By Rotimi Ajayi

Last Wednesday, the Executive Council of President Goodluck Jonathan announced the contract for the award of the channelization of the Asa River in Ilorin Kwara State. The Minister of Environment, Hadiza Mailafia Ibrahim who made the announcement gave the justification for  the award as perennial flooding of the plains along thei river.

At the media briefing, the Minister also went ahead to announce that a directive had been issued to tackle issues of Environment especially the fast expanding desert frontally.

There is no doubt that the river channelization project would be desirable to the people around the place if properly done. However, the addition by the Minister of the commitment of the Federal Government to tackling other Environmental issues especially the desert lives only laughable elements in its traits.

I quite understand the need for the Minister to present a beautiful picture of the administration in which she serves but the reality so far is that the present administration has not done anything in concrete terms to aid the cause of the Environment especially the desert.
Studies have shown  that the major causative agent for desert expansion in Nigeria is deforestation.

This is a major challenge in the Northern part of the country which has almost been virtually swallowed up by the desert. Various studies have also shown that one key driver of deforestation in Nigeria, North or South, is the need for domestic energy. This is the point where President Jonathan seems to be failing glaringly especially given his background.

The relevant background of the President here has to do with the fact that he hails from the oil bearing zone of the country where the country has enormous gas resources that could be harnessed for domestic energy use were the President really serious about reversing the encroaching desert and tackling climate change.

Also, this President has stayed too long on the corridors of power so as not to begin planning of what to do from the sod. He was the Vice President to late Umaru Musa Yar Adua.

That administration was known to have come up with the National Gas Master-plan which implementation has been begging for attention for years now. The President was also actively involved in the National Forestation Project initiated by the late President.

Not less than five billion Naira has been committed to that project but there is still much to be desired in terms of implementation of the project. The project was designed largely to address the expanding desert but it seems it has equally gone the usual way of projects initiated by predecessors in office.

It is expected that if the administration is genuinely serious about the issues of the Environment as the Minister would want us believe, implementation of policies that will assist the Environment and the Climate would not be taking back bench. While other nations have been actively promoting alternative energies in green and clean energy sources, there is nothing tangible so far on ground in Nigeria in respect of this.

The rate of deforestation in Nigeria is such that the country would need to address nationally and not through the prism of the Federal Executive Council which has always lacked depth in treatment of State affairs.

The President should convoke a Council of State meeting solely on issues of deforestation and desert expansion. This should be done in such a way that the Governors will replicate same in their states with all the local government chairs and traditional rulers involved. This will serve as a veritable start for the country to face squarely the problems. As things are now, we have just been merely joking with the Climate and passing the buck to tomorrow.