HOMEF urges Nigeria to declare a state of environmental emergency to address pollution, floods, erosion, and ecological degradation threatening national stability

Piqued by widespread ecological destruction, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of environmental emergency.

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The group said the damage from desertification, deforestation, water and air pollution, coastal and gully erosion, floods, and insecure farms has endangered the country’s already fragile stability.

Speaking at the 2nd Nigeria Socio-Ecological Alternatives Convergence (NSAC) in Abuja, HOMEF Director Nnimmo Bassey stressed that environmental collapse threatens peace, justice, and livelihoods.

“Our charter has to construct a Nigeria that is decolonial and post-extractivist,” Bassey said. “The socio-ecological alternatives we propagate must overturn the current predatory system of destructive extraction and shredded ecological safety nets.”

According to the NSAC Charter, the vision is a Nigeria “where ecological integrity, social justice, and economic wellbeing coexist,” and where citizens have clean air, water, and community-led control of natural resources.

Bassey called on Nigerians to resist destructive practices like oil drilling, mining, and mega-projects that harm vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

In support, the Ogeloyinbo of Ayetoro in Ondo State, Oba Oluwanbe Ojagbohunmi, shared the dire impact of sea rise on his coastal town.

“Eighty per cent of houses in our community have been washed away. We used to have 45 streets, but now only 10 remain,” the Oba said.

He explained that as early as 2000, soil analysis warned of ecological disaster linked to oil exploration, but both state and federal responses have been inadequate.

Climate change specialist Emmanuel Oladipo, in his presentation, identified weak data, overlapping mandates, and poor policy integration as barriers to effective environmental management.

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He advocated for streamlining roles, aligning sectoral policies, and eliminating duplicated efforts to improve Nigeria’s environmental governance framework.