Chika Otuchikere The Niger State Government has said it is enforcing a law that will compel every household to plant four trees as part of measures to tackle climate change. The directive is to recover trees that have been felled for firewood and other purposes over the years, which is contributing to climate change. The Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Yakubu Kolo, made this known during an interview with Arewa PUNCH where he disclosed steps the government has taken to avert the devastation caused by flooding and indiscriminate felling of trees.
He explained that Niger being a state surrounded by water, has every likelihood to witness flooding. However, he assured that with the ongoing awareness campaign, the state will not stop its sensitisation programme as well as providing resettlement homes for displaced residents after any flooding disaster. Kolo stressed, “Our forests that are degraded are replanted to reduce the impact on the soil, which in turn will reduce the impact of flooding in our environment.
We also have a law to ensure that every household within Niger State must plant at least four trees.’’ “That law has existed even before we came, but it is the enforcement that we are trying to ensure that everybody complies. This sensitisation programme we have been running on some radio stations, and it will continue to run like that.
“That is why we continue to sensitise ourselves to ensure that this environment we live in, we need it more than the environment needs us because if we allow its continuous destruction without replacement it will cause a serious hazard for the entire world. “This is why all over the world, now, everybody everywhere talks about this climate change and are looking for solutions. “The only solutions are these: we ensure that we protect our environment, ensure that everybody keeps his environment clean, plant trees in our homes, plant trees in our environment.
If it is agriculture, because we need food, we should ensure that we adopt a proper system of agriculture, not just anyhow. Clear trees, we can plant in-between trees. “We just finished discussing with Niger Foods how to improve our environment through agriculture.
I believe all these are our faults and we need to come back to our senses and also use our hands to ensure that these things are corrected otherwise, there’ll be nothing for our future generations, and they’ll come and meet a destroyed environment. “This is why the state government has adopted this issue of green initiative and created an agency for green initiative that will be responsible for all activities of climate change and also ensure that trees are planted everywhere,” Kolo said. The Commissioner who pointed out that the riverine nature of the state is largely responsible for the yearly flooding experienced in most parts of the state, also assured that the state government is not resting on its oars at ensuring that the floods do not cause grave devastation and there is resettlement plan for victims “Niger is not resting on its oars because we are a known state along the riverine area.
We should expect flooding every year because Niger is involved in this flooding, so we are aware of that, and we don’t even wait for either the federal agency or Federal Ministry of Environment to give alert. “Since we know this is a normal thing within the state, because of the so many rivers we have; we have River Niger, we have River Kaduna and other tributaries we ensure that sensitisation is carried out across the eight Emirates. “About Two or three months ago, the Ministry of Environment visited the eight Emirates we have in the state to sensitise them of the expected flooding so that those closer to the lower land can start preparing to vacate anytime “This is why I said sensitisation is continuous.
It’s just for us to ensure that we talk to emirs so that emirs can, in turn, inform their district heads that are particularly around these riverine areas. The sensitisation effort of the ministry and other agencies that are responsible for humanitarian services is a continuous one. “So we have adopted strategies in collaboration with HYPADEC, in collaboration with all the ministries and agencies listed before and local governments to ensure that people are adequately sensitised and also, alternative temporal areas and homes are also prepared so that once this flooding comes people can move temporarily and they can go back once it goes down.
“You know human beings, once you are used to a place it is always difficult to change your minds but I’m assuring you that the strategy the state has come up with is to ensure that no life is lost and ensure that nobody’s property is destroyed. So, this is why the Niger state government is assuring you that it is working hard to ensure that everybody that would be affected by this flooding is adequately sensitised,” Kolo concluded. Copyright PUNCH All rights reserved.
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