Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has appealed to Nigerians and stakeholders to consider the Great Green Wall Initiative as an emergency rescue operation.
Shettima emphasized that the consequences of not completing the initiative were jeopardizing the collective existence of the people.
The Vice President made these remarks during the inaugural Great Green Wall Day Celebration at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Thursday, where he delivered the keynote address.
He called upon all stakeholders to invest in the realization of this transformative initiative, highlighting the need to prioritize the project.
“We have inherited a dream that we cannot afford to neglect, as doing so is not an option. Our predecessors were aware of the impending danger, and it is now our responsibility to pursue their mission as a life-saving endeavor. We must ensure the involvement of all stakeholders to achieve this,” he stated.
VP Shettima recalled that President Bola Tinubu had pledged to complete the Great Green Wall in his campaign manifesto. He also noted that the commemoration of the day demonstrated the administration’s commitment to the initiative as an act of self-preservation.
Explaining that the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel began in 2007 “to prevent the looming ecological catastrophe.”
Shettima described the project as “a bold yet practical intervention to save humanity and rebuild the world to accommodate our aspirations, to maintain fertile lands, full silos, and thriving agrarian economies once again.”
Vice President Shettima emphasized that Nigeria embraced the challenge of participating in this Pan-African mission to save the world.
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“Our policymakers have prioritized this, leading to the establishment of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) in 2015 through an enabling Act of Parliament,” stated the Vice President.
Yusuf Bukar, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, described the Great Green Wall as “the largest living structure on the planet,” as envisioned by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
He explained that the initiative spans 8,000km across Africa and would usher in a new era of sustainability and economic growth.
“It was launched in 2007 by the African Union as a game-changing African-led initiative aimed at restoring the continent’s degraded landscapes and transforming the lives of millions in the Sahel region. This initiative is being implemented in 22 African countries, bringing together African nations and international partners under the leadership of the African Union Commission and the Pan-African Agency for the Great Green Wall,” Bukar added.
Bukar further stated that Nigeria has been pursuing the objectives of the African Union regarding the Great Green Wall since 2015, with the goal of transforming Nigeria’s arid lands through the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, under the Ministry of Environment.
He highlighted that the agency has carried out its mandate through afforestation, reforestation, providing alternative sources of cooking and energy, and has made significant progress in mitigating the impact of climate change in the frontline states.
“The agency has achieved this through carbon dioxide sequestration in our shelterbelt plantations, woodland plantations, orchard plantations, gum Arabic plantations, indigenous trees plantations, social forestry, farm forestry, institutional planting, and large-scale restoration of forest lands,” Bukar explained.
He also noted that the agency has directly intervened by providing support and empowering women and vulnerable individuals residing within the Great Green Wall Corridor.
The highlight of the event was the tree-planting demonstration by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and Vice President Shettima.
