means measuring the value of ecosystems—oceans, wetlands, forests—in real economic terms, and not acting like they are invisible or free.
To Onuigbo, that’s part of why the blue economy isn’t just about ships and fish. It’s about economic diversification, climate resilience, competitiveness, and long-term stability. If handled right, it could absorb young people into decent work, support local communities, and still help Nigeria meet its climate goals.
He praised Dr. Chukwudi’s book for spelling out these links in a way policymakers, industries, academics, and professionals can actually use. Not just another document gathering dust. Something that can shape real decisions.
But he didn’t stop at laws and ministries. He turned to education. Section 26 of the Climate Change Act asks the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure climate change is integrated into subjects and disciplines at all levels—primary, secondary, tertiary. For him, that’s non‑negotiable. If children and young adults don’t grow up understanding climate risks and opportunities, then all the talk about sustainability will remain fragile and short‑lived.
So his message that day was layered but clear enough:
Nigeria has the laws. It has the coastline. It now has a dedicated blue economy ministry. It has thinkers like Chukwudi putting knowledge on paper. What’s left is the hard part—mainstreaming climate action into real plans, tough budgets, and daily decisions, across every sector.
Because, as he implied, climate action is no longer something we simply “add on.” It’s the foundation. Or we pay for it later.
