Expert Tasks Monarchs On Protection Of Forests

An American-trained policy expert and deputy commandant general (DCG) Community Beurre, Professor Edwin Opara, has challenged the nation’s traditional institutions and town unions to play a leading role in the onslaught against hoodlums who criminally hibernate in the forests to carry out their heinous activities.

Opara, who identified the forest as the primary historical shelter of the world, regretted that it is now being desecrated with impunity by kidnappers, ritualists and all manner of criminal elements for money making without qualms.

The don stated this in his lecture, “Re-defining the role of foresters in modern-day security architecture,” which he delivered at a one-day seminar on foresters’ role in combating forest crimes organised in Owerri by the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS), Imo State Command.

“It needs scientific application to tackle insecurity, and the forest is a landmark of national treasure. States, LGAs, and the federal government are all involved in your assignments as foresters, so you can be trained well,” he added.

Professor Opara, who compared the American criminal justice system with that of the nation, argued that collaboration and synergy between the NFSS and other relevant agencies, such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) NDLEA, the judiciary, and enquiries from traditional institutions, are crucial to protecting the forests and rid them of hoodlums.

“Shelter the forests and remember that you cannot go to the forests without making enquiries from the traditional institutions who know the geography of their domains. Your job needs sophisticated ideas, visions and strategies since sophistication is based on the level of weapons available.”

Commander, NFSS, Imo State Command, Dr Fabian Iwuoha, who declared the seminar open, noted that forest crime is no longer just an environmental issue but also a national security concern, an economic threat, and a moral challenge that undermines the rule of law, endangers biodiversity, and fuels corruption while often putting the lives of “our frontline defenders and our forests at risk.”

“Today, we stand at a crossroads and can no longer afford to see forest crime as someone else’s problem. It is ours to face and ours to fight, and in this fight, foresters are not just caretakers of the land, they are defenders of our national interest.”

Dr Iwuoha, however, pointed out that the seminar was not just about highlighting the challenges but about strategic thinking, coordinated action, and equipping our foresters morally, legally, and operationally to meet these threats head-on and decisively.