The effect of climate change are being felt more shrewdly and with greater frequency around the globe. Severe and extreme weather conditions occur with greater frequency and in most cases leaving disaster in their wake. Climate change is caused by the proliferation of Urbanization, deforestation, desertification, over population and all kinds of pollution are some of the resultant effects of man?s interaction with his environment.

 These changes occur as the people attempt to acquire their seemingly endless desire for food, shelter, recreation and infrastructural facilities. Though these wants and desires contribute to the development of the country, the unwise use of the land and its resources produce negative impacts on the environment, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greatest contributors to the emission of gases into the atmosphere are the industrialized states. In Nigeria the terrible states of air pollution are the quick developing states like Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.  

Ironically it is the developing countries of the world particularly the coastal countries that are most affected by the effects of climate change. What is more shocking is that when Nigeria?s metric are measured against those of other oil producers or in other oil producers, or in comparison to other nation with in its region, it still perform badly.

According to the latest Environmental Performance Index (EPI) released by January 2012 by researchers from Columbia University?s center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the Yale Center for Law Environmental Law and policy, Nigeria placed 119^th out of 132 nations surveyed. The index measured each country?s weighted scored across ten policy categories including protection of biodiversity, monitoring of productive natural resource development and management of the environmental burden of disease. Naturally geography and GDP were important factors with rich, relatively well diversified economies in western European occupying seven of the top nine slots and middle income mineral energy exporters in the middle east, Africa and central Asia filling most of the bottom tier yet Nigeria was ranked 19^th out of 21 examined sub-saharan Africa states examined.

Decolonization in sub-Saharan Africa happened at the same time with the period when the modern environmental movement was taking shape in the West Africa. But while the attention of Africa has been focused on proximate challenges like health care and education since 1960s. Nigeria has had its fair share of extreme weather and flooding in the recent times. However, the government in its proactive character has been quick to create awareness about it and put in measure to stem negative effects of climate change. it is important for Nigerians to commit greater solution towards addressing environmental issue. I also think that the cities in Nigeria, north east and the Niger Delta region are among the areas where environmental emphasis is seriously needed.