Climate technology enthusiast and environmental advocate, Omabuwa Mene-Ejegi, has stated that the lack of environmental technological innovations and the gap between government legislation and sustainable actions are responsible for the ineffective prevention and management of most environmental disasters and climate change challenges in Nigeria.
Mene-Ejegi stated this on Friday through a communique to the press following the recent urgent flood alert by the Federal Government, warning residents of flood-prone areas across 15 states to brace for heavy rainfall between August 10 and 14, 2025.
The environmental advocate said that climate-driven changes in rainfall patterns, poor dam management, and rapid land-use change exacerbated downstream flood risks in Nigeria. He noted that in 2025, Nigeria suffered its worst flooding in 60 years, especially along the Niger River in the north, killing over 150 people and destroying thousands of homes and farmlands.
Mene-Ejegi recalled that in May, the Mokwa flood claimed about 500 lives, left 600 missing, and damaged major bridges, roads, and over 4,000 homes. He added that Nigeria’s gully erosion crisis, most severe in the southeast, has destroyed farmlands and infrastructure due to intense rainfall and deforestation.
In light of this, he lamented that the way the Nigerian government and environmental stakeholders are handling the climate situation of the country is not satisfactory.
He said that while Nigeria has a Climate Change Act, a Climate Change Fund, and a national action plan, disaster events like the 2025 Mokwa flood show the gap between legislation and action, adding, “This shows that although legal frameworks exist, implementation and adaptation measures are insufficient.”
To help fight climate and environmental challenges in the country, the climate technology enthusiast recommended the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which he said can help predict flood events days in advance, optimise water releases from dams, and support agricultural planning.
Explaining how AI can help in environmental solutions, he explained how, in 2024–2025, the International Rescue Committee and Give Directly implemented an AI-powered flood-forecasting system in Kogi and Adamawa States, which predicted flood events and automatically triggered cash transfers to vulnerable households before flooding occurred, helping families relocate and protect property.
While listing the AI tools that can help in climate and environmental management, he stated that platforms like Esri’s Africa Geoportal and the Geohazard Risk Mapping Initiative have enabled volunteers to build real-time flood maps, mobile reporting systems, and interactive dashboards.
According to Mene-Ejegi, to effectively manage the present and future climate and environmental problems in the country, the government and relevant stakeholders must build flood-control infrastructures, expand AI-enabled early-warning systems to all the 36 states, implement large-scale reforestation to combat erosion, invest in public climate education, and enforce environmental regulations under the Climate Change Act (2021).
Furthermore, he said that to address environmental disasters in the future, technological investments and human capacity building are needed, adding that infrastructure and community systems that support government environmental laws and policies must be encouraged.
