Fadekemi Ajakaiye
There is a grand collaboration between the Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the Stanbic IBTC Bank that is designed to yield 30,000 trees across 10 states in Nigeria.
At a ceremony to begin the programme, with the planting of the first set of trees at the Lekki Conservation Center (LCC) in Lagos, recently, the Director-General of the NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, stated that the activities of man had impacted negatively on the environment, thus making nature to fight back, especially as shown in the coastal lines of the Lekki Ajah corridor.
Onoja lauded the Stanbic IBTC Bank for believing in the vision of the NCF in the restoration of Nigeria’s forest cover to 25 per cent, saying, “I will continue to portray the bank as an environmentally responsible entity at any forum I find myself.”
He said, “As the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, the foremost conservation NGO, we started 40 plus years ago, when it was not fashionable to talk about environmental conservation in Nigeria.
“We are standing on the shoulders of giants, one of them we just lost some few days ago in the person of Chief Akintola Williams; he was one of our Board of Trustees members.
“We have degraded so much of our forest that we have less than 10 per cent of our forests than we had in the 1960s when we got independence.
“We learnt the art of deforestation and logging without the art of proper forest management and that is where we find ourselves today.
“This is why we came up with the Green Recovery Nigeria project to build back at least 25 per cent of our forest cover,” Onoja said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Dr Demola Sogunle said the flag-off the planting of 30,000 trees in 10 states of the federation was a testament to Stanbic IBTC’s unwavering dedication to a sustainable future, adding that they were doing it with an immense sense of pride and gratitude.
Trees, he said, “transcend the mere symbols that embodied life itself. They function as the lungs of our planets, furnishing us with oxygen that we breathe in and absorbing the carbon dioxide.
“Moreover, they act as guardians of biodiversity, providing shelter and sustenance to innumerable species.
“In collaboration with the NCF, as part of the Green Recovery Nigeria initiative, we are amplifying this chorus of life by 30,000 voices, 30,000 stories of hope, resilience and rejuvenation.
“We have sawn not only trees, but the seeds of a brighter tomorrow.
“However, this moment transcends the sheer number of trees we are planting, it is about the profound impact these trees will have.
“It is about the shades they will cast on scorching days, the habitats they will offer to birds, the sustenance they will provide to ecosystems and the carbon they will capture to combat climate change.
“It is about the educational value they bring to our communities, a reminder of the interconnectedness of all life on Earth.”
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, represented by the Deputy Director, Conservation and Ecology, Mr Olabode Adeola, said tree planting was a gift to the environment.
He said, “The trees serve as carbon sinks; they absorb the carbon and give out oxygen; they serve as the lungs of the earth.”
