By Abubakar Rabilu Gombe
The Mai Tula in Gombe State, Alhaji Abubakar Atare Buba, has urged the 11 LGAs and 13 LCDAs to strengthen the protection of trees and ensure the sustainability of the Gombe Goes Green (3G) initiative.
He made the call during a three-day orientation workshop organised by the Gombe State Ministry of Local Government and Community Development in Bauchi for the newly elected LGAs and LCDAs officials.
Abubakar Buba said the success of the 3G initiative should not be measured by the number of trees planted but by how many survive and remain protected for decades.
He urged the Councils to strengthen the 3G implementation and monitoring committees already inaugurated in the 11 LGAs, saying they should be adequately supported and mandated to regularly report on tree survival and environmental activities.
He also called for the incorporation of tree protection and anti-felling provisions into local government environmental bylaws, with clear penalties for offenders.
The traditional ruler expressed concern over the increasing production of charcoal in Kwami and Funakaye LGAs, describing the situation as alarming.
He said the taskforce recently apprehended a charcoal producer who had received more than N2 million to supply charcoal but had less than N10,000 in his possession.
According to him, such demand could encourage indiscriminate felling of trees, stressing that stronger grassroots enforcement was needed to address the problem.
Abubakar Buba also called for the involvement of traditional institutions in the 3G programme, saying emirates and traditional councils could assist in community mobilisation, awareness and dispute resolution.
He expressed concern over the degradation of the state’s 34 gazetted forest reserves, saying many had been seriously encroached upon and could no longer be regarded as forests.
The Mai Tula urged LGAs and LCDAs to allocate recurrent funds for tree maintenance and replacement, arguing that afforestation should be treated as a continuous responsibility rather than a one-off project.
He further advocated the establishment of young foresters’ clubs in schools, saying children should be given practical responsibility for planting and protecting trees.
He recommended planting species such as Leucaena, moringa, mahogany, black currant and cashew along grazing corridors and in communities affected by farmer-herder conflicts.
He said Leucaena could provide fodder for livestock and help reduce pressure on farmlands.
Abubakar Buba also urged local councils to explore carbon-credit opportunities, promote fuel-efficient cooking stoves to reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal, and study Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration as a low-cost method of restoring degraded land.
He cited Shongom LGA’s Melina and teak woodlot as an example of how afforestation could become a source of sustainable revenue.
“The sustainability of Gombe Goes Green will ultimately be measured not by how many trees we plant, but by how many of those trees are still standing five, 10 and 20 years from now,” he said.
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