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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigeria and Ethiopia on Friday, took their Pan-African partnership beyond diplomatic meetings and conference rooms, as youths, diplomats and officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) joined forces to plant trees across Abuja in a symbolic push for environmental sustainability and stronger continental cooperation.
The initiative, tagged the “FCTA-Ethiopia Youth Tree Planting Initiative,” was flagged off along Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way in Area 11, Garki, under the theme: “Youth United for a Greener FCT: Renewing Hope Through Tree Planting.”
The programme brought together the FCTA, the Embassy of Ethiopia in Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Wing, blending environmental action with what participants described as a practical demonstration of Pan-African friendship and youth diplomacy.
Speaking on behalf of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Adedolapo Fasawe, said the trees being planted represented more than an environmental intervention.
According to her, the exercise was a reminder that Africa’s strength lies in cooperation among its people and nations.
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Fasawe said the initiative would not end with the ceremonial planting of seedlings, assuring that the FCTA’s Directorate of Parks and Recreation would monitor and nurture the trees to ensure their survival.
The APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, described the collaboration as a new model of youth diplomacy and Pan-African cooperation under the Plant Africa Fraternity initiative.
He said the partnership demonstrated that Africa’s young people could build stronger relationships across borders while taking practical steps to confront common challenges such as climate change.
Representing the Ethiopian Ambassador to Nigeria, Legesse Geremew Haile, the Embassy’s Minister Counsellor for Political Affairs, Misgna Tekiu Abrha, said the collaboration underscored the strategic importance of closer ties between two of Africa’s most influential nations.
“If Nigeria and Ethiopia work together, we can say that automatically Africa works together,” Abrha said.
