Climate Change Fight: Nigeria Will Soon Become Model For Others – DG

The director-general of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Saleh Abubakar, has said that with the efforts the organisation is making to combat climate-induced hazards and ensure that ecosystems are resistant to climate change, other countries would soon begin to look up to Nigeria as a global model.

Abubakar stated this at the technical consultation meeting on the New African Union Great Green Wall Strategy and Its 10-year Implementation Framework 2024 -2034 in Dakar, Senegal.

The three-day event, convened under the leadership of the African Union and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and supported by the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW), focused on strengthening both the institutional arrangements and strategic direction of the Great Green Wall (GGW) Initiative.

Speaking with journalists on the margins of the high-level strategic meeting, the NAGGW DG noted that ongoing efforts by the agency to combat land degradation in affected communities and enhance food security in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was paying off.

He said NAGGW was gradually reducing climate-induced hazards through extensive afforestation, solar-powered boreholes and sustainable land management in the 11 frontline Northern Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa.

He said while the federal government is making “significant progress under the GGW initiative in restoring degraded lands, reforestation and empowering communities, other countries would soon begin to tap from the nation’s model for international cooperation.”

On the significance of the technical consultation meeting on the New African Union Great Green Wall Strategy, Abubakar expressed the firm belief that with its 10-year implementation framework, the consultation will ginger commitments and reasonable action against desertification and climate change across the African continent.

He said, “The meeting focused on strengthening both the institutional arrangements and strategic direction of the Great Green Wall (GGW) Initiative.

Speakers at different sessions of the meeting highlighted the urgent need to scale up efforts to combat desertification, restore degraded land, and build resilience across Africa’s dryland regions.

“We had detailed discussions on the African Union’s updated strategy for the Great Green Wall, with a focus on strengthening coordination and driving collective action across member states.

There were clarifications on the roles and responsibilities of various institutions, helping to ensure a shared understanding of how stakeholders can effectively contribute to implementation.

“The meeting laid a solid foundation for improved coordination, stronger strategic alignment, and renewed commitment to achieving the goals of the Great Green Wall Initiative,” he said.