Climate change: 140 million people to migrate within Nigeria, others – World Bank alerts

The worsening impacts of climate change in three densely populated
regions of the world could see over 140 million people move within
their countries' borders by 2050, creating a looming human crisis and
threatening the development process.

This is contained in a new World Bank Group report released to DAILY
POST on Monday.

It noted that Nigeria is one of the countries to be affected.

But this may further worsen the herders/farmers clashes which have
claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

In February, the Nigerian government through the National Security
Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno observed that
"climate change, ethno-religious conflicts, herder/farmer conflicts
and bad politics combine to present imminent security challenge for
all Nigerians"

Similarly, Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria
(MACBAN), the body of herdsmen in the country, recently blamed climate
change for conflicts.

"The climate change and the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East as
well as the activities of cattle rustlers have made the pastoralists
to migrate to the southern part of the country in search of pasture",
the group had said.

In its findings, World Bank noted that "With concerted action –
including global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and robust
development planning at the country level – this worst-case scenario
of over 140m could be dramatically reduced, by as much as 80 percent,
or more than 100 million people.

"The report, Groundswell – Preparing for Internal Climate Migration,
is the first and most comprehensive study of its kind to focus on the
nexus between slow-onset climate change impacts, internal migration
patterns and, development in three developing regions of the world:
Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

"It finds that unless urgent climate and development action is taken
globally and nationally, these three regions together could be dealing
with tens of millions of internal climate migrants by 2050.

"These are people forced to move from increasingly non-viable areas of
their countries due to growing problems like water scarcity, crop
failure, sea-level rise and storm surges."