THE HOT HUMIDITY IN NIGERIA, COUPLES' INTIMACY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A CALL FOR ACTION

There is usually a feeling one gets when it gets cold, if you do not know ask a "homegrown" "Naija"(as Nigeria is fondly referred to) boy, and he will tell you. When my Nigerian friend was a student in one of the universities in eastern Nigeria, precisely in Awka, Anambra State, as he narrated to me, "cold weather" was a weather for two. Meaning that it is the best moment for a couple, in this instance two unmarried undergraduate to separate themselves from the events of the world from the earthly woes into an imaginative aura. 

It was time for them to play with the sheets, reminiscing the words of Snoop Dogg: "playing on the sheets". In his words, 'it is one of the explosive moments, it is a relationship instigated by the weather.'

He further hypothetically explained: 'that is why more babies are delivered in April, May and June because they were conceived in the middle of the Nigeria’s rainy season: May, June and July.”

When this friend of mine said this, I never really believed him, I called it a bluff, thinking it was one of his ribs cracking adventures: he is really a comedian (perhaps he should consider taking a career in stand-up comedy or MC). However, when I recently encountered a Facebook post where a woman was cursing and wailing about the heat currently experienced in Nigeria, I remembered this dear friend of mine. 

Victoria, prompted by the excruciating heat, lamented thus; “…anybody having s** this period is disgusting.” 

In other words, s** is not as enticing at the moment for Nigerians as it should be. What a frustrating weather though. Therefore, following the hypothesis of my friend, we should be expecting a plunge in the rate of childbirth in next 6 to 10 months since this heat had been prevailing since December, 2015. 

I may add that my thoughts are with all Nigerian couples whose s** life is currently in quagmire due to the heat.  My condolences. Lol.

However that should not be the real concern. Rather, the pressing concern is the pervasive drought in Africa. It has been forecast that Africa will experience scanty rains this year due to a concept called El Nino or ENSO.

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According to scientists, strong heat wave will hit Africa, especially the Southern part, resulting in droughts and scarcity of farm produce. It is therefore possible that the current hot humidity experienced in Nigeria is partly caused by this.

While the concern of our dear friend, Victoria may be about s**, the most provoked concerns of persons living in the southern part of Africa is survival. It is on record that the people of Zimbabwe are being supported by food supplies from such donor organizations like Red Cross. 

However, all these can be prevented, or better still, controlled if adequate attention is made to the causes of climate change. There is need to reduce the rate of greenhouse gases emission and other preventable causes of climate change. It is in this light that the recent signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on the occasion marking the Earth's day should be applauded. However, beyond signing and ratifying the Agreement is the need for concerted efforts to be made towards the implementation of the Agreement, which incidentally is not a one-off event but a continuous efforts. 

It is time to think "CLIMATE CHANGE!!!"