In the wake of the Hurricane Harvey that pounded Texas,the early conclusions were that whatever doubts Donald Trump, the revisionist President of the United States of America had, about the reality of Climate Change,would drastically change. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case,as those thoughts melted,even before they could take root. But Trump is not alone in the denial of this obvious reality, of the huge crisis mankind is confronted with from Asia to Africa.
While Texas was being battered, Makurdi,the Benue State capital was also witnessing massive flooding which left thousands homeless and properties worth billions destroyed. But if Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State,has ever heard about the word Climate Change, and its effect, it must have been in passing and this has probably informed his expected reaction – lamentations.But what do you expect from a governor that has made the purchase of wheel barrows, the cardinal strategy of uplifting his people out of poverty ? The tragedy is that Samuel Ortom is not a sole traveller on this road of inaction, some of his colleagues are like him.How can they worry about Climate Change,when even the simplest of tasks – payment of salary,they can’t accomplish.
Indeed there are many Trumps in Nigeria,living in denial about the reality of the environmental challenges that man kind is confronted with today – from the man – made deserts of the North,to the floods of the Middle Belt and Riverine States and the erosion of the South -East confronting Nigeria largely unchallenged.Painfully these environmental problems even if not created by man,were definitely worsened through by hi actions.Thankfully in the island of doubts,of inaction, Nasir El – Rufai,the Kaduna State Governor has shown a clear understanding of the gravity of the situation, the urgent attention that the issue deserves, and has through clear cut policy initiatives,shown the determination to stop the further encroachment of the desert.
It couldn’t and shouldn’t have been otherwise,as concrete evidence abounds that each year more than 12 million hectares of land are transformed into new man – made deserts in the Northern States of Nigeria.The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),confirmed the latest figure,which should trigger alarm amongst Nigerians.Already the development has drastically caused displacements and drastically changed the demographics of the frontier states,with dire consequences for the entire country. No section of the country is immune from the threats of desertification,though states like Kaduna are directly affected.
When Dr. Newton Jibunoh,founder of the Fight Against Desert Encroachment(FADE), a Non Governmental Organisation committed to fighting desertification,raised the alarm of the threat of desertification, many years ago due to the effect of deforestation,erosion,and pressure on land, he was laughed off.The man in Delta State must begin to understand the correlation between desertification and the movement of Fulani herdsmen South ward. Desertification is not and can never be a northern problem,like we only painfully realized that Boko Haram, was not a Borno State affair after other cities started experiencing their atrocities first hand.God bless Jibunoh,who made that connection long ago.
How did we get to where we are? And moving forward what do we need to do in concrete terms and not just the governments – states,local or federal?The United Nation defines desertification as the delimitation or destruction of the biological potential of land which can lead to desert-like conditions. It further described desertification as a process that results after a sand storm.Poor rainfall, overgrazing and over utilisation of available piece of land are other causes of desertification.
The causes of desertification are manifold.And it is not by any stretch of imagination, limited to the reckless hacking down of trees, the main,if not the only source of fuel for the poor in the north.For many, most especially the poor hacking down of trees is a way of life ,but more tragically are that the elites who should know or ought to know better, that hacking down trees without replacing them amounts to suicide,are indifferent. Studies have also shown that poverty related agricultural practices is “a major contributor to desertification” , due to indiscriminate bushfires, continuous over cultivation,overgrazing,the lack of water and soil conservation structures all which aggravate an already bad situation.
The implications of our various actions on the environment are glaring at us.A point Pope Francis made when he described the deterioration of the planet as “tragic”. On September 1st,a day of prayer for the Protection of Creation, Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew of Constantinople, in a strongly worded joint appeal wrote”We no longer respect nature as a gift to be shared; rather, we look at it as a great private possession. We no longer associate ourselves to nature in order to maintain it, rather, we dominate it so that it supports our own constructions”. So key in tackling the challenge are aggressive policies that will stop the wanton destruction of trees,poor agricultural practices and afforestation programme.
It is estimated that Nigeria loses more than 7 billion United States dollars to desert encroachment.The progressive deterioration of the fertile land and loss of its productive capacity which renders it unsuitable for human and animal habitation is also bad news, as it worsens the threat to food production,that is already bad.For a country like Nigeria already spending billions importing food,this is more than worrying. Just as the activities of the Fulani herdsmen,has also increased the threat to our fragile national security.
The north is already poor by all indexes. But there could be further decline or worsening poverty, as a result of desertification which is why the northern governors must move to action. They should follow the example of Kaduna State,which has keyed into the Great Green Wall Scheme,an initiative of the African Union. Under the programme,a wall of trees will be planted at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The wall which will stretch from Dakar to Djibouti is 15km wide and 7,100 km long.
Governor Nasir El- Rufai deserves commendation for the realization that urgent action is needed, that he must act and vigorously implement the various initiatives aimed at tackling this scourge,without waiting for donor nations.And more importantly is the policy thrust of the war – the “Culture of Prevention” of desertification,which in reality is much more cost effective,compared to rehabilitation. The culture of prevention requires a drastic change in the attitudes of the people and of the state government. The inclusion of young people, the owners of tomorrow in the tree planting programme is strategic.
Central to the Kaduna State strategy of limiting the frightening and rampaging desertification is a programme of aggressive planting of trees,checking deforestation, encouraging best practices in farming and the realization that the projects will fail without the buy in and the critical support of local communities.Some of the programmes might not be innovative, but it is the discipline,the single minded focus and the determination to succeed that justifies the commendation.
The two flagship programmes are the “Keep Kaduna Green Project” that targets the planting of 3 million trees in three years and the 535 kilometers Shelter-belt Project,that entails the planting of economic trees ,like palm,scot pines, shea – butter,cashew,jatropha along its northern boarders with Katsina,Zamfara and Kano States. Not only will these projects check desertification,they also have the objectives of creating jobs,beautifying the environment.Addressing desertification is necessary in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.Trees are being planted on all the major streets of Kaduna,Zaria and Kafanchan.
The delight about the Kaduna State initiatives,is the all encompassing nature, the understanding that the effective strategy towards preventing and indeed reversing desertification must include better local management and macro policy approaches that focuses on prevention,rather than rehabilitation.Which is why the policy is from tree planting to water management. As Improved water management practices like water capture during intensive rainfall will not only prevent surface runoff that carries away the thin, fertile, moisture-holding topsoil,but will also provide reserves for use during the dry season,and most importantly help in the war against the monster.
The efforts of the ministry of agriculture to undertake studies on practices,including the growing of crops that are unsuited for the climatic zone, that tend to accelerate if not initiate the desertification process needs support. It must intensify the education of farmers to embrace mixed farming with households combining livestock rearing and cropping,which will allow recycling of nutrients.It will be a win win situation. It is estimated that Africa loses about 280 million tonnes of cereal crops every year,which can be curbed if soil erosion is prevented.
Still on the way forward the government must make cooking gas and kerosene available and affordable,so as to discourage the indiscriminate falling of trees. Failure to means motion without,movement. Urban growth is another serious area of concern. Adequate planning,provision of services will go a long way in relieving pressures that lead to desertification. The creation of new opportunities for people to earn a living in the long term is also very critical to the success of the war against desertification.
Like the Pope said “a concerted and collective response” is necessary. Government must spare no effort in this regard.For instance, not many people know that the protection of vegetative cover,to protect the soil from wind and water erosion is a key preventive measure against desertification.
