Environment
Don Lists Gains Of Forestry
A university teacher, Prof. Tope Ajayi, has said that forestry has the potential of helping to create dependable economic fortunes for the Federal Government and the 36 states in their ongoing economic diversification efforts, if properly harnessed.
Ajayi made the assertion yesterday in Ado-Ekiti during an interview with newsmen.
The professor of Forestry and Wood Technology at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said billions of naira is lost on yearly basis due to inactivity in the forestry corridor.
According to him, forestry business can create sustainable wealth, enough to cater for the needs of the various levels of government, as demonstrated in certain countries of the world
He said the veritable revenue sources, huge employment opportunities that abound in the forestry sector would change the fortunes of the country for good, if proper attention is deployed.
According to him, initiating effective policies on the economic growth of forestry business would also enhance the nation’s export trade.
He expressed regrets that some of the states had been playing politics with implementation of forest laws, thereby causing destruction to country’s potential in the subsector, and subjecting people to dangers of global warming, erosion and flooding.
He insisted that good investments in forest value chain could create wealth through provision of raw materials and finished products for industrial growth, saying these could also engender foreign earnings for the country.
“ There are a lot of gains in the forest value chain and it can add values to our economy, if fully harnessed.
“ In 1982, I produced a particle board using urea formaldehyde as binder and I was given a national recognition.
“The depletion of wood resources and accompanying saw dust gave me the impetus to conduct research on the possibility of using agricultural wastes to producing particle board for flooring, partitioning, furniture and other industrial and household use.
“I investigated the use of groundnut shell, rice husk, beans coat, maize stalk and other agricultural wastes using urea formaldehyde, recycled plastic, car battery case, cement and pozzolan as binder.
“Nigeria can indeed gain enormous economic benefits these research outputs are up-scaled and commercialised,” he said.
Ajayi disclosed that the reason why Ondo and Ekiti, in particular had not been able to tap their forest potential maximally was that they were fond of playing politics with the extant forest laws.
He said in some states, sawmill operators, timber contractors and others are going to the free forest areas and forest reserves to fell trees indiscriminately.
The don further added that by forestry laws, there are areas where you can only cut five trees, there are areas where you have to cut one tree and plant four in replacement as well as game reserves in our forest reserves, where one can not kill animals.
He lamented how governments have been receiving all these reports and allegedly looking away pretending as if nothing was happening.
He therefore suggested that only professionals, whose major responsibility and goal is to ensure the protection, proper management, and sustainable utilisation of forest resources for economic gains among others be saddled with management of forest reserves.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.