The alarm raised by Vice President Kashim Shettima over the depletion of more than 90 per cent of Nigeria’s forest cover is urgent enough to trigger immediate and sustained national action. His warning that the ecological disaster poses a severe threat to livelihoods, climate stability, and national security is an understatement. Nigeria’s forests, along with its green lungs, are vanishing, and with them go biodiversity, livelihoods, climate stability, and human security. 
  
Shettima called for urgent reforestation and stronger environmental governance to reverse the trend and safeguard the country’s future. For years, environmentalists have warned that Nigeria is sleepwalking into an ecological catastrophe. Now, with such a stark pronouncement from the country’s second-highest office, there can be no more denial, delay, or dithering.
  
By virtue of his high office, the vice president should translate his concern beyond lamentation and warning to pragmatic measures to prevent the looming disaster, which, sadly, has been recognised by successive administrations but countered with nothing more than rhetorical responses. Forests are not just spaces of trees and wildlife; they are crucial buffers against desertification, carbon sinks vital for mitigating climate change, and sources of water, food, medicine, and shelter for millions of Nigerians. From the mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta to the savanna woodlands of the North, forests provide ecosystem services without which agriculture, climate, and health systems would collapse.
  
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nigeria loses about 350,000 to 400,000 hectares of forest yearly, the highest deforestation rate in Africa and one of the worst globally. The drivers of this crisis are well known: illegal logging, expansion of agriculture, unregulated urbanisation, bush burning, mining, and the unchecked use of fuel wood for cooking. Compounding the problem is weak enforcement of environmental laws, overlapping regulatory agencies, and limited investment in alternative energy sources.
  
A glaring example lies in Cross River State, long regarded as the last bastion of pristine tropical rainforest in Nigeria. While conservationists have worked tirelessly to protect this biodiversity hotspot, state-backed infrastructure projects, such as the controversial superhighway project proposed in recent years, have threatened to slice through protected forest reserves.
  
Despite opposition from local communities and environmental groups, government actions and inactions continue to enable encroachment, logging, and degradation of forest estates. What should be a conservation model has instead become a battleground between preservation and politics.
  
Yet, amid the gloom, hope persists in no small part due to the work of committed conservation organisations. The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) stands out as a beacon of environmental activism. For over four decades, NCF has spearheaded efforts to restore degraded forest ecosystems across Nigeria.
  
The Foundation’s Forest Landscape Restoration Programme has targeted critical areas in the South-West, South-East, and Middle Belt regions, working with local communities to replant native trees, promote agroforestry, and encourage sustainable livelihoods. The foundation has also actively engaged in policy advocacy, capacity building, and public education to reverse the tide of deforestation.
  
Similarly, other organisations have played critical roles in raising awareness, implementing tree planting drives, and holding the government accountable for environmental mismanagement. These civil society efforts, however, cannot succeed in isolation. They require political will, policy coherence, and robust funding from the government. Unfortunately, what is often visible instead is fragmented policy, weak enforcement, and token gestures that fail to match the scale of the crisis.
  
Shettima’s remarks should not be a passing comment lost in the cacophony of political headlines. It should mark the beginning of a national green recovery strategy, one that takes science seriously, respects the wisdom of local communities, and holds every stakeholder accountable. Shettima was right to link the forest crisis to insecurity and economic instability. As forests disappear, so do rural livelihoods. This often fuels migration, land conflict, and even insurgency in vulnerable areas. In the North-East, where Boko Haram has capitalised on environmental degradation to recruit disillusioned youths, restoring degraded lands can serve both ecological and security functions.
  
This is not the first time the Nigerian government has acknowledged the crisis. From the Great Green Wall initiative aimed at halting desert encroachment in the Sahel, to tree planting campaigns flagged off by state governments, efforts have been made. But these have been piecemeal, underfunded, and poorly monitored.
  
There is little coordination among federal, state, and local governments, and even less public awareness. Without a coherent national strategy that links forest conservation to climate adaptation, rural development, and energy transition, tree planting slogans will remain mere optics. The government must begin by making forest governance a national development priority.
  
This means strengthening institutions like the Federal Department of Forestry, enforcing logging regulations, halting the export of endangered hardwoods, and empowering forest-dependent communities to become stewards of the land. Nigeria must also invest heavily in alternative energy sources such as gas, solar, and improved cook stoves to reduce the reliance on wood fuel, which remains a major cause of deforestation.
  
Furthermore, environmental education must be mainstreamed into the school curriculum and public awareness campaigns. Children should grow up with a consciousness of conservation. Private sector actors, especially in agriculture, real estate, and mining, must be held accountable for sustainable land use practices. Civil society and traditional institutions must also be co-opted as watchdogs and partners in protecting our natural heritage.
  
Importantly, Nigeria should fully align its forest restoration goals with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement. The 2050 Long-Term Vision for a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy cannot be realised if our forests continue to disappear.
  
Shettima’s lament should not be another soundbite lost in the echo chamber of Nigeria’s policy rhetoric. It must be the rallying cry for a national rescue mission, one that is bold, inclusive, and scientifically grounded. The trees we plant today will determine the kind of climate, food security, and stability we leave for our children tomorrow.