The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, announced the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has adopted measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, which have significantly exacerbated the various security challenges in the country.
Abubakar disclosed this on Tuesday, August 29 while delivering a lecture, via zoom, to participants of the Senior Executive Course 45 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos.
This is contained in a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, in Abuja.
The title of the lecture is, “Industrialisation, Energy, Security and Climate Change: The Role of the Nigerian Air Force”.
The CAS said that even though climate change was not directly responsible for conflicts, it had substantially compounded existing causal agents of conflicts.
He said that the conflicts had subsequently reduced people’s ability to cope thereby creating further conflicts.
“For instance, irregular and extreme weather at Lake Chad is destroying the profitability of traditional fishing and farming, thus reducing the economic prospects of young men in the area thereby making them more susceptible to recruitment by violent extremists.
“The consequence is its negative impact on national security leading to humanitarian crises, terrorism and insurgency,” he said.
In addition, Abubakar said that NAF’s kinetic and disaster relief operations as well as green practices and technologies were adopted to mitigate the effects of climate change on national security.
He said that the NAF had continued to create favorable ground situations for surface forces to operate and recover lost territories from terrorists and insurgents through its kinetic operations.
According to him, kinetic efforts have also contributed to degrading the fighting will and capabilities of terrorists, insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and oil thieves thereby creating a safer and more secure environment for economic and industrial activities to thrive.
