Professor Okeke Gerald Ndubuisi of the Highstone Global University Texas, United States of America (USA) is a recipient of double professorial awards in Safety and Environment; Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. He is an Executive member of the World Safety Organisation, USA. Recently, he received an honorary award at the African Intercontinental Conference and Global Awards in Abuja. He spoke with SULIYAT TELLA on the award, as well as the effect of climate change in Nigeria and Africa and how it could be addressed, among other issues. Excerpts:

Briefly take us through your background?
My name is Okeke Gerald Ndubuisi, a Nigerian from Umulogho Obowo in Imo State. I am the first son of the late Mazi Lazarus Okeke and Ezinne Salome Okeke.
My academic career is equally remarkable. I had double HNDs in Safety and Environment and Strategic Human Resources. I had a BSc in Environmental Science. I had an MSc in Industrial Engineering from TBU Global Extension in New York, USA and an MSc in Energy and Petroleum Economics from Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State. I equally had PhDs in Safety and Environment and Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability also at TBU Global Extension, New York. I have published numerous research papers in peer reviewed journals across the globe. I am married to my jewel of inestimable value, Ambassador Gift Okeke (Iyom Lolo Odueze Ugodiya 1 of Obowo, Imo State) and we are blessed with four children.

What was your reaction when you received the nomination letter for the African Intercontinental Conference and Global Awards?
  Honestly, I was excited when I received the letter of nomination from the organisers of the programme. What came to my mind then was that the little contributions I was making towards climate change, resilience and adaptation were being appreciated in the country and all over the world.

So what does the award mean to you?
  This award should be one of the best awards that I had received. I was chosen as one of the most influential Africans who are making waves in their respective fields. This particular award has opened up a vista of invitations for me all over the world – Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S. to come and deliver lectures on climate change and environmental sustainability.

Why were you picked for the award?
  Honestly, I cannot say exactly why I was nominated as one of the most 50 influential Africans to be honoured in my own field. I was reliably informed by one of the organisers that during their search, they discovered that I had achieved and done a lot in the field of climate change and environmental sustainability. I have won several awards that include Afrisafe Award for the whole of Africa in 2022, Nelson Mandela Award, Best Grassroots Development Award, African Environmental Ambassador Award and African Clean Initiatives (ACI) under the auspices of Ambassador Alex Ahkigbe, among others.

You are a Professor of Safety and Environment and also of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. What is the difference between the two disciplines?
  There is just a thin line between climate change and environmental sustainability and environmental safety. Safety and environment deal with all aspects of safety and all aspects of the environment. Environmental safety deals with all facets of safety in the environment.
 
Climate change deals with all aspects of the climate, environment and sustainability of the environment. As a Professor of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability, you are more or less a climatologist, because you deal with aspects of the climate and environment. So, both courses are interwoven as you cannot divorce one from the other.
 
Climate change and environmental sustainability is a new course within our clime. We have about two universities here in Nigeria offering this particular course. Gradually, we are getting more students to study climate change and environmental sustainability courses. Currently, I am supervising some students in Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability.
 
I am using this opportunity to advise parents to allow their wards to venture into this wonderful course. I have one of the best PhD students now studying Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. When you go through his term papers/desertification you would definitely concur with me. He is presently working in one of the biggest multinational companies in Nigeria. I won’t mention his name, but the world shall know about him very soon.

What are the major climate change challenges facing Nigeria in particular and Africa in general?
  The challenges we are facing with climate change here in Africa are legion. Improper orientation is one of them. We need to talk to our people about the dangers associated with climate change. Our people need to know that deforestation is a crime against humanity. We continue to hew down the trees and the mangroves without planting the corresponding number of trees to replace the felled trees.
 
Go to the northern part of the country and see the damages climate change is causing. Desertification has taken over the entire region. We have depleted all the rain forests here in Nigeria. The Calabar National Park and Jos National Park are the only two rain forests standing in the country right now. It might interest you to know that one quarter of these two rain forests have been depleted by wood loggers. We had up to seven rain forests in Nigeria before now, but some of these rain forests have gone extinct due to wood logging and massive deforestation. As a result, we have plunged ourselves into a serious environmental quagmire and we need to start doing something humanly possible to ameliorate this deplorable condition we plunged ourselves into. We are paying dearly for depleting the environment. You can see the rate of heat waves cum intensive sunshine within this period. The effects of climate change are quite obvious on our environment. Areas that were hitherto full of vegetation are gradually going away as a result of the global climate change ravaging the whole world.
 
To pull out of this environmental quagmire, we need to start massive orientation. We should plant more trees to help absorb the quantum of gas emissions and carbon dioxide hanging loosely in the air sequel to anthropogenic activities of mankind on planet Earth. We should be planning to use alternative energy sources to cushion the effects of climate change on our environment.
 
Another problem again is the problem of climate change financing. We should have special funds for fighting climate change, which is gradually becoming an existential threat to mankind.
 
A special section or department should be created to oversee and put control measures in place that will help us to fight climate change. For example, advanced climes are using trees to fight climate change. So, Nigeria should key into this.
 
We should commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating the Climate Change Agency with headquarters in Abuja. Climate change agencies should be replicated in the 36 states of the country.
 
Another point on this is the challenges or hazards that come with gas flaring, especially in the Niger Delta region where multinational oil and gas companies are operating. Gas flaring is one of the factors depleting the ozone layer.
 
Another challenge is the artisanal refineries; in local parlance we call it “Kpo Fire”. They cook crude oil and produce things like petrol, diesel, kerosene and others. The cooking of the crude oil produces soot, which invariably devastates the environment and produces greenhouse gasses that destroy the ozone layer. So, we should stop all these unwholesome activities that deplete the ozone layer.

Currently, there is a bill to create 31 additional states before the National Assembly (NASS). Do you think we need more states in Nigeria?
  I am in support of the creation of 31 additional states in Nigeria on the ground that it will engender viable and sustainable development of the grassroots. NASS should not create more states that will not be viable so that they will not be running to Abuja at the end of the month for their sustenance. NASS should also ensure that the additional states will balance the lopsided equation in the geopolitical zones of the country. Currently, the Southeast zone has five states while the other geopolitical zones have six or seven states. This lopsidedness should be corrected.

The economic situation in Nigeria is affecting the purchasing power of the people. What do you think the Tinubu administration should do to ameliorate the situation?
  The current administration, through its Renewed Hope Agenda, is reeling out policies that will change the narrative. Thank God the government is giving agriculture the pride of place. They are invoking the spirit of Operation Feed the Nation (OFN). President Tinubu and his team are embarking on massive investment in agriculture across the nation. This is commendable as food prices are gradually coming down now compared to last year.

Many foreign investors are leaving Nigeria because of the high cost of doing business in the country. What measures do you think the government can put in place to check this unhealthy trend?
  You are absolutely correct. Things are changing for the better now. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope policies are changing the narrative. The National Tax Bill before the National Assembly was put together to check multiple taxation and encourage foreign investors. Electricity is gradually becoming stable; fuel price is also coming down. The government is ensuring that our security architecture is improving. We should give kudos to the President for giving us the dividends of democracy.

What is your guiding principle?
  I believe in live and let live. I drew my strength from the Scriptures. In Matthew 22:36-40, God said love me with all your heart, soul and might. That is the first commandment. Then love your neighbour as yourself is the second commandment. I am a communal person that wants others around me to progress in all ramifications.