The Chairman Board of Trustees of the Forestry Association of Nigeria, Chief James Odebiyi, and the President of the association, Ahmad Ibrahim, have called on the Federal Government to rid Nigeria’s forests of bandits, kidnappers and terrorists.
They also advised the government to embark on aggressive tree planting to reduce the impact on global warming on the country due to the deleterious effects of deforestation.
Speaking on the International Day of Forests days after concluding its 43rd annual conference, the duo noted in a statement, on Monday, that Nigeria must jettison the jamboree which consumed the initiative of the association towards tree planting and be deliberate about it in order to ensure sustainable development.
Odebiyi said, “The continuous rise in world population every year and the evil of human activities in the form of deforestation and pollution have made it difficult for the world community to observe the activities of every individual and the issue has always been of concern and provocative.”
On his part, Ibrahim lamented that insecurity was affecting research and legitimate activities in the forest estates of Nigeria as hoodlums have taken over, urging government on the need to reclaim the forests from criminals.
“A dangerous trend that has bedevilled our forest estates today is the issue of insecurity in our forests. It started gradually in 2003 and today, it has become a hydra-headed monster that has made our forests worse-off.
“Our researchers can no longer access the forests and legal activities cannot take place because hoodlums have taken over the forest estates.”
Also, the National Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the association, Prof. Olukayode Ogunsanwo and Dr Dapo Adewole, lamented the occupation of the forests by criminals.
Ogunsanwo said, “Nigeria’s forests are currently managed below international levels of standards, criteria and indicators thereby affecting negatively ecological, social and economic values of Nigeria with attendant environmental degradation, poverty, hunger and insecurity.
“Nigeria is facing non-sustainability problem of her forest resources. There has been a huge pressure on wood resource in making forests in Nigeria to be exposed to indiscriminate exploitation of familiar economic woods.
“We need to secure our forest estate resources for sustainable development. Above all, hoodlums, bandits, kidnappers and terrorists have hijacked the forest space and should be flushed out to have sustainable development.”
