Expert Decry 3.5% Annual Deforestation In Nigeria

As climate change wreaks havoc across the 36 States and FCT, an expert has raised the alarm over continued depletion of forests through illegal tree logging. The Publisher and Editor-in-chief of Development Agenda Magazine, Mr Paddy Ezeala, said this at a one-day seminar organised by Development Agenda in collaboration with Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria recently in Abuja. The seminar had as its theme: “Climate Change and COP28: The Way Forward For Nigeria.” He estimated that 1.5 million trees are felled daily through illegal logging, thereby leading to 3.5 percent deforestation annually. Ezeala stated that the establishment of a foreign privately-owned charcoal producing factory in Nsukka, Enugu state worsened the destruction caused by the foreigners, adding that the adjoining states were affected by the massive logging.  The publisher lamented that Nigeria is experiencing four percent forest loss annually, which is about the highest globally, as people continue to cut down trees in Cross Rivers, Ondo, Ogun, as well as in some North Central States. Ezeala hinted that between 1981 and 2000, Nigeria lost 3.7 million hectares of forests which implied colossal loss of biodiversity.  The forest cover had depleted to less than 10 percent as against the mandate of the Food and Agricultural Organizations’ (FAO) that each state is expected to keep its forest cover to a minimum of 25 percent of its land area. While about 484 plant species are threatened with extinction, the publisher lamented the absence of measures aimed at encouraging forest regeneration “Related to this is the absence of a valuation system to place a value on forest resources so that when forests are destroyed through individual or corporate negligence, adequate compensation will be paid,” he said.  He stated that there is a need to develop more environmentally and socially equitable approaches to forest management in Nigeria, noting that the wanton destruction of forests across the country must be checked. Ezeala added: “Forests perform a broad range of critical environmental and climatic functions, including the maintenance of constant supply of water. Forests harbour species and at the same time have very deep economic, aesthetic, industrial and religious significance for humans.  “However, economic development pressures often lead to the conversion of forest ecosystems without consideration for both the long-term economic costs and the implications of the immediate loss of biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function.”  The publisher maintained that Nigeria’s remaining rainforests harbour about 4000 different species of plants, including those effective in the development of alternative medicine.  Ezela harped on the need to priortise tree planting and secure protected areas, noting that the National Park Service and others managing the protected areas should be supported.  The Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman Jibril hinted that the rising sea level at the coastal areas, climate change, deforestation, drought and desertification are some of the environmental challenges affecting Nigeria.  He said though charcoal has been banned that the government cannot stop households from cooking with charcoal without providing alternative means of fuel.  The Chairman of EMCAN, Mr Chuks Oyema said that the essence of the seminar was to showcase how Nigeria is tackling climate change and how the government is prepared for COP28.  He urged the media to publish more stories on climate change and embark on collective actions toward mitigating the impact of climate change on the environment.

3m people die annually from food poisoning globally- Expert  

A food expert, and second Vice President of Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Dr Ignatius Alaka, has labeled farmers using inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, synthetic hormones to grow their crops and raise livestocks as hired assassins. Alaka said the farmers were killing consumers slowly and painfully. According to him, these farmers kill consumers of their produce gradually and painfully. This is even as he called for increased consumption of organic products. Presenting a paper titled “Food Safety, Hygiene and Adherence to Quality Organic Standard,” during a ensitization workshop on organic agriculture for rice farmers and processors in Ebonyi State recently Dr. Alaka, said research has shown over the years that these in-organic substances used in farming had very serious deleterious harmful effects, even as he revealed that globally, over 1.5 billion cases of food borne disease outbreak are reported resulting in 3 million deaths. “Organic agriculture, which is governed by strict government standards, requires that products bearing the organic label are produced without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering etc. The use of organic fertilizers to grow nutritious foods is becoming internationally acceptable in-view of its numerous health benefits. “Consumers should be aware that you are what you eat. Anyone who has ever had food poisoning can tell you it is an experience you would never wish for your enemy. To avoid this, it is important to learn about food safety guidelines pertaining to the preparation of foods. “However, there is inadequate supervision and proper monitoring by food safety officers and the enforcement of food hygiene regulation is weak. There is also the lack of training in food safety and good hygiene practices for food handlers. “Rice is one of the most important grain crops in the world. Growth in population combined with rapid urbanization has helped to fuel the demand for rice. In order to meet up with the high demand for rice, farmers have to increase their production capacity by adapting conventional means of using in-organic fertilizers and pesticides. “The way people access food is important for their safety and health. All food manufacturers have a responsibility to provide consumers with safe, wholesome foods. Safety is not an option but it is an essential part of the planning, preparation and production of foods. “The safety and quality of foods is becoming a matter of increasing concern. Information is more readily available to consumers through the mass media and they are considerably more aware of existing and potential risks from pesticides, food poisoning and a poor diet,” he warned. He said a lack of consideration of safety can result in serious threat to public health and according to him, in most countries serious penalties exist for those who contravene hygiene and food safety legislations.  He also, urged farmers to take advantage of the high demand of organic produce across the world, saying consumer demand for organic food is growing at a rate of 20 to 30 per cent annually year and that it is estimated that more than 6 out of every 10 Australian households now buy organic foods, hence Nigeria farmers must key in now and take advantage of this opportunity to grow organic rice and other crops.

INEC deleted results on 110 BVAS, Atiku’s witness tells Tribunal

A prosecution witness 26 (PW26) of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Mr Hitler Nwala has told the Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC) that results on all the 110 BVAS machines he inspected were deleted. Testifying before the court, Nwala said that the machines inspected were only those from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Led in evidence-in-chief by the lead counsel to Atiku, Chief Chris Uche SAN, the subpoenaed witness said that he was a Digital Forensic Analyst and that he didn’t know at what point the results were deleted it from the machines. Under cross examination by counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, the witness said that he attached a standard device used for such an exercise to the machine to arrive at the conclusion. When asked if he had the authority of the commission to attach an external device to the BVAS machine, the witness answered in the affirmative. Mahmoud further asked the witness if he was aware that inspecting only 110 machines out of 3,163 that were deployed in the FCT amounted to only 3.4 per cent of the total number of BVAS deployed in the FCT and 0.06 per cent of BVAS deployed nationwide. In his defense, the expert witness said he only compiled the report and didn’t take out time to calculate the percentages. The INEC counsel attempted to give a BVAS machine to the witness to check if it was deleted as he had said in his report. The witness, however, said that it would be against the ethics of his profession to collect the BVAS machine in open court to check it. “It is professionally wrong to access a device that will be used as evidence in a court of competent jurisdiction because it will temper with the evidence. “We cannot access the device directly, what we do is to extract the evidence and take it for analysis.” Moreover, the witness told the court that since all the devices had the same model and look the same on the outside, he couldn’t tell if it was one of the ones he inspected my merely looking at it. On his part, counsel to the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN told the witness that neither he nor any of his team member signed the six volume forensic report. The witness, however, insisted that he signed  the report as well as the certificate of compliance. On his part, counsel to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Wole Olanipekin, SAN confronted the witness with a portion of his report where he said that from his inspection of the machines, “nothing was intrinsically wrong with them”. “Were you in Abuja on the day of the presidential election? “If you were not in Abuja, how then can you know that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the machines on the day of election?” The witness said that he was not in Abuja and so he couldn’t have known if something went wrong with the machines on the day of election. After the witness was discharged, the petitioners went further to tender Forms EC8A series from 20 local government areas of Ogun, 17 local government areas of Ondo, 27 local government areas of Jigawa and 20 local government areas of Rivers. The Chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned hearing in the petition until Friday. Recall that going by the pre-hearing report, Atiku and the PDP are expected to close their case on Thursday, 22nd June (today), however a grace of one day was given. With the new development, the Prosecution will be closing their case on Friday, the 23rd, June.