The Emir of Zazzau , Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, has lauded the efforts of the Yusuf Bala Usman Institute in collaboration with of Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Kaduna and Kaduna Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) for embarking on tree planting to replace the degraded ones as a result of the ongoing development projects in the state.
The project targets planting 5,000 trees in the Zaria urban area. The trees are to be planted along new urban roads, around schools, hospitals, and public institutions, among others.
This Emir made the statement at the tree planting ceremony held at the Mallawa Dynasty Eid Ground, Km 1 along Jos Road Zaria at the weekend.
Other stakeholders include the Zazzau Emirate Council, ABU Zaria, Zaria and Sabon Gari Local Govt. Councils.
The Emir called on all residents to cooperate with this initiative so as to make the ancient city greener and the envy of all. He also thanked the initiators of the programme and urged other non-governmental organisations to also introduce activities that would benefit the citizens.
In his speech, on behalf of Yusuf Bala Usman Institute, Dr. Sanusi Lawal, who was represented by Malam Abdullahi Muhammad, called on all and sundry to think about how important trees are to humanity and the environment.
“We usually don’t think much about trees. We take them for granted. But if you go around Zaria, whether in the urban or rural area, you will see that trees are central to the social life of communities.
“Under the shade of trees, you will see so many things going on: People meeting for social activities, marketing, carrying out some economic occupation or another, or just relaxing.
In nearly every village there will be a big tree that is the place for community gatherings on every occasion, and is the main meeting place for the residents,” he said.
He emphasized that “We need all residents of the Zaria area to understand why trees are so essential, to learn how to protect them, and increase their numbers. Doing this will create a more sustainable and loveable environment for everyone living in our community and help to mitigate the effects of climate change which is having a disastrous impact on so many aspects of our life. We need the cooperation and participation of everyone in this very important project,” he concluded.
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