Benin City as a hub of commerce, tourism and culture is in the same way a hub of climate change hazards.
Since the coming together of countries to chart a path for global climate in 2015, the topic of climate change has gained much relevance and the spotlight in national discussions.
Paris agreement
Nigeria, who happens to be a signatory to this contract did not pay the due attention to implementing the resolutions met at the conference until climate change came knocking at the borders of the country. The incidents of recurrent flooding, typhoons and evident temperature increase is fast becoming a norm in the country. This has pushed the government and policy makers to pay the necessary attention to climate action in the past months.
This saw Nigeria been represented by a train of delegates headed by the Honourable minister of state for the environment , Ibrahim Usman Jibril in COP23 that was held in Bonn, Germany last year November. The president alongside key players in the country politics were also participants in the One planet summit hosted in Paris, France a month after. These activities of the government has put ‘climate stories’ in the league of main stream issues in the country but the implementation of the Paris agreement of 2015 still remains an uncompleted task leaving the citizens at the mercy of climate change.
Benin city and bronze casting.
A perfect case study of this theme is Benin City. Benin City, the capital of Edo State is an ancient town globally known for its dexterity in bronze casting and home to the most revered royalty in Africa- Oba of Benin. It is the fourth largest city in Nigeria with its population equaling that of Luxembourg, Cape Verde and Seychelles put together.
The prevalence of flooding in this elephantine city can be easily attributed to its high greenhouse gas emission and carbon usage. Benin City plays host to the International center for bronze casting that attracts millions of tourists across the world. This monument unfortunately contributes a large quota to the high carbon emission in the Niger delta region.
Artisans make use of coal at high temperature to mold and cast sculptures. Speaking with Chris, a sculptor in Igun, He clearly spelt out the tedious process involved in bronze sculpturing. He explained that coal is used to generate heat for melting the wax used in carving the bronze to desirable shapes and structures. He even joked that there is no fair person in Igun because the heat generated does a lot of damage to the skin of the artisans.
He further stated that the Governor of the state promised to provide ultra-modern facilities that would aid cheap, clean and timely bronze artefacts production but they insisted on sticking to the archaic method claiming it was passed to them by their forefathers and must be transmitted to their children without adulteration from the westerners.
This high level of carbon emission has left Benin City stranded with endless flooding when it rains which has led to an inevitable loss of lives and properties, devastating health effects, traffic congestion, relocation of industries and manpower, cut-off in power supply and a low internally generated revenue (IGR). In recent times, Benin residents have had unforgettable experiences that would not be quick to erase from their memory such as the massive flooding that occurred on Saturday 7 October, 2017, sacking thousands from their homes and causing millions of Naira in damages to properties.
Amongst the worst affected places was the Edo State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Benin City. A section of the building’s perimeter fencing collapsed after two hours of heavy downpour, pushing in muddy waters inundated vehicles, files, computers and card reading machines. Another incident was when the landlords of Anigboro Street and its environs in Egor Local Government Area of Benin city sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) to the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in August 2017 appealing to him to come to their aid before their houses and property were swept away by flood in the area.
In the message by Elder Roland Irorere, Chief Frank Atoe, Mr Iro Omorodion, Mr Gibson Sylvester and Mr Peter Omorogbe for others, said that their cry to the previous administration of Adams Oshiomhole about the ravaging flood was unheeded. “Your Excellency, the flood has reached an alarming rate and if nothing is done urgently about it, the whole houses in the area and property might be washed away during this rainy season. Many landlords and landladies in the area have already fled their homes as a result of the flood and their abandoned houses have become hiding places for criminal elements.
These incidents has seen the birth of organizations that are geared towards sustainable development and climate justice in the mega city. A vivid example is the Borokinni Joshua Initiative, a non-profit that centers on climate action. They flagged a campaign in Benin City tagged #SafeClimate4Africa in collaboration with the Nigeria society of Victoria (NSV). The campaign featured awareness-raising, school tours and round table discussions.
The State Government is also determined to find a lasting solution to this menace. In 2013, N500 million was set aside to fund a rescue project. The then State Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, made this point while receiving officials of the World bank. According to him, “We have also talked with the Federal Government to draw from the ecological fund to deal with it. Again that has not been successful; our final hope now is the bank. We are hoping that you will help us out and have it fixed.” The global financial institution not known for giving consideration to frivolous administrations,received the request with open hands and as a mark of its readiness to do the needful, sent its assessment team to Benin City, with a view to ascertaining the required level of assistance.
Benin City as a hub of commerce, tourism and culture is in the same way a hub of climate change hazards. There is an urgent need to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and integrate climate change measures into policies, strategies and planning of the state. Embracing renewable and clean sources of energy over coal and firewood for bronze casting and other major activities lies the backbone for procuring a Benin City void of climate-related disasters in the nearest future.
Written by Joshua Borokinni.
Joshua Borokinni a climate activist and final year student of the University of Benin writes from Benin city.
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