Save Ningi from Deforestation

It saddens one’s heart to see truckloads of timber and charcoal going out of Burra Forest in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State almost every minute. These illegal businesses are increasing every day, the residents of the area are crying out loud as a result of indiscriminate felling of trees in Burra axis.

For quite a long time, there were several complaints about the issue of deforestation in Ningi, especially when almost all the bushes around the area were being disturbed by tree fellers. Lame–Burra Game Reserve, where the act is being perpetrated, is one of the reserves in Nigeria and has an elevation of 640 metres. It covers 2,351.92 km2. The forest borders two states of Kano and Plateau.

Since 2019 when the present administration of Governor Bala Mohammed came to power, deforestation has been one of his concerns, he had once taken serious actions against some of the people involved. The government suspended a caretaker chairman in Ningi largely because of this. But it seems the government is still not aware that this ugly act is still ongoing across Ningi. The government has arrested and seized trucks loaded with charcoal that were heading to Kano from the Burra community. This deforestation is putting the residents of Burra and Ningi in fear during the rainy season. We witnessed climate change, a sandstorm that clouded us for hours. Everyone knows that trees release much-needed oxygen and cutting them down indiscriminately is equal to denying ourselves the precious gift of life. Lack of trees cover will also result in trapping of greenhouse gases which will adversely affect the ozone layer and could cause diseases like leukemia and cancer.

About 40 percent of trees in the area are destroyed by the charcoal dealers. As it stands, the local government authority is doing nothing about it. The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, and flooding. In the year 2020 the then local administration confiscated truckloads of charcoal worth millions of naira coming out from Lame/Burra forest. We are calling on the state government to please address this matter urgently and save our environment.

Usman Abdullahi Koli, Dept of Mass Communication, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi