Cross River communities lament illegal tree felling

Members of communities in Boki Local Government Area in Cross River State are concerned about the rising illegal activities of loggers depleting the forest in the area. They said the illegal activities of the loggers are being backed by the powerful people in the state. Nigerians decry nation’s woes as Buhari begs for understanding ‘$65 […]

Members of communities in Boki Local Government Area in Cross River State are concerned about the rising illegal activities of loggers depleting the forest in the area.

They said the illegal activities of the loggers are being backed by the powerful people in the state.

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Niger Delta Trust correspondent reports that the previous administration had in 2010 banned the indiscriminate felling of trees in the state.

Although the present administration did not lift the ban when it assumed office, it disbanded the Anti-Deforestation Task Force set up by its predecessor.

One of the community leaders is Sir Nandi Bette, a retired principal of a school in Becheve community who was moved by the illegal felling of trees that he composed a poem titled:”Boki forest, Our heritage, Our pride, Our oxygen, Our all, is going, going, going.”

He described the Boki forest as the last tinge of Equatorial Rainforest which is going extinct.

Bette said that those behind ‘this macabre dance’ are “funding a war against humanity’’, and wondered what would be bequeathed to posterity.

Chief Cletus Obun, who is also from the forest community of Danare, said: “A powerful cartel has held their ancestral heritage by the jugulars”.

One of the communities in Boki LGA badly affected by  the massive felling of the rosewood is Biajua.

The community has been up against the illegal action of destruction of their forests, which has reportedly killed rare species of animals, including chimpanzees and elephants.

In an interview, a community leader, Chief Bessong Enu, spoke about a recent skirmish with illegal wood loggers.

He said that a neighbouring community, Abia, in Etung LGA, had engaged them in a communal bloody war three weeks ago, resulting in casualties.

Bessong said the Abia wood cartel came with arms to engage them and they had to defend themselves and their forests.

He accused some powerful persons as being behind the illegal wood logging.

Our reporter, who visited the forest areas where the skirmish broke out in Biajua, confirmed that there was massive wood felling.

Wide expanse of empty spaces can be seen within the forests as thousands of trees had been felled, leaving the animals without their natural habitats.

Inside the forests and along the roads, hundreds of timbers had been evacuated and heaped at several places.

A government official, who sought anonymity, said Governor Ben Ayade had appointed one ‘General Iron’ as Special Adviser on Forest Resources.

Commissioner for Information, Asu Okang, said government has taken a positive action to address the menace of illegal wood logging in the state.