Niger Delta Businessman Urges FG to Halt Indiscriminate Wood Logging in Forest Reserves

By Olusegun Samuel

A Niger Delta Lawyer and Businessman, Mr. Azibaola Robert, has called on both federal and state governments to stop and criminalise the indiscriminate cutting down of economic trees in the forest reserves across the country.

Azibaola, who is championing a new cause of action for forest preservation with the launch of a 14 days “Expedition Into The Deep Forest,” said that the indiscriminate cutting down of economic trees and other form of exploitation of the forest reserve posed great danger to Nigeria and the rest of the world.

He said most of the oxygen consumed comes from natural environment like the forest but the government has failed to educate people on the consequences and effects on the environment and their livelihood, health and the economy.

Speaking with select journalists whom he took along to the deep forest of Otakeme forest reserve in Ogbia Local Government of Bayelsa State, Azibaola said the purpose of the journey in the deep forest was to create awareness on the urgent need to preserve the environment.

He said: “This is the first edition into the deep forest and we are starting from my own community, the Niger Delta. The aim of this expedition into deep forest is to highlight the natural endowments of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and the communities that are around here.

“We want people to be able to see the kind of lessons that nature has given to our country and how unexplored this natural resources have been and also how exploited this natural resources have been.

“There are some of these resources that are over exploited, there are some that have never been exploited before and we really need to balance nature. If we don’t balance nature in 20 or30 years’ time maybe sometimes after we have gone our children will not be able to taste this kind of environment.

“Look at what we have seen here, is this not more sight-seeing than any natural environment we watched on television from abroad? This is supposed to be a tourist attraction but nobody explores that part.

“Am also highlighting the fact that the forest has been so devastated by logging, people have cut down trees, natural trees, heavy trees that protects the environment that give us oxygen, people have logged them down and there is no regulation when it comes to wood logging in the Niger delta and in fact in Nigeria, so it is a disaster that is waiting to unfold.”