The Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, says Africa must prioritize development of its natural resources, including fossil fuels, ahead of concerns for climate change or risk losing millions of African lives to poverty and hunger in a much faster rate than climate change.

Professor Osinbajo is attending the African Development annual meeting focused on energy and climate change in Zambia.

He said that it was impossible for Africa to de-emphasize its natural resources which must first be exploited before economic development can spread across the continent.

He said that while climate change concerns were important, Africans cannot be compelled to take the greater burden of resolving the problem at the risk of its development which is still at a nascent stage and despite being the least contributor to the devastation of the environment.