NAGGW Launches Tree Planting Drive in Yobe to Tackle Desertification
By Baba Dan’Iya
The Federal Government has flagged off the 2025 tree planting campaign under the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) in Maimalari Community, Yusufari Local Government Area of Yobe State, as part of activities to mark the agency’s 10th anniversary.
Director-General of NAGGW, Dr Saleh Abubakar, MFR, who led the agency’s management team to the event on Sunday, said the campaign is part of a sustained national effort to halt desertification and reclaim degraded lands across northern Nigeria.
He said the choice of Maimalari Community—one of the areas severely impacted by desert encroachment—was not only strategic but symbolic.
“This community is the birthplace of the late Brig. Zakariya Maimalari, former Commander of the 2nd Brigade in Apapa, Lagos, who was killed during the 1966 coup d’état. We are honouring his memory by launching this campaign here, to preserve his legacy and protect his people from the advancing desert,” the DG said.
According to him, the agency is distributing five million improved varieties of date palm seedlings and another five million assorted tree seedlings across 11 frontline states most affected by desertification.
The benefiting states include Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara. Each state is expected to receive no fewer than 800,000 seedlings under the scheme.
“Each date palm tree can yield up to 100 kilogrammes of fruits annually, which means the project will not only address climate change but also support livelihoods,” Abubakar explained.
He said the tree planting campaign would also introduce modern planting techniques to encourage community ownership and improve tree survival rates.
In a goodwill message, Gov. Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Sidi Karasuwa, lauded the initiative, describing it as a practical and result-oriented intervention against land degradation.
“This exercise goes beyond talk. It is real action against a serious threat. Yobe has been a proud partner of the Great Green Wall over the past 10 years, and today’s event reinforces our shared commitment,” Buni said.
The governor urged communities to protect the trees and support the long-term maintenance of boreholes that would be used to water them, especially during the dry season.
Also speaking, the Emir of Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, said the region had suffered significantly from sand dune encroachment and environmental degradation due to its proximity to the Sahara Desert.
“We must stop the desert from swallowing our communities. The only solution is to plant more trees and protect them,” he said.
The royal father appealed to residents to take full ownership of the trees, especially by contributing to the maintenance of water facilities used for irrigation.
“In some communities, we have successfully implemented community-led maintenance. They raise funds and manage their boreholes without waiting for government. I want the same spirit here,” he added.
He warned against indiscriminate felling of trees, stressing that offenders in his domain face strict sanctions, including imprisonment.
“If you can’t plant a tree, don’t cut it. We are protecting the future of our children and generations to come,” the emir said.
The tree planting campaign is one of the highpoints of the NAGGW’s 10th anniversary activities, aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, enhancing food security, and improving community resilience against climate change across northern Nigeria.
