A Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo has called for more effective policies that can adequately curb environmental degradation especially through deforestation.
The former president , who made this call while receiving delegates from the Federal Ministry of Environment at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, also noted that charcoal business, common among people of the South-West Zone of the nation had resulted to huge loss of economic trees and greenery.
He observed that states such as Oyo, Ogun and Kwara, were losing their rich forest reserves to those indulging in incessant tree felling at the expense of the environment.
Obasanjo added that climate change and extinction of wild life were burning issues that government at all levels must prioritized, noting that disasters in many countries across the world were consequences of Climate Change.
The former president advised all stakeholders to maximize the 11th National Council on Environment to strengthen existing environmental laws and formulate effective policies on deforestation, wild life conservation and Climate Change.
Explaining the rationale for the visit to the former president, the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, disclosed that Obasanjo’s understanding of the importance of the environment led to the creation of the Federal Ministry of Environment during his tenure as president, adding that the he also created the first National Park in the country.
