Terrorism, banditry threaten forestry practice – LAUTECH Governing council chair

Chairman, Governing Council of Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Professor Ayodeji Omole, has declared that terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping are threatening forestry practice in the country.

The Professor of Forest Engineering lamented that forestry practice in Nigeria has recently become endangered due largely to widespread incidents of attacks, killings, rapes, and kidnappings for ransom by armed men.

Omole made these declarations while delivering the 561st inaugural lecture of the University of Ibadan on Thursday.

The don, while speaking on the topic entitled “Working in the Shadows of Death,” maintained that the challenge of insecurity in forest estates is perhaps the major problem facing the sector.

While addressing the gathering, Omole noted that it is pathetic that the military formations seem helpless in effectively tackling and eradicating this particular monstrous challenge.

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He further noted that the media is daily awash with news of attacks by bandits in Nigeria.

He added that this development is a major challenge to forestry in Nigeria.

Omole said, “The challenge of insecurity in our forest estates is perhaps the only problem that has hitherto defied all strategic solutions in Nigeria.

“Nigerian forests can simply be described as one of the most threatened in Africa because of high population growth rates, forest conversion to subsistence and industrial agriculture, illegal logging, and an unsafe environment.

“Unfortunately, it is pathetic that the military formations seem helpless in effectively tackling and eradicating this particular monstrous challenge.

“The monopoly of violence is no longer an exclusive right of the military but is shared with non-state actors. These security breaches are too numerous to mention.

“The media is daily awash with news of attacks by bandits in Nigeria. The most perplexing aspect of these security challenges is that bandits, unknown gunmen, or insurgents are majorly occupying many of our national forests, in all parts of Nigeria, from Sambisa Forest in Borno State to many forests in the southwestern parts of Nigeria: Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo States, in particular, while Lagos and Ogun States are not immune. Forests in the southeast and south-south are not by any means exempt from the activities of these criminals.

“This development is a major challenge to forestry in Nigeria. Since 2013, when the Boko Haram insurgents found a safe haven in the Sambisa Forest, from where they launch their attacks on the Nigerian state, neither Nigeria nor the forests have known any peace. Unfortunately, the situation has grown from bad to worse and has continued to escalate.”