Open letter to Borno State governor

Dear governor, Maiduguri must go green. The Borno State capital, Maiduguri, has been in a remarkable transformation period, which is evident in the works of the government in rehabilitating and modernising various landscapes of its society, from education, health, and most especially, infrastructure. While this progress holds a great promise to the people of Maiduguri, […]

Dear governor, Maiduguri must go green. The Borno State capital, Maiduguri, has been in a remarkable transformation period, which is evident in the works of the government in rehabilitating and modernising various landscapes of its society, from education, health, and most especially, infrastructure. While this progress holds a great promise to the people of Maiduguri, it also raises an alarming rate of concern regarding the environmental impact it has on the society.

In the recent years in your government, developments achieved in Maiduguri has been outstanding, with a lot of infrastructural changes in the city, with the buildings of various architectural edifices, including the popular first flyover bridge in Maiduguri, which is located in the Custom area, among other praise- worthy projects in the city and across the state.

As these projects are in full progress, the height of deforestation in the city of Maiduguri has been on a high toll as constructions takes place. Trees are cut down every day for usage, and they are never replaced anywhere in the city. For example, the recent project of the government to create a new flyover around the Terminus area (Borno Express Area) has been a very huge project, which has taken a huge toll on the environment.

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Not only is the trees along Terminus junction to Tashan Kano been cut off for construction purposes, there is an increase in air pollution due to the dust from motorists and heavy machinery on untarred roads, which not only causes traffic jam around the area but also a high level of disorganiaation between Leke NAPEP operators and motorists.

Sir, with these problems stated above, I appeal that you consider afforestation by creating more green areas in the state. There is never going to be overemphasis on the need for trees around the state. If there is a way to include more trees and flowers in the constructions going on in the city instead of using artificial plants and grass, it will go a long way in aiding our ecosystem, as well as the health and lives of the people of Maiduguri.

Yakubu Musa Maina wrote from the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Borno State