For much of a typical cross-country trip, the trees of Nigeria’s forests dominate the landscape. The typical reaction of travellers to the majestic sight is to watch in calm amazement or simply look on in indifference. In fact, a lot of people in these parts would rather have these trees felled to make way for “productive activity”. The assumption implicit in these expressions of disdain for the ‘idleness’ of such vast expanse is that until there are residential and industrial structures on those patches, they are being wasted. However, while it is true that Nigeria’s forests have been terribly underutilised, the average Nigerian doesn’t really know the details of what it means to use them to our advantage- in a positive, sustainable way.
There are many well-known tree species which have become recognised for their economic importance. These trees have largely been used for agroforestry. For example, the fruits of Treculia Africana (African breadfruit) are an important food item, cooked and eaten in many parts of southern Nigeria. The roasted nuts are also eaten along with palm kernel or coconut, and its wood used as fuel. Some species of Ficus (fig) are useful as leafy vegetables, while edible fruits from Garicia Kola (bitter kola) are widely consumed across Nigeria. The wood from kola is used for chewing sticks and utensils. Trees from the woodlands of the south of the country regularly get sawn up and their parts serve as the principal raw material for furniture. The pulp is made out of materials derived from these trees, as are beams and logs employed in construction. And there’s the general ecological importance of Nigeria’s forests. They are a crucial part of Nigeria’s interconnected web that is the biodiversity of our ecosystem. Without them, this system will collapse, along with Nigeria’s economic and social fabric.
Some of Nigeria’s forest reserves (legally protected forest areas) include the Akure, Idanre, Oluwa and Okeluse Reserves in the South West, Okomu Forest Reserve in Edo state, and Afi River Forest Reserve in Cross Rivers state.
The forestry sector is faced with the challenge of gross neglect. This reality has been borne out by an analysis of man’s activities as they impact biodiversity in the country, carried out by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The CBD was established by the United Nations to help preserve biological diversity around the world. Its assessment report warns that many valuable animal and plant species are on the path to extinction as the forest cover recedes under pressure from unregulated human activities. Desertification has followed the trail of the loss of forest cover, especially in the north.
There’s a lot of incentive for creating and maintaining a more efficient and sustainable forestry sector. On the good side, Nigeria can save itself some dear foreign exchange by substituting wood-based imports with suitable local alternatives. Negative drivers like desertification and the disruption of future economic growth owing to today’s dismantling of our ecosystem, should also give policymakers sleepless nights and cause them to act decisively to end the mismanagement of Nigeria’s forest potentials. We may just get a helping hand from ebooks and low crude oil prices, two things that are likely to outlast the age of reckless felling of trees for the sake of paper production, or the inefficient exploitation of the towering green and brown giants.
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