Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad, among other leaders, have launched a campaign to stop the advance of the desert and save their environment. ADAMU SULEIMAN reports
It was a demonstration of will not to allow the encroaching desert, perhaps the North’s worst and urgent threat, to take over the region. That was why Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Sultan of the Caliphate Muhammad Abubakar Sa’ad stepped out to halt the menace in its tracks.
sultan of sokoto
The governor and the monarch are not the only ones fighting the encroachment, though. Members of the state House of Assembly and All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs are part of the campaign, as are senior officials of the state government.
It is not difficult to see why. The advancing desert has sacked many communities in the region and overrun farmlands and scarce water sources. This is not just the handiwork of the Sahel; climate change, resulting in intense heat, is also to blame. The effect is devastating, with the ecosystem in danger, flora and fauna in as much trouble as humans.
Sokoto and other states fringing the desert are under immediate threat.
Is there any solution? Yes, tree planting, in what has been termed the Great Green Wall Project.
That is what leaders in the Caliphate are doing: planting trees to counter the advancing desert and inject life into the atmosphere.
The campaign is for everyone to sustain, including organisations, local governments, but those who must embrace it more than anyone else are all-season farmers.
The advance of the desert has been accelerated by unrelenting felling of trees without planting more to replace those cut down. That is why the state government has also mounted a campaign to encourage even individuals who must cut down trees to plant as many as, if not more than, they chop down.
What type of tree is ideal for this fight? The Neem will do nicely, because it is tough and can resist harsh rough weather. This is the reason you find rows of this medicinal, bitter tree at the seat of the caliphate, sometimes in clusters or in rows in open spaces.
Moreover, this tree also adds beauty to the city and communities nurturing them. Governor Tambuwal is also providing date palm seedlings for distribution free to farmers across the 23 local governments of the state.
Neem trees will help.
Tambuwal flagged off this year’s tree planting campaign in Kawadata village in Goronyo Local Government Area, warning residents and households to desist from indiscriminate tree felling. Embrace tree planting, he stressed.
He said the ban on tree felling for use as firewood in homes by households is now effective.
He said, to mitigate the effect of the new policy on especially the rural dwellers, the state government will provide stoves, while advising them to explore other sources of energy like coal.
The governor’s demonstration of commitment to curb desertification in the state keys into the 2015 Tree Planting Campaign theme tagged,’’ Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration.”
Tambuwal said at the flag-off that date palm trees would be planted across the state under the Great Green-Wall Project.
He said the gesture of the state government was part of renewed and sustained efforts to curb the menace of desertification.
The governor also called on individuals and organisations across the state to take interest in the cultivation of tree crops such as date palm and gum Arabic, noting that such would enhance the preservation of environment.
He pointed out that tree planting is not only an environmental imperative but also a spiritual obligation.
He said, “Islam encourages tree planting for the benefit of humanity in communities. This should be done as a measure to alleviate poverty and unemployment, and reap from the abundant benefits of planting trees.”
He added that everyone must take it seriously and embrace the tree planting exercise by emulating him and launching the campaign in their environments.
Tambuwal said further: “This is necessary if not to roll back the process of desertification, at least to cancel some of its gains through a sustained effort in planting trees.
Tambuwal
“All stakeholders should have a change of attitude by ensuring that the exercise is given all the seriousness it deserves.’’
The governor also called on farmers to adopt more modern and sustainable methods of farming.
“Having economic trees on your farms actually improves the yield of your harvests and agro-forestry is now the more acceptable form of modern and sustainable farming.
“I would like to appeal to our royal and religious leaders to continue to give their maximum support in order to ensure the success of this exercise.”
The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Environment, Garba Muhammad Sarkin-Kudu, said a 2km shelter-belt will be established in each of the three senatorial zones of the state as part of this year’s campaign.
He added: “Government House to house campaign has been carried out in the 400-unit housing estates to provide shelter and windbreak.”
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