According to a report by Daily Trust news, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has blamed the growing export of firewood to neighboring countries for the rapid deforestation in Nigeria’s border states.
Speaking on Wednesday at the opening of a three day retreat for senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment in Maiduguri, Zulum said weak enforcement of environmental laws has left Nigeria’s forests vulnerable to depletion.
The retreat was attended by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawan.
Zulum contrasted Nigeria’s landscape with those of neighbouring countries, saying forests remain intact across the borders because environmental laws are strictly enforced.
“Just across the border, everywhere is green forest, but as you come into Nigeria, everywhere is open because those countries enforce their laws strictly,” he said.
He urged the federal government to work closely with states to enforce tougher penalties against illegal tree felling, warning that failure to act would worsen desertification and threaten the country’s ecological stability.
The governor also commended the Federal Ministry of Environment for establishing a Federal College of Forestry in Borno but expressed concern over the declining interest in forestry studies.
He directed the chairmen of the state’s 27 local government areas to nominate at least 20 workers each for training at the institution.
Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawan said the retreat would focus on tackling land degradation, promoting reforestation and strengthening environmental regulations.
He also lamented that Lake Chad has shrunk to about nine per cent of its historic size.
Director General of the Borno State Great Green Wall Initiative, Amb. Usman Aliyu, said the state had raised three million seedlings of endangered indigenous trees, including baobab, tamarind, desert date and locust bean, for planting.
He said Borno has planted more than 40 million trees in the past seven years and established a 70 kilometre shelter belt across Konduga, Jere and Maiduguri to combat desertification.
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