The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has faulted the decision of the Oyo State government to clear the Agodi Phase 2 of the Ogunpa forest reserve for use as an estate.
Joseph Onoja, NCF’s director general, took a swipe at the Oyo government while speaking on the importance of awareness in sustaining Nigeria’s rich biodiversity at the foundation’s annual general meeting in Lagos.
Read also: Agodi Gardens: An attempt to sabotage environmental order for political profiteering
He said many people didn’t know the importance of nature and the rich biodiversity Nigeria has which was why they were subjected to abuse.
“If the importance is not known, then abuse is inevitable. Someone stood up and started clearing a large expanse of forest without consideration for the role that forest plays. A clear example is what is happening in Ibadan at the moment where the Ogunpa forest reserve is being cleared. For whatever reason the reserve is being cleared, it’s not justified,” Onoja said.
He added that there would have been a rethink if the government knew the importance of such space in a metropolitan town like Ibadan while calling on the Oyo state government to address the situation.
“We are calling on Oyo State government to look at the devastation happening in that place. One of the things we observed in COP28 was that people are trying to bring back gardens into cities but it’s unfortunate that after coming from the event with the delegation Nigeria took there, we are seeing a state government rising up to clear a forest reserve that had been existing for over 50 years,” he said.
He called on Governor Seyi Mankinde to look at the decision again and try to stop what was happening. “If we don’t stop the devastation that is happening, it will have a devastating effect on the Ibadan metropolis very soon because they will start experiencing serious flooding and landslides in those areas which may result in people being killed. We need to protect the environment so the environment will protect us,” he said.
He added that the forest has served many people while the estate will serve only a few who can afford it, stating that the destruction of green spaces in an urban city is not a way to go.
Speaking on the recently concluded COP28, Onoja said one of the key takeaways was that nature has been recognised as a solution to climate change, stating the need to push the language forward to build on recognising nature and pulling out available resources for it.
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