#CoalFreeNigeria

On March 19, the minister of mines and steel appointed by President Buhari made an announcement that Nigeria will begin to generate energy from coal-fired plant by 2020. By March 21st, The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has rejected the climate change bill for the second time in less than two years. The climate change bill if passed will situate policies that won’t support fossil industry activities like President Buhari’s new agenda to generate energy from coal. This is unacceptable for a country that has signed the Paris agreement to transcend into low carbon emission. We argue that this is a turn in the wrong direction, President Buhari should focus on how to divest Nigeria from fossil industry and transcend into clean energy models instead of expanding dirty fossil territory. In President Buhari’s attempt to revive Nigeria’s coal industry, he is not just taking up a failed endeavor as the world is moving away from dirty coal but also endangering the future of our planet. The best argument this decision by The President can present is that coal mining will provide jobs for hundreds if not thousands of people. However, the impacts of digging coal is tremendous, whether in open cast or underground mines, mining coal destroys nature, pollutes water, damages homes and forces relocation of entire villages. When you take into account health and environmental impacts and long term negative effects on ecosystems diving into coal production when the planet is in dire need of climate resolutions is simply a catastrophic approach Energy efficiency can be achieved through investment in renewable energy, Nigeria situated in the Sahel can easily tap into solar power. This in turn can create jobs and integrate sustainable approach skills thereby reducing dependent on fossil fuels. We have launched a campaign #CoalFreeNigeria to demand climate justice from President Buhari’s decision to mine coal. The government has failed to protect us the citizens, our livelihoods and our future, therefore we must take gross action towards the negligence of duty shown by president Muhammadu Buhari and his government. Agree to this campaign if you stand with us and want President Buhari to revoke his decision to mine coal in Nigeria. And if you are a company, an organisation or a public person and officially want to take a stand for #CoalFreeNigeria, please leave a message taking a stand. Feel free to help improve this campaign by leaving a comment on this post and share it on all your social media accounts.