President Tinubu, Abdulsalami, Ex-Governor Aliyu Support Fight against Desertification

Laleye Dipo in Minna

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Military President, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), and former Niger State Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, have advocated for collaborative support by stakeholders across the country to tackle the problem of desertification in Nigeria.

Also, the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Umara Bago, and his counterpart from Borno State, Umaru Zulum, joined in the call for governments at all levels to pursue policies and programmes that will check the menace.

They all made the appeal at the first Niger State Green Economy Summit held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna yesterday.

President Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the federal government is determined to improve the ecology of the country through massive investments in policies and programmes that would check desertification, thereby making the ground suitable for the cultivation of food and cash crops.

Doing so, the president said the country would be able to generate more money and also feed its teeming population.

According to him, “The new federal government solid mineral policy recently approved by the Federal Executive Council will align with the green economy in order to preserve the ecosystem of the country.”

Tinubu said the government is not unmindful of the problems Nigerians are facing as a result of the downturn in the economy occasioned by the removal of subsidy from petrol, maintaining that “the suffering is temporary.”

Speaking similarly, former Military President, Abdulsalami, said Nigerians should be made to plant at least one tree in their homes as one of the steps to check desertification.

He commended the Borno State Governor, Zulum, for “what he is doing in this regard in his state,” and asked other governors to emulate him.

In his remark, Aliyu said the 19 northern states should be concerned about the green economy because the desert is fast encroaching on the region, adding: “We must take steps to arrest desert encroachment.”

Governor Bago in his remark said the summit is a testament to the state’s collective resolve to confront and address the pressing challenge posed by climate change and environmental degradation.

He explained that the state government is committed to seizing the boundless opportunities inherent in green technologies and sustainable development.

Bago said Niger State is blessed with diverse natural resources encompassing a large landmass of 76.36.3 square kilometres most of which is fertile, adding that: “We have forests, water bodies, abundant mineral deposits like lithium, gold and gas reserve, but these assets are not just green assets, they are the essence of our heritage and source of our livelihood.

“They are under threat due to the relentless onslaught of climate change, so  inaction is a luxury we can’t afford,  therefore, we must stand resolute and act now.”

In a message to the summit, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,  Hajiya Amina Mohammed, disclosed that over 36 percent of Nigerians have no access to electricity even when the  era of fossil fuel is fast coming to an end, urging the federal and sub national governments to embrace alternatives energy sources.