By Helen Oji Abuja
Th e Director-General, National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) Mr. Goni Ahmed, recently solicited the support of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to tackle desertifi cation. Ahmed made the appeal when he paid a courtesy visit to the DirectorGeneral, National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Suleman Kazaure in his offi ce in Abuja. He described the NYSC as a veritable tool in the fi ght against desertifi cation since it had many corps members posted to the nooks and crannies of the country. ‘‘It’s not only about planting of trees but also about community-based involvement in protecting their local environments,” he said.
‘‘Th ese corps members will help teach and encourage the people at the grassroots to plant and maintain the trees for sustainable development. ‘‘Th e environment has changed with the forests diminishing rapidly and rivers drying up while sand dunes have covered up the farmlands, which portends danger.’’ He said that the support was to look at how the agencies could collaborate to reach out to the people at the grassroots to sensitize them on the eff ects of desertifi cation and the need to protect the environment. Desertifi cation is a problem that has bedeviled the country, which brought on its wake decline in the biodiversity with ripple eff ects on economic productivity of the soil in the dry land areas. One of the consequences of desertifi cation is the loss in the number of biodiversity as it causes the destruction and extinction of many plant and animal species. ‘‘In addition, the aff ected areas becomes useless to the inhabitant as there will be great reduction in agricultural production and exposure to risks of natural disasters like fl ooding,’’ he added Responding, Kazaure assured the agency of NYSC’s maximum support in the fi ght against land degradation and desertifi cation
