We have lost 1.44 million hectares of tree cover since 2001, according to Global Forest Watch; about 14% of our tree cover. Desert moves 0.6km south every year, eating farmlands in Borno, Yobe, Sokoto. Nigeria loses 350,000 hectares to desertification yearly, threatening 40 million livelihoods.
Lagos alone loses up to $4 billion yearly to floods, World Bank estimate, because we blocked our drainages with plastic and built houses on canals. Lagos generates 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes of waste daily.
We cut trees but do not plant back. We dump waste into canals, then complain when floods sweep our houses.
This is not a village matter, it is a survival matter. No environment, no economy. Farmers cannot farm if desert takes the land. Traders cannot sell if flood closes the market.
What Better Nigeria Looks Like:
- Waste to Wealth: Turn plastic to money – one collection hub per LGA, pay per kilo. Lagos waste is not waste – it is tiles, fuel, compost, jobs. Today, 50% of Lagos waste is organic that can become compost and biogas. No more burning, no more blocking drains.
- Clean Energy Homes: Solar for markets, clean cookstoves for homes. Stop cutting trees for firewood. Protect our rivers, no more oil spills in the Niger Delta. Our forests hold biodiversity, regulate rainfall, and provide livelihoods for millions.
Green Naija is rich Naija. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation warns we have lost nearly 90% of original forest and lose 400,000 hectares yearly, without urgent action, more will vanish by 2060.
Your Action Today: Plant one tree today or clean one drainage near you. Take before/after picture, post it with #GreenNaija. Tag your LGA. Action is little by little.
No green, no future.
