Deforestation, wood exportation impact on furniture business in Nigeria

By Femi Akinola

The current main source of log supply for the wood industry in Nigeria are natural forests consisting of secondary forests, farmlands and the savanna, forest reserves, forest plantations, and Taungya farms.

Round wood production in the country come mostly from the natural high forest zone particularly from southern states such as Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Edo an Cross River State.

The types of hardwood being used in furniture making in the country are Iroko, Teak, Mahogany, Masonia, Ekuu, Afara, Ayunre, and others too numerous to be listed here.

Iroko is a popular hardwood which mostly grows in the West Coast of Africa. Iroko trees can grow for as long as 500 years. It is used primarily for household furnitures such as bed, dining-tables and chairs, doors and frames, construction of boats, and so on and so forth. Iroko is one of the best wood for construction uses.

Wood is also used for different purposes ranging from fencing, scafolding, rafting and as columns and wall plates to farm houses, sheds, livestock buildings, storage structures, poles used to support electric and telephone poles, piles, studs, beams, etc. Wood gotten from trees also generates firewood and production of charcoal. Wood processing for domestic consumption and exportation played a vital role in the Nigerian economy in the 1960’s till the latter part of 1970’s.

From time immemorial, timber is gotten from trees and from timber we got logs with which people made different kind of household furniture and other use of all blends. Primary and secondary wood products have always played a vital role in the Nigerian economy.

In the 1960’s up till late 1970’s, wood based forest industries in Nigeria earned substantial foreign exchange and ranked the highest among local industries in terms of employment generation.

Meanwhile, by 2020, the nation’s forest has experienced massive exploitation of timber resources. For example, between 2000 and 2020, Nigeria has lost the size of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 7,315km2, Lagos State’s 3,577km2 and Enugu State 7,161km2 combined, to deforestation as revealed in a report by the Dean, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Services, Bayero University, Kano, and Professor Aliyu Salisu of the Project Lead Nigeria.

The report which was made public on Monday at Abuja during the Final Workshop of Research Project on ” Improving Access to Clean and Modern Energy for Cooking while Reducing Land Degradation and Biodiversity Loss in Nigeria.

The study explored major deforestation hotspots for wood fuel, Charcoal production and how they have changed the landscape and forestssince 2000. The finding resonates with the UN estimate s that ranks Nigeria mong top three nation-state with the highest rate of deforestation.

The matter was made worse when, sometime in March 2023, then Minister of the Environment, Muhammed Abdullahi, announced that the government in power has conditionally lifted the ban on exportation of processed wood and charcoal, in a bid to revamp business, especially for those converting waste-to-wealth and thereby increase the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

Reacting to the lifting of the ban on exportation of Nigerian wood, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr. Ezra Yakusak, commended the government for lifting the suspension on export of both processed wood and charcoal.

Though he warned exporters to play by the rule if they intend maximize the opportunities presented to them with the development. Thereafter, the action taken by the government exposed the nation’s forest which was previously protected to abuse by local wood exporters and their foreign counterparts.

Today, the nation’s rich forests especially in the Southwest and South-South zone of the country have been plundered by Nigerian wood exporters and their foreign business partners. Unfortunately, they are not bothered about planting trees to replace the one they removed from the forest. The very rapid rate of deforestation in the southern part of the country has led to timber supply crisis.

Today, findings showed that Nigeria export most of her timber wood to China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam. Timber wood export data are with HSN Code and shipments are going on undisturbed.

For example, a Teak solid wood square timber meant for export used to be over 25cm. Its width used to be 25cm and length 20cm. Woods that are commonly export are Lumber wood, wood roughly square, Eku timber, rubber wood, DOUSSIE, Teak wood (processed and roughly squared).

As a result of plundering the nation’s forest for wood exportation, what is common in the industry today is illegal tree felling in Government Reserved Forests.

In most cases, immature trees are cut down leading to dwindling of choice species such as the best known hardwood like Iroko (African Teak), Apa, Mahogany, Teak, etc.
My findings revealed there are over 1000 wood logging companies in the country, thousands of furniture makers across important cities in the country with their showroom displaying different household furnitures such as dinning tables, bed, cupboard, doors, frames, and others.

Whenever one passes in front of these furniture showrooms in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano or Ibadan, it used to be hard to believe these household furnitures are designed and made in Nigeria. They rival global standards. Some of the showrooms feature upholstered seats that added to the appeal of the showrooms.

In addition, one will see hardwood doors, solid prime doors, mahogany interior doors, dining tables made from Iroko, Teak or Masonia wood.

Where does the furniture makers got the log they used in making household furnitures from? Most of the top furniture manufacturers in the country particularly those whose showrooms are in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and the commercial nerve of the country, Lagos, are not eager to speak to the press on their source of wood materials.

However, the small scale furniture makers quickly explained that they sourced for wood which is the major material in making houshold furniture from nearby sawmills.

For example, at AfesoFurniture at Agege, Lagos, Mr. Kamal Afesomun noted that he usually visit Amun building materials market in Mushin to buy woods he used in producing furnitures for his customers.

There are over 1000 sawmills existing in Lagos where furniture makers in the city- state often attend to source for wood with which they do their business.

Alhaja Baiyewunmi Aminat, a plank seller at Alakuko also said people who trade in wood at sawmills across Lagos usually travel to Ogun, Osun and Ondo State respectively to buy wood in bulk and bring it to Lagos and sell to furniture makers.

Findings also showed that there is a popular sawmill called Okobaba known by to almost all furniture makers in Lagos.

Timbers that are turned to planks at Okobaba are known to be brought to Lagos through the lagoon. The difference between planks being marketed for furniture making at Okobaba sawmill in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, is different in quality compared with woods brought to Lagos in trucks by road. The latter is good in making furnitures while the former is mostly used in making roof on new buildingss and the likes.

Furniture makers in Nigeria particularly the well established furniture companies are not keen in tree planting to sustain their business. Inquiries on how they sourced hardwood used in making different kinds of household furnitures displayed for sale in their showroom did not yield desired result.

For example, the Wood Factory Limited, one of the top furniture manufacturers in the industrial district of Abuja will not disclose source (s) of its hardwood material.

Also, the Life Mate Furniture, Abuja, did not pick calls after several attempts to inquire from the furniture company how it sourced hardwood used in producing beautiful designs displayed in its showroom.

Baffi Nigeria Limited, another popular furniture maker in the FCT was not forthcoming on its source of hardwood with which different kinds of household furnitures are made.

When a call got through to Baffi, the receiver, on knowing what was needed from the company, explained that he has no authority to speak on any issue about the company except sales.

In the mean time, it is obvious that furniture makers in Nigeria appears not to have foresight that with the way deforestation is going on in Nigeria, coupled with high demand for Nigerian hardwoods outside Africa and the deep corruption going on in Government Reserved Forests, it will get to a time they will not get hardwood materials to sustain their business , except they embark on massive tree planting.