ABBAS: SUSTAINING NIGERIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

While many politicians remain trapped in the exhausting rituals of horse trading, factional bargaining, and survival politics, Nigeria’s Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal Abbas is delivering something far rarer in Nigeria’s political environment.

In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu nominated Abbas as a ministerial replacement for the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. That began a remarkable journey characterized by steadfast dedication to public service, strategic communication, and nation-building.

The appointment of Balarabe Abbas thus marked an important milestone in Nigeria’s commitment to fulfilling its environmental obligations of strengthening national efforts towards addressing climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss.

The minister hit the ground running in accelerating Nigeria’s effort at combating desertification, land degradation and drought, and also saw his appointment as an opportunity to showcase the country’s progress, achievements, challenges, and ongoing interventions in sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.

Abbas, who hails from Kachia Local Government, Kaduna State, holds an M.Sc in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was a lecturer at the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, and worked as a Special Assistant to the then Federal Minister of Education in Abuja, and as a Special Assistant to the Minister of State (Army) at the Ministry of Defence. He also worked as a Special Assistant to the President in the Federal Capital Territory and as the Chief of Staff to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, among other positions held from July 2003 until July 2007.

Between 2015 and 2023, Balarabe served as Secretary to the State Government of Kaduna under Nasir El-Rufai’s administration.

It is therefore not surprising that this outstanding taciturn professional with patriotic vision is now counted among those reshaping Nigeria’s public sector. Balarabe Lawal Abbas is a bridge-builder who understands the delicate balance between tradition and progress, between loyalty and the larger interest of the people, and one who nurtures political relationships across divides.

At a time when the country faces mounting ecological pressures, Balarabe Abbas’s appointment played a critical role in shaping public understanding of environmental issues. The minister has said the environment is not an abstract concept. “It is the air we breathe, the land that feeds us, the rivers that sustain communities, and the climate that shapes the future,” he said.

Balarabe Lawal has highlighted a range of environmental threats confronting Nigeria, including desertification spreading across northern regions, severe flooding and erosion in the South-East and South-South, oil pollution and gas flaring in the Niger Delta, widespread deforestation, and the growing impacts of climate change on livelihoods and food security.

He has explained at different fora that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Federal Ministry of Environment has intensified efforts to promote environmental sustainability while supporting economic development. “Future generations deserve a Nigeria where the air is clean, forests thrive, rivers run pure, and the land remains productive,” he said.

The Minister has also decried the challenges of increased environmental pressure, unsustainable resource utilisation, and climate-related issues, which threaten the ecosystem. He observed that environmental issues are often treated as secondary despite their direct impact on agriculture, public health, and economic stability.

Balarabe, whose competence and capacity is not in doubt, is a strong advocate for the promotion of climate-resilient livelihoods, promoting climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable livelihoods. Nigeria, he insists, must leverage emerging opportunities in the blue economy and carbon markets.

He said that Nigeria would advance implementation of its Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plan, commitments under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and obligations under the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. By way of stemming Nigeria’s land degradation prevention and land restoration, the Minister had inaugurated the Committee for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) where he said Nigeria’s land is not only for infrastructural development but for cultivation of foods.

Nasir Imam, a media practitioner, writes from Abuja