Media professionals and climate advocates have raised serious concerns over the escalating effects of climate change on indigenous populations in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), calling on federal and regional authorities to take urgent, actionable steps to address environmental degradation and its socioeconomic consequences.
Speaking at a workshop in Lagos titled “50 Years After Abuja: Climate Change and Livelihood of Abuja Original Inhabitants (AOI),” journalists highlighted how decades of climate shifts, coupled with urban expansion, have imperilled the way of life of original inhabitants of the Abuja region.
Organised by the Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues (NEJII) in collaboration with the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the event brought together media professionals and community representatives to discuss the intersection of climate change, land rights and cultural survival.
Climate Change: From Environmental Issue to Existential Threat
In a keynote paper titled “Abuja Original Inhabitants and the Task of Living with Climate Change,” Mr. Olalekan Adetayo, Editor of PUNCH Digital, recounted first-hand observations of shifting weather patterns during his time as Abuja State House Correspondent. He explained that climate change in the region has been driven by industrialisation, deforestation, bush burning, mining activities, grazing pressures and rapid urban expansion under the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
“For Abuja Original Inhabitants, climate change manifests in the flooding of rural settlements, loss of arable land, forest depletion, water scarcity, increased heat stress and declining biodiversity,” Adetayo said, noting that these changes have deepened socioeconomic vulnerabilities among indigenous groups including the Koro, Nupe, Gwari, Ganagana, Ebira and Gade communities.
He warned that the impacts of climate variability extend beyond environmental degradation, affecting farming cycles, crop yields, livestock survival, and access to clean water — ultimately fuelling poverty, displacement and social tensions. “When agriculture fails, poverty increases and displacement follows. Climate vulnerability is therefore not only environmental — it is economic and existential,” he added.
Calls for Climate Justice and Inclusive Policy
Adetayo stressed the need for climate justice that recognises indigenous communities as partners in sustainable development rather than obstacles to progress. He urged policymakers to ensure equality, non-discrimination, constitutional inclusion, participation in environmental decision-making and access to climate finance for marginalised groups.
Participants also called on journalists to elevate climate reporting beyond generic disaster coverage to include structural analysis, humanised storytelling, accountability reporting and the amplification of indigenous voices in environmental governance.
In his welcome address, Mr. Adewale Adeoye of NEJII underscored the crucial role of the media in national development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, noting that neglect of Abuja’s original inhabitants remains a pressing national concern.
On-the-Ground Effects and Urgent Needs
Other speakers, including Mr. Fabian Anawo of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, outlined the observable impacts of climate change in indigenous settlements, such as irregular rainfall, altered weather patterns, heat stress in previously temperate areas, loss of wind-breaker trees, destruction of farms and homes, and dwindling plant and animal species — all affecting food security and community resilience.
The journalists’ network pledged to elevate the plight of AOIs to both national and regional platforms to stimulate institutional responses to these challenges, emphasising that indigenous knowledge systems and custodianship of the environment must be integrated into climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
