Varsity Don to FG: Promote Good Forest Governance, Eliminate Rural Poverty in Communities

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

As part of efforts to preserve afforestation culture for socio economic development in Nigeria, a varsity don, Professor Adesola Ogidiolu has urged the federal government to promote good forest governance, eliminate poverty among the poor forest communities and create alternative livelihoods.

Ogidiolu who is a Professor of Geography, made this call while speaking as a guest lecturer at 18th inaugural lecture of the Prince Abubarka Audu University, Anyigba, yesterday.

He tasked the federal government to find lasting political solution to some of the concerns of geographers about forest ecosystem by making deliberate efforts to remove administrative and operational bottlenecks to good forest management and provide inter sectoral collaboration in forest management and conservation.

In his paper titled, “Geographers in the Forest, Issues, Concerns and Tasks,” Professor Ogidiolu explained that geographers are among the frontliners in forest science and studies, stressing that they are leading position in the study, analysis and management of natural resources including forest.

“Therefore, for sustainable and pragmatic management of natural resources especially forest, it is recommended that geographers and hence geography as a discipline be given greater recognition and attention by educational policy makers through making geography a core and mandatory subject in our early educational levels of training particularly primary, junior and senior secondary schools in Nigeria .

He also tasked the three tiers of government and private sector organisations through a deliberate efforts to expand forest to even a marginal lands, nothing that there is urgent need to keep more forest landscape.
“Manage more sustainably through adopting a number of conservative measures and best silviculture, practices such as, good harvesting techniques, delayed harvesting, etc. This will also involve safeguards against misuses and misapplications.

“Restore more of those forest landscapes that had been lost or degraded. This may involve more reafforestation and regeneration using more ecologically adaptive and fast-growing species.

“Combating deforestation and trying to achieve Zero-Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation(ZNDD) –

“Mitigating climate change proactively by complying with various treaties and conventions, e.g. the Kyotol protocol, Montreal convention on reduction of carbon emission-and the use of environmental friendly energy alternatives.

“Enabling right—based land use and ensuring community participation through the formation of Forest Protection Communities (FPCs) and volunteers. This will proactively prevent destruction of forest through illegal cutting and engender the spirit of co-ownership of the natural resource.

“unlocking forest potentials through the development of more
environmentally friendly utilization of forest resources”, he posited.

Earlier in his welcome address, the new Vice Chancellor of the Prince Abubarka Audu University ,Anyigba, Professor Salisu Usman noted that the world over, inaugural lectures are defining moment of scholarship, institutional prestige and a meeting point of town and gown.

“Several universities, some of which are younger than ours, have made remarkable progress and moved ahead of us in this regard.

“Therefore, we must not only catch up but position ourselves as a leading institution where intellectual discourse is vibrant, regular, and impactful.

“This administration is committed to ensuring that inaugural lectures become a central pillar of our academic identity.

“In recognition of the importance of inaugural lectures and to encourage wider participation among our Professors, this administration has approved an increase in the stipend for inaugural lecturers from ₦250,000 to ₦500,000, the VC stressed .