FACILITY FOCUS
Kenny Akintola
Nigerians are already battling NEPA, gas costs, meals costs and landlords who consider lease ought to enhance each time you sneeze. Now, the climate might have one other shock for us. Please, what precisely have we executed?
Meet El Niño, a local weather phenomenon making headlines round the world. Scientists are warning that the 2026–2027 occasion may develop into exceptionally sturdy. Before anyone begins shopping for mills to energy their standing followers, allow us to perceive what this might imply for Nigeria.
El Niño happens when components of the Pacific Ocean develop into unusually heat, influencing climate patterns round the world. A robust occasion can have an effect on temperatures and rainfall, rising the danger of drought in some locations and different climate extremes elsewhere. However, Nigeria’s precise expertise stays unsure, so there isn’t a want to panic simply but.
So, what may this imply for Nigerians?
First, warmth. Imagine Lagos site visitors at 2 p.m., no breeze, your AC struggling like a civil servant ready for promotion, and gas costs you with wickedness. Higher temperatures may make life much more uncomfortable, particularly for out of doors staff, the aged and susceptible folks.
Then comes meals. If rainfall turns into unfavourable in farming areas, crops may endure, livestock might battle for water, and meals provides may come below stress. In Nigeria, the place meals costs already run sooner than Usain Bolt, that is no laughing matter.
Water and electrical energy may additionally come below stress. Hotter climate can enhance water demand, whereas unreliable energy provide makes holding houses, workplaces and important tools cool much more tough.
For these of us in facility administration, it is a reminder that water storage, drainage, generator upkeep, air flow and power effectivity are usually not merely objects on a guidelines. They are important to enterprise continuity.
What ought to we do and what ought to we keep away from?
Let us begin with the fundamentals. Drink sufficient water, keep away from extended publicity to intense warmth and test on aged family and susceptible neighbours. Farmers ought to observe native climate advisories and take into account appropriate drought-tolerant crops and water-saving strategies.
Households ought to repair leaking faucets, retailer water safely and clear drainage channels earlier than heavy rainfall. Businesses and estates ought to examine roofs and drainage programs, service pumps and backup energy tools, and put together for doable heat-related tools failures.
Above all, observe credible updates from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). Not each alarming WhatsApp voice observe deserves to be handled like a presidential broadcast.
And what ought to we keep away from? Panic shopping for meals and water till the sitting room turns into a warehouse. Wasting water. Ignoring climate warnings. Or forwarding messages claiming Nigeria will develop into a desert in a single day.
Climate science is critical enterprise; fearmongering is just not preparedness.
Can we belief our authorities to act?
My reply is straightforward: we should always demand that it does.
Nigeria already has a meteorological company. The actual check is whether or not its forecasts will translate into sensible motion. Federal and state governments should present well timed climate warnings, help farmers with helpful local weather data, put together drainage programs, shield susceptible communities and coordinate emergency responses.
Local governments mustn’t wait till floodwater enters folks’s bedrooms earlier than remembering that drainage exists. Governments mustn’t watch for farmers to lose their harvest earlier than discussing meals safety. Emergency businesses mustn’t start in search of tools when the emergency has already arrived.
Can our authorities do that? Absolutely. Will it accomplish that successfully? That is dependent upon planning, funding, coordination and accountability not press conferences alone.
There continues to be room for hope.
A robust El Niño doesn’t mechanically imply catastrophe for Nigeria. Its results fluctuate by area and season, and early preparation can scale back losses, shield livelihoods and get monetary savings.
For people, preparation means staying knowledgeable and making wise changes. For companies, it means planning forward. For authorities, it means performing on scientific warnings earlier than a disaster turns into a nationwide dialog.
Nigeria has sufficient challenges with out inviting avoidable ones.
We might not be in a position to inform the solar to scale back its working hours, however we are able to put together our houses, companies and communities for no matter the climate brings.
Because on this nation, we have already got sufficient sizzling conditions. We don’t want the climate including one other one.
Till subsequent time, keep hydrated and keep protected.
*Kenny Akintola, Chief facility officer
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