Nigerians have been asked to support Federal Government’s effort to protect the environment from further degradation, by helping to plant trees, “a collective responsibility,’’ says the minister for Environment.

Speaking to newsmen after her visit to Zamfara and Kebbi states in Nigeria’s northern region,
Mrs. Laurentia Mallam says, government is educating the public on the gains of the Green Green
Wall project, and was ready to help states and organisations on tree planting.

Mallam stressed that while tree planting is a collective responsibility, there was greater need to encourage residents in desertification prone-areas, to plant trees.

“You see what happened in Zamfara, a village that has no tree was destroyed by windstorm few days ago and you can see their willingness to protect their environment.

Planting trees a collective responsibility- Mallam

“If the environmenti is not conducive for living, farming will be affected, livestock will be affected, human lives will be affected as well.

“They have started planting trees and we support them to plant more trees; we must protect the environment so that we can leave healthier and cleaner,’’she says.

The ministry plans to inaugurate the project
in Kebbi soon as part of the afforestation initiative to combat desertification in the state, she explained.

“Mr President has earmarked quite a lot of money for this project, the state governments are expected to put in certain percentage.

“The communities too have their own role to play in raising the seedlings, planting the seedlings, nurturing and ensuring that the project succeeds.

“ So, Mr President is willing to come into the states to
alleviate the suffering of the people through this great
project,’’ she says.

According to her, the Federal Government had received massive support from the states to implement the project, adding that the people were also happy with the development.

Mallam listed the states implementing the project to include Kebbi, Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi State, Gombe State, Jigawa, Kano State, Katsina State, Zamfara, Sokoto State and Yobe.

She said that the project was designed to alleviate the
suffering of the people living in those states in addition to addressing desertification.

Similarly, Dr Bukhar Hassan, Director of Drought,
Desertification and Amelioration Department, Federal
Ministry of Environment, expressed optimism that the
project would address poverty in the frontline states.

Hassan said the project had a total of 12 million hectares of land covering 15 kilometre wide from Kebbi to Borno.

“We have been talking with the European Union for over a year and EU has agreed to support the project in Katsina state.

The Great Green Wall project is a project developed by
African Union to address social, economic and
environmental impact of land degradation and
desertification in the Sahel and Sahara zones.

The project is mobilising 11 countries, including Nigeria to construct “a wall of trees’’ stretching 4,300 miles long and nine miles wide across the continent, from the Republic of Djibouti to Senegal.

The countries are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sudan and Chad.

Some state governments like Lagos, Osun and Kwara states have shown great commitments towards creating a Green culture through massive tree planting campaign in the recent years.