The Federal Government has disclosed that over 6 million people were displaced between 2008 and 2021 as a result of climate events and disasters.
The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this at the occasion of the National Migration Dialogue in Abuja on Thursday.
While quoting the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)’s reports, she said 131 climate disasters were experienced during the period.
She added that displacement due to conflict stands at 4.4 million within the period under review.
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Sulaiman-Ibrahim said: “There is no gainsaying that climate change and climate events have continued to take a toll on communities across Nigeria and the world at large, bringing the issue to the front burner of the global migration dialogue.
“This year’s theme, Accelerating Climate Adaptation in Displacement and Human Mobility in Nigeria, is thus aptly designed, to interrogate the impact of climate change and climate events on various communities across Nigeria, as well as existing adaptation efforts by government and the local population to cope with these events.
“The ongoing desertification in the northeast, erosion in the southeast and the ubiquitous flooding have led to displacement and increase in the migration of Nigerians from their habitual places of residence to other parts of the country and across international boundaries.”
Earlier, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said the government had shown great commitment towards managing climate change, adding that it is currently spending 9% of the GDP on projects directly addressing climate change.
