By Mohammed Abubakar,
Damaturu
His Royal Highness Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Ibn Grema, the emir of Tikau, is set to fight desertification with three million seedlings in the five districts of the Emirate.
The monarch disclosed this in his palace at Sabon Garin Nangere area of Yobe State.
He said that the planting of the targeted three million seedlings will commence this year and end in 2021.
His words: “We have designed the programme in three phases. This year we would transplant one kilometers along both sides of the streets of our major districts for beautification and protection of desertification.
“Secondly, we intend to use the plantation as means of poverty alleviation among our community youths through the establishment of orchards and free distribution of the economic tree seedlings.
“The third phase will witness working with experts to plant improved varieties of important trees on the farm boundaries by the farmers.”
The traditional ruler said that the Emirate in 2009 conceived an annual tree planting programme where it distributed 1,250 seedlings to the five districts of Nangere, Langawa, Dawasa, Degubi and Dazigau, respectively, just to fight desertification.
“Fighting desertification was our topmost priority because we have observed that we have started running short of woods and trees with high attitude of unnecessary cutting down of trees without replacement,” he said.
He also appealed to to his subjects to sustain the desertification programme to save the environment.
The royal father also appealed to federal and state governments for the importation of different species of trees to enable them achieve the set up goals successfully.
On the protection of the forest, he advised the state government to employ more forest guards to save it from destruction. “We also need the state government to come up with a law that will punish defaulters,” he said, while commending Yobe State government for the continued support to the tree planting programmes of the Emirate.
