The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Gashua (FUGA), Prof. Yaqub Ahmed Geidam, has officially launched the varsity’s Green Code Initiative (GCI), an institutional environment programme aimed at fighting desertification, restoring vegetation cover and promoting climate resilience through tree planting and nurturing.

This was contained in a press statement signed by Adamu Saleh, Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations of the varsity, and made available to journalists in Damaturu.

The green ode initiative was launched on Saturday at Gashua, Yobe State, themed: “Restoring the Climate through Tree Planting.”

The ceremony was attended by the Emir of Bade, representatives of the Federal and Yobe State Governments, members of the University community, development partners, traditional leaders, students, members of the host community, and the media. Geographic Reference

Speaking at the occasion, Professor Geidam described the FUGA Green Code as more than a tree-planting campaign, calling it a long-term institutional commitment to environmental restoration, sustainability and climate action.

The VC added, “The realities of climate change and desertification in Yobe State were evident in declining vegetation, exposed soil, rising temperatures, wind erosion and increasing pressure on natural resources.

“As the University is situated within the fragile Sudano-Sahelian environment, he said, FUGA could not afford to merely discuss environmental challenges without taking practical steps to address them. Geographic Refer.”

Geidam explained that the initiative was designed not only to increase tree and vegetation cover, but to restore degraded land, protect the environment, improve the University campus by restoring what he described as biodiversity, and cultivate a culture of environmental responsibility among staff, students and the wider community.

He stated that said the University was determined to transform FUGA into a model Green Campus for the Nigerian dryland environment, where sustainability would be practised and demonstrated, not just taught in class.

Geidam noted that purposeful action, scientific knowledge, innovation and community participation could help restore the environment despite the challenges posed by the Sahelian climate.

Addressing students, he urged them to take ownership of the initiative through the FGC Student Ambassadors Programme, which is expected to produce environmental champions and climate advocates among the student population

He, therefore, challenged them to embrace the slogan “One Student, One Tree,” stressing that planting a tree was only the beginning—nurturing it to maturity was the real measure of success.

“You must become not merely tree planters, but tree custodians. Every tree you plant should become a living symbol of your contribution to the future,” he said.

Geidam also called for partnerships with government agencies, development organisations, the private sector, civil society organisations, environmental institutions, traditional leaders and host communities to expand the impact of the initiative, saying such collaborations would focus on tree planting, environmental research, climate education, innovation, capacity building and community engagement.

He emphasised that the University’s environmental responsibility extended beyond its campus, noting that FUGA and its host communities shared the same environment and faced similar climate-related challenges.