The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, said Nigeria was already experiencing the negative fallout of climate change seen in the flooding, desert encroachment, and drought experienced in various parts of the country.
According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said this at an audience he granted the former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on the sidelines of the First World Bio Summit 2022 in Seoul, South Korea.
The statement is titled ‘Nigeria facing climate change challenges, President Buhari declares during meeting with Ban Ki-Moon in Seoul.’
During the conversation, Buhari expressed delight with the existing cooperation between Nigeria and the Republic of Korea, especially in energy supply, citing gas exports to the Asian country.
He also described education as a critical investment in addressing unemployment and underdevelopment, calling for a closer focus on health challenges.
On his part, the former UN Chief who advocates Climate Change remediation and chairs the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for Better Future sympathised with the President over the flooding.
Ki-moon called for more investment to improve education and avert environmental degradation and preventive diseases to meet the core Sustainable Development Goals.
He thanked Buhari for attending the World Bio Summit, adding that his presence would highlight the importance of global action and cooperation in developing vaccines and technology to meet the huge threat and challenges of pandemics.
Ki-moon also noted that Nigeria is “a very important country,” having prominent citizens occupying sensitive positions in global organisations.
Therefore, he called for more people-to-people engagements and cultural cooperation between both countries even as he sought Nigeria’s support in Korea’s bid to host an EXPO in 2030.
Explaining his pet project, the ex-UN Scribe said his Global Centre on Adaptation is trying to mobilize resources to help developing countries fight climate change.
He urged donor countries to fulfil their financial commitments to the Global Climate Fund.
Buhari and his guest also discussed the role of gender equality in attaining a prosperous society while calling for an end to the war in Ukraine.
