By Abbas Nazil
Nigeria is set to launch the largest reforestation campaign in history as Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the federal government’s plan to plant 20 billion trees in the next rainy season.
The new landmark tree planting policy amplifies the earlier “10 Billion Tree-Planting Initiative” proposed last year by NatureNews, Africa’s leading environmental and climate change newspaper.
NatureNews in August 2024 unveiled its vision for a phenomenal tree-planting campaign aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and restoring degraded landscapes across Nigeria.
Speaking in Ethiopia, where he toured agricultural and industrial projects inspired by the country’s Green Legacy Initiative at the weekend, Vice President Shettima described Ethiopia’s environmental transformation as a model combining climate resilience with economic empowerment and job creation.
Drawing inspiration from this success, he said Nigeria now aims to mobilise its population toward a similar climate and developmental goal.
“We intend to plant 20 billion trees in the next rainy season. It requires a lot of planning, energy, and drive, which Ethiopia was able to galvanise its population into doing,” Shettima stated.
“If Nigeria and Ethiopia work, Africa will work. Jointly, the two of us constitute over 350 million people, more than the population of the United States.”
This bold step reflects not only government policy but a growing public mandate.
Earlier this year, NatureNews conducted a national opinion poll in Nigerians asking respondents whether the federal government should declare a national day for tree planting.
An overwhelming 82% voted “yes,” while only 11% opposed the idea, and 7% expressed indifference.
The result underscored the nation’s increasing awareness of the environmental crisis and the people’s readiness to take collective action on climate mitigation.
The NatureNews’ reforestation initiative, unveiled in August 2024, had proposed to the Nigerian government the planting of 10 billion trees over a period of ten years (2026 – 2035) and called for a unified campaign involving all stakeholders.
Speaking on the newspaper’s vision then, Editor-in-Chief Aliu Akoshile said NatureNews had already developed a detailed blueprint for nationwide implementation and was ready to champion the advocacy nationally.
“Nigerians appreciate the social, economic, and environmental benefits of tree planting. We were only awaiting the federal government’s endorsement and partnership”, Akoshile said.
Across the country, state governments and federal agencies have been taking proactive steps on tree planting with a view to mitigating climate change impacts.
Borno State recently launched a campaign to distribute 10 million seedlings, the largest of its kind by any state, to combat desertification
Kano State also plans to plant three million trees to mitigate heat waves, while Gombe, Kaduna, and Ogun are also executing large-scale tree planting exercises.
In Anambra, Governor Charles Soludo recently planted thousands of palm trees in erosion-prone areas.
Southern states, including Edo, and Akwa Ibom, have launched urban greening efforts to improve biodiversity, restore watersheds, and combat climate-induced challenges.
Among the top government agencies driving tree planting are the National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL)
In the private sector, leading corporations such as Dangote Group, BUA, and Sterling Foundation, along with several banks including First Bank, Access Bank, UBA, and Stanbic IBTC, have announced commitments to tree planting.
Faith-based organizations and NGOs have also joined the movement, while the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Hamim Nuhu Sanusi, is sustaining the Emirate’s remakable strides on large-scale planting of economic trees and climate mitigation.
In total, over 20 states and numerous private and civil society organizations are actively engaged in tree planting.
Experts argue that for maximum impact, these efforts must be harmonized under a single national framework, precisely what NatureNews advocated and was ready to champion as Nigeria scales up the newspaper’s vision to 20 billion trees, signalling a new era of environmental leadership in Africa.
What began as a media-led vision and initiative has blossomed into a national policy as announced by Vice President Shettima.
Analysts expressed opitmism that the 20 billion tree planting initiative will unify the government, citizens, and the private sector behind a shared goal of healing the land, creating green jobs, and securing the future against climate threats.
