In a time of growing angst in our nation, one of the heartwarming developments is in the fact that other African nations increasingly look to Nigeria’s climate governance structure as a model. This is largely driven by Nigeria’s Climate Change Act of 2021, signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari, which formally established the National Council on Climate Change to streamline fragmented climate policies into coherent national development. Unlike many African countries whose climate goals exist merely as policy documents, Nigeria’s legally binding Climate Change mandates the mainstreaming of climate actions into national budgets and economic planning.
Now, the President Bola Tinubu government has taken it a notch higher. In the emerging architecture of Nigeria’s climate governance, one of the most strategic developments is the convergence of three critical dimensions of climate action — awareness, technology, and finance — under the coordinated efforts of three presidential advisers: Yussuf Olatunji Kelani, Olamide Fagbuji, and Ibrahim Shelleng, respectively.
At a time when climate change is no longer a distant environmental issue but a direct economic, developmental, and security challenge, the collaboration among these three presidential aides represents a deliberate attempt to build a holistic climate response system for Nigeria. Their synergy is perhaps best reflected in the conception and implementation of the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour, a nationwide initiative designed to mainstream climate consciousness and mobilise grassroots participation across the federation.
The significance of this collaboration lies in the fact that climate governance cannot succeed through isolated interventions. Awareness without technology remains rhetorical. Technology without financing remains theoretical. Financing without public mobilisation risks elitism and policy failure. The Tinubu administration appears to understand this interdependence, which explains why the three advisers have been strategically positioned to complement one another.
Kelani’s role as Special Assistant on Climate Change Matters provides the ideological and mobilisation backbone of the initiative. His public engagements consistently frame climate change as a national security and socio-economic issue rather than merely an environmental concern. In several public interventions and outreaches, Kelani has linked flooding, drought, desertification, food insecurity, migration, and even communal instability to the climate crisis, thereby helping ordinary Nigerians understand the practical implications of environmental degradation.
This awareness-oriented approach is crucial in a country where climate literacy remains relatively low, particularly in rural communities. Through REHCCAT, Kelani has sought to democratise climate knowledge by taking discussions beyond policy circles and international conferences into markets, schools, local governments, communities, and state institutions. In fact, the optics of seeing him and Alhaji Aliko Dangote together in Kano when he paid an advocacy call on the renowned businessman give a boost to the promise of a new private sector-driven climate action paradigm.
However, awareness alone cannot solve climate problems. This is where the contribution of Olamide Fagbuji becomes strategically important. As a Senior Special Assistant on Climate Technology and Operations, his portfolio introduces the innovation and operational framework necessary for practical implementation. Climate technology today sits at the centre of global green transition efforts, from renewable energy and digital environmental monitoring to smart agriculture and clean transportation systems.
The inclusion of climate technology within the Renewed Hope framework signals an understanding that Nigeria cannot merely preach climate action; it must modernise its systems and create operational structures that support sustainability. Technology provides the bridge between policy ambition and measurable outcomes. Through this strategic role, Fagbuji’s office helps translate climate conversations into scalable solutions capable of improving resilience, boosting green productivity, and enhancing data-driven governance.
Equally important is the role of Ibrahim Shelleng, whose climate finance and stakeholder engagement portfolio injects economic realism into the climate agenda. Globally, climate action is increasingly driven by access to finance, carbon markets, green investments, and public-private partnerships. Nigeria’s climate aspirations can only materialise if supported by strong financing mechanisms capable of attracting investment and supporting implementation at the federal, state, and local levels.
Shelleng’s role, therefore, becomes indispensable because climate resilience requires capital. Infrastructure adaptation, renewable energy deployment, sustainable agriculture, flood mitigation systems, and green job creation all demand funding. His emphasis on stakeholder engagement also ensures that climate action moves beyond government bureaucracy into partnerships involving civil society, development agencies, private investors, youth groups, and local communities.
Indeed, one of the most notable achievements of the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour is the way it merges these three pillars into a single national framework.
The initiative is not designed merely as an advocacy campaign. It simultaneously seeks to educate citizens, identify bankable climate projects, train climate champions, mobilise partnerships, and create green economic opportunities.
The tour aims to cover multiple states across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones while reaching millions through media and community engagement. It also intends to train climate champions in local government areas and stimulate green jobs and climate innovation ecosystems. These objectives reflect a coordinated vision that combines Kelani’s grassroots mobilisation capacity, Fagbuji’s technological operations focus, and Shelleng’s financing and stakeholder deployment expertise.
Strategically, this synergy also reflects a broader shift in Nigeria’s climate diplomacy. Climate action is increasingly being integrated into national development planning, economic diversification, youth empowerment, and international investment positioning. For instance, just a couple of days ago, the Ministry of Youth Development and its partner, People Planet and Peace Foundation, launched what they tagged ‘Climate Beyond Borders Caravan’, an Africa-wide project that promises to place young Nigerians ahead of their continental peers in the climate action ecosystem.
Certainly, with concerted efforts by critical stakeholders, Nigeria could be positioned not merely as a victim of climate change but as an active participant in the global green transition. The importance of this cannot be overstated. As global capital increasingly flows toward sustainable economies, countries that fail to align governance, innovation, and climate finance risk economic marginalisation.
Therefore, I am of the view that this paradigm should be replicated at the subnational level, the same way the Climate Change Act has been downscaled in the states, with some creating their own State Council on Climate Change. Nigeria needs a climate governance structure that combines political communication, technological innovation, and investment mobilisation. The collaboration among Kelani, Fagbuji, and Shelleng offers an early template for such integrated governance.
Furthermore, their work demonstrates that climate action in Nigeria must move beyond elite environmental discourse into a practical national development strategy. Flood victims in coastal communities, farmers battling desertification in the North, unemployed youths seeking green opportunities, and urban residents facing heat stress and pollution are all directly affected by climate realities. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated leadership capable of connecting policy to people. By combining public sensitisation, technological innovation, and climate financing within a unified framework, a multidimensional climate governance model could help us defeat multidimensional poverty and redefine Nigeria’s environmental future.
Being the most populated country in the region, Nigeria’s success will signal an important lesson for Africa: climate action succeeds when awareness inspires innovation, innovation attracts investment, and investment empowers communities. It will also show the fundamental importance of interagency collaboration and multi-stakeholder interchange. The REHCCAT initiative works closely with the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Council on Climate Change, civil society organisations, media institutions, development partners, and the private sector. This collaborative structure gives the project wider legitimacy and increases its chances of sustainability beyond political cycles, while aligning it with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions and Energy Transition Plan.
Read the full article here
