By Oludamisi Ojo
An Elder Stateman and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) Chief Afe Babalola, has alerted the federal government on the need to tackle the endless bombing of trains and killings of innocent Nigerians.
He said there is a need for an urgent national dialogue about its constitution and governance.
The founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) spoke on Saturday at the closure of a five-day Training Programme taggedd: “Forest Certification for Responsible Forest Management”, held by ABUAD in partnership with the Ekiti State government, United Kingdom-based Soil Association Organic, UNESCO and Forest Stewardship Council.
While commenting on the recent train bombing in Kaduna and the killing of occupants by bandits, Babalola said he heard about the devastating story and felt bad.
He appreciated God that the House of Representatives had said they have failed Nigerians, stressing that the statement will make them think and rethink that they had admitted their failures.
He said” The solution is as soon as President Muhammadu Buhari completes his tenure, no election should hold. We must set up an interim government for six months to discuss Nigeria.
” We should convene a conference comprising all retired Presidents and selected Nigerians for us to have a new constitution that will lead us back to Parliamentary System to discuss how Nigeria should be”.
Babalola, who described tree planting as a profitable business, declared that the lack of political will to prioritprioritizestation policies and implement relevant laws is killing the sector in the country.
The ABUAD’s founder said good forest policy helps to stabilize the ecosystem, reduce global warming and contribute to economic growth through lumbering, amusement parks, drug production, horticulture, and general medicine.
According to the eminent lawyer,” I have a teak plantation of 1.5 million stands with 110,000 stands of mango trees in ABUAD farm, producing fruits for economic growth and human consumption. It is a profitable business and I urge the participants to plant trees today and become millionaires in the future. Don’t think of now alone”.
He told the trainees that what they would have gone to Scotland and Britain to learn was impacted to them free in ABUAD.
“The surest profession in the world is tree planting. Don’t look for immediate profit like annual crops, plant trees, in 10 years, you will be making money. The western region used to be leading in tree planting in the olden days, but we have left that route and this has affected our economy” Babalola stressed.
Governor Kayode Fayemi, represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Iyabo Okiemen, said that in the 1950s to 60s, timber was one of the real sources of wealth, which developed this part of West Africa, regretting that the boom had faded away.
The commissioner said the neglect of the sector by successive governments had led to a situation of over-harvesting, illegalities, and the running-down of our Reserves and Free Forest timber stocks, with the result that not only are our indigenous trees going into extinction and environments being severely damaged by deforestation but timber, forestry, and related sectors are losing money and shedding jobs.
According to him, the state government has adopted Obeche, an indigenous tree as the “state tree”, saying forest economy and sustainability are top priorities of the current administration.
“Records show that forestry creates 15,000 indirect jobs in Ekiti and thousands of direct jobs. Our farmers, loggers, saw millers, and institutions must key into the vision of our government that says plant a tree when you cut a tree in Ekiti”.
Soil Association’s Senior Policy Advisor, and United Kingdom-based expert, Mr. Clive Thomas, said the workshop is a good step to reform the forestry sector, saying for the sector to be optimally utilized that there was a need for increased access to the forestry value chain.
