The Nigerian Institutions Of Civil Engineers (NICE) Abuja chapter, have said climate change poses severe and multiple threats to Nigeria’s current and future development.
The chairman of NICE, Engr Chijioke Anyabolu, stated this during the 2023 Abuja Civil Engineering Conference with the theme ‘Resilient Cities: Engineering For Climate-change Adaptation and Mitigation’, organised by NICE Abuja Chapter.
He said that the conference presents an opportunity to examine the performance and the adequacy of professional competencies within the emerging engineering world.
Anyabolu said: “Cities in Nigeria should gear towards becoming Resilient by having the ability to absorb, recover and prepare for future shocks ‘economic, environmental, social & institutional’ by having the key elements of being able to withstand potential disasters, whether they are due to extreme weather, national or international economic meltdown, grid power blackouts or disruptions in food supply.
“Climate change is increasingly becoming a serious challenge to Nigeria’s socio-economic development. Various manifestations of its impact are evident in Nigeria, which include increase in drought, scarcity of food instigated somewhat by irregularities in rainfall and over flooding.
“Climate disasters are happening at frightening rates in Nigeria. In 2022 alone, flooding killed at least 662 people, injured 3,174, displaced about 2.5 million, and destroyed 200,000 houses.”
In his remarks, National Chairman of NICE, Engr. Virgilus Chukwudi Ezugu, who was represented by the NICE Ag. Executive Secretary, David Boaz, advocates for more engineering professional training.
In his presentation, the guest speaker at the conference, Former dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Abuja, Prof. Toochukwu Chibueze Ogwueleka, said that there is a need to harness the power of engineering to build cities that are not only resilient but also sustainable.
He said: “It is now undeniably evident that the global climate is changing, and that anthropogenic (human-induced) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are largely to blame. Climate change will impact future city spatial patterns, growth, and development.
“The concentration of population in cities increases opportunities for people as well as their vulnerabilities to natural hazards, civil strife, and climate change impacts.”