Govt. Strengthens Support for Tree Planting, Says Mrs Abiodun

The government agencies in Ogun state are to ensure that tree seedlings are provided to residents through established channels of government such that within the next two to three years , Ogun state would have gone green.

The wife of the Ogun state governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun stated this at the 2019 Tree Planting and Environment Day, organized by the Ilisan Club at Ilisan High School, Ilisan, Remo, Ogun state.

Mrs. Abiodun expressed worry over the ignorance of most residents on the need to go green by planting trees in their compounds and adjoining streets noting that government was determined to explore available avenues to create awareness and instil the culture of tree planting.

According to Mrs. Abiodun, it had become imperative that every tree cut down had to be replaced by five tree seedlings planted as this would help to control erosion and address the ecological problems confronting the society.

She emphasized that the future benefits of planting trees outweighed the immediate economic gains of cutting them down and opined that the habit of preserving them should be imbibed.

The first lady observed that government alone should not be left to tree planting and sought partnering with organisations, corporate individuals and bodies in tree planting maintaining that collaboration would go a goodlong way in minimizing the various disasters caused by the ignorance of the man.
She pledged government’s unalloyed support to such organizations and individuals urging them to borrow a leaf from the efforts of Ilisan Club in this regard.

According to her ” they make our environment beautiful, maybe the tree planting revolution will begin here” adding that ” In Ogun state, the present administration considers tree planting absolutely necessary to enhance the habitation and improve livelihood”.

Earlier in her keynote address, the guest speaker of the occasion, Dr. Mrs Dan Ologe, stated that tree was the lung of the the planet earth and helped to purify air and replenish oxygen in the atmosphere adding that it reduced global warming by taking away carbon dioxide.

Mrs. Ologe called for fundamental change in how people create energy and dispose waste noting that there was need for collective responsibility of everyone to improve the state of the environment.

The President of the Club, Prince Adeyemi Adefulu in his speech stated that the inspiration for the unusual journey of tree planting was drawn from the wonders of Kigali in Rwanda, a country which rose out of the carnage and orgy of war and genocide to become the cleanest city in Africa and as clean as any European city.

He likened the unusual step taken to the building of the broken walls of Jerusalem in the scriptures adding that the club succeeded in planting 3000 seedlings within three months of the club’s decision.