Climate change is no longer a distant environmental concern confined to scientific conferences and global summits. It has become a public health emergency unfolding daily across Nigeria, where rising temperatures, devastating floods, prolonged droughts, and worsening air pollution are placing millions of lives at risk. From increasing cases of malaria and cholera to malnutrition, respiratory illnesses and mental health disorders, the country’s changing climate is reshaping the nation’s health landscape in ways that demand urgent action. Ayodeji Ake writes
In an emotional 42-minute virtual conversation with THISDAY, Jide, a Lagos resident who commutes daily from the mainland to his workplace on the Island, recounted the devastating toll the recent flooding has taken on his family and finances.
Already burdened by the country’s harsh economic realities, Jide said the disaster has pushed his household to the brink. Amid the crisis, one of his daughters fell ill and had to be admitted to a hospital, compounding the emotional and financial strain.
“The reality of Nigeria’s economic hardship is no longer reflected only in rising prices or shrinking salaries,” he said quietly. “For families like mine, it is now measured by the heartbreaking choices we are forced to make just to survive.”
