Environmental stakeholders warn escalating deforestation and illegal mining are fuelling insecurity, and worsening livelihoods across Nigeria
Environmental stakeholders are warning that Nigeria is losing between 250,000 and 300,000 hectares of forest every year, with the country having already lost more than 70 per cent of its forest reserves.
They said the alarming scale of deforestation, coupled with illegal mining, uncontrolled extraction of natural resources, biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change is deepening Nigeria’s human security crisis and threatening the livelihoods, food security and future of millions of citizens.
The warning was issued on Tuesday in Abuja at the Third Nigeria Socio-Ecological Alternatives Convergence (NSAC), convened by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and partner organisations.
The convergence, held under the theme “Deforestation, Mining, and the Crisis of Human Security in Nigeria,” brought together government representatives, traditional rulers, academics, civil society organisations, labour unions, youth and women groups, development partners, journalists and environmental justice advocates.
The participants declared that Nigeria’s ecological crisis had reached a critical point, warning that the continued destruction of forests, wetlands, and farmlands was not only an environmental emergency but also a growing threat to national security, public health and economic stability.
They said the consequences of environmental degradation were already manifesting in rising conflicts, displacement, organised crime, food insecurity, poverty and the weakening of rural economies.
The stakeholders particularly warned that the global race for critical minerals could expose Nigeria to a new phase of destructive extractivism.
According to them, the increasing demand for minerals needed for renewable energy technologies and the global transition to low-carbon economies could provide opportunities for industrialisation and economic diversification.
As a result, the convergence insisted that Nigeria must not repeat the mistakes of decades of oil extraction, during which host communities suffered environmental degradation and health consequences while receiving limited benefits from the resources extracted from their land.
Participants argued that the country’s ecological crisis was fundamentally a governance and development crisis, driven by weak institutions, poor enforcement of environmental laws and a development model that places profit above people.
They called for a decisive shift towards a people-centred, rights-based and environmentally responsible approach to natural resource governance.
The convergence featured presentations by environmental advocate and HOMEF President, Nnimmo Bassey; the Emir of Nasarawa, His Royal Highness Ibrahim Usman Jibril, represented by the immediate past Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Dr. Salisu Dahiru; and a keynote address by Professor Omolade Adunbi.
Panel discussions featured Professor Ibrahim Umara, Hauwa Mustapha, Dr. Martins Egot and Nasreen Al-Amin.
The stakeholders said communities located in resource-rich areas continued to bear the greatest environmental, social and health costs of extractive activities while receiving little economic benefit.
They condemned the inadequate protection of customary land rights and the failure to ensure meaningful community participation in decisions concerning mining, land acquisition and other development projects.
At the end of the convergence, participants called on the Federal Government to urgently adopt a National Just Energy Transition and Critical Minerals Strategy.
They said the strategy must place ecological security, renewable energy, climate action, environmental protection, industrialisation and community development at the centre of Nigeria’s energy transition.
The convergence in an unanimously adopted communiqué, committed themselves to strengthening collective action for ecological justice and people-centred development.
