Lagos Marks Tree Planting Campaign Day

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State government is today marking the second anniversary of the Tree Planting campaign day with Governor Babatunde Fashola, his Deputy, Princess Sarah Sosan and other top dignitaries planting trees.

A minimum of 500,000 trees are expected to be planted across the state this year.

Several government officials, commissioners, House of Representatives members, House of Assembly members, governor’s wife, local government chairmen took to the roads today to plant trees.

Fourteen July has been earmarked by the state government as Tree Planting Day, to sensitise and mobilise Lagosians on the importance of planting trees.

At the Mobil Road, Ajegunle, Fashola led other top government functionaries to perform the symbolic tree planting.

The state governor, while planting a tree, called on Lagosians to join the government in the crusade of planting trees.

Fashola said apart from beautifying the environment, trees could curb global warming threatening the earth today, adding that trees are very useful in reducing carbon dioxide, a major contributor to Green House Gases and replenishing the air with oxygen.

“Global warming is caused by emission of green house gases into the atmosphere, thus, depleting the Ozone layer. The resilience and strength of trees in absorbing this gas emission cannot be overemphasised.

“We are now confronted with the adverse effects of man’s unconscious battle against nature, which has caused untold hardship globally over the years,” Fashola said.

He said that when the tree planting campaign was launched last year, 250,000 trees were planted, while more had been planted over time.

Fashola urged Lagosians to stop indiscriminate felling of trees and preserve nature by planting more trees so that the next generation could get wood for homes, schools, hospitals, furniture and books, among others.

Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire, stated that trees had been scientifically proven to be very useful as the first line of defence in the fight against global warming, as they absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and replenish the air with oxygen.

“During the 2008 campaign, 250,000 trees were planted. To sustain the tempo and meet the original target of planting one million trees within the life-span of this administration, many more had been planted.

“Corporate organisations and individuals have also bought into the vision and are replicating it to the extent that I can without equivocation say that the dream of one million trees seems to be a yearly target now as opposed to life-span of the administration,” he stated.

While kicking against indiscriminate felling of trees, Banire implored all Lagosians to join the crusade of tree planting by complementing government’s effort.

The commissioner stated that the tree planting exercise was taking place simultaneously in many locations throughout the state.

Banire noted that tree planting became necessary to rescue the environment from the grip of degradation, rape and abuse, adding that the state was experiencing giant stride in this area.