Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed concern about the impact of climate change on national security and military planning.
Prof. Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday in Kaduna at the 32nd Convocation Ceremony and the Graduation of 69 Regular Course Cadets and Postgraduate students of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
He described the new military officers as the generation of warrior-scholars that will confront enemies of the state with an arsenal of unconventional skills, unorthodox strategies and critical thinking.
“It has fallen on you to be thought-leaders that will advance development both on and off the battlefield”, said the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The VP told the graduates that the environment they are tasked with engaging “is not the same threat environment that existed just a decade ago”.
Osinbajo urged them to contend with the mix of asymmetric conflicts, hybrid warfare, insurgencies and armed criminal activities perpetrated by criminal non-state actors.
On the implications of climate change, he noted that apart from the revenue loss from declining earnings from oil and gas, there are other expected disruptions.
Osinbajo linked his worry to the military’s dependence on fossil fuels for transport, logistics, mobility and weapons deployment.
“We must consider the implications on the national defence apparatus. As our country pursues energy transition, it is worth setting as a goal for our defence and security sector”, he said.
The VP noted that in a country the size and population of Nigeria, with threats to citizenry and sovereignty, it is imperative to build indigenous national defence capabilities.
“This means revitalizing our local military industrial complex and investing in the local capacity to manufacture armaments”, he added.