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Vice President Kashim Shettima recently raised the alarm over the depletion of Nigeria’s forests and warned of its dire economic consequences if the trend is not urgently checked. Shettima gave the warning while speaking at the opening of the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025 held in Abuja with the theme: “Sustainability of Nigeria’s Forests; Unlocking the $2billion Potentials for Economic and Financial Inclusion.”
It was organised by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI). According to the vice president, “this is not just an environmental crisis; it is an economic emergency. Ignoring this challenge is not an option. Our forest depletion threatens economic stability, livelihoods, and our global trading position.”
He also observed that more than 90 per cent of the nation’s original forests has been lost, with over 400,000 hectares vanishing annually. Despite Shettima’s ominous warning, the Chief Executive Officer of Netzence Sustainability Limited, Dr Sadiq Sani, assured Nigerians of using technology to unlock the over $2billion of the potential in the forest sector.
Considering the fact that forest depletion is an economic and environment challenge to the country, the alarm raised by the vice president should not be treated with levity. The federal and state governments must come up with far-reaching measures to check the depletion of Nigeria’s forests and adequately manage its resources. Apart from desert encroachment, the massive loss of our forests can be traced to human activities, including unsustainable agriculture, development, logging, mining and use of firewood for cooking.
Poor land management and human habitation must have added to the problem as well. No doubt, forests have enough resources for human needs, sustainability of life and economic stability. We must intentionally begin to manage and preserve our forests and plant more trees. Every state and local government should embark on massive tree planting campaign to save our environment and depleting forests. Due to desert encroachment, the northern states should do more in this regard.
The preservation of our forests will entail the protection of the environment, wildlife and medicinal plants. Forests have contributed to national development of some countries. India and China have earned so much money by export of herbal medicines and medicinal plants.
For instance, Vietnam earns over $15 billion yearly from forest exports. Brazil’s Amazon contributes 15 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from forests alone. Ethiopia has created 350,000 jobs through reforestation and its value chains. The federal government should emulate these worthy examples and also champion forest industrialization in Africa.
The local governments should lead the crusade in protecting our forests. They should embark on sustainable forest management and devise effective mechanisms to protect forests across the country. Instructively, the European Union (EU) would soon come out with regulations that would prohibit the importation of goods from countries where forests have been depleted in the last five years.
This means that Nigeria stands the risk of being shut out by member countries of the EU if they adjudge that our forests have been excessively depleted in the last five years. The economic consequences of being excluded from exporting goods to EU countries due to forest depletion could be devastating. Good enough, a rich forest can provide sources of income through the growth of crops and trees, which can provide sustainability, especially for rural dwellers.
Vibrant forests across the country provide a vital source of research for the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria. If our forests continue to be depleted, it will affect the activities of the research institute, and they may have to travel abroad for their research materials. The institute should also play a major role in the protection of our forests.
The Ministry of Environment, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and other stakeholders should play impactful roles in the protection of our forests. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should organise a national awareness programme on the need to protect our forests. The mass media can also be deployed to convey such messages to the target audience. The government must enforce laws aimed at protecting our environment.
Adequate management of our forest resources will tremendously enhance the development of herbal medicine, which can also increase our export. The government can use our forest resources to provide more jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
